My wife Kathini and I recently bought a house on a bend in the Chemainus River and have found ourselves eager to learn the local history – from the first occupants in the late 19th century to a local landmark on the old highway, the Westholme Tree/“The Old Guardsman” (a giant Douglas fir that crashed down in a storm in 1913).
The garden at our new house neighbours All Saints Cemetery, and, when exploring on Remembrance Day, the Lamonts discovered that Cedric J G Lonsdale is buried there – a former teacher at Shawnigan and the nephew of our Founder.
Shawnigan Lake School was carved out of the Canadian wilderness in 1916 by CW Lonsdale, and modelled on his alma mater, Westminster School in London, England. It has gone from one class of eight students to 550 students and is now perhaps Canada’s pre-eminent boarding school.
Character & Courage, a visual history of Shawnigan, was published in 2016 to mark the School’s centenary, and we are hugely fortunate to have the most wonderful museum on campus which captures the journey of the School.
From 1916-1928, the main School sport was soccer. The founder, Christopher W. Lonsdale, had been a semi-professional soccer player in England, who loved playing and coaching the sport. In 1927, E.D.W. (“Tiny”) Levien joined the Shawnigan teaching staff and brought with him his passion for rugby. He had played for England and was determined to change the main sport at Shawnigan from soccer to rugby. By September 1928, Levien convinced Lonsdale to make this shift. From then until the early 1990s every boy played rugby. In the 1990s, rugby became mandatory for boys Grades 8-10, and in 2008, for Grades 8 and 9 only, allowing the older boys to choose to play rugby, or a different sport. In the spring of 1993, the first girls' rugby team was formed and is still going strong.
House Colours: orange and white House Emblem: cougar centred inside a sun House Motto:Solae paulum uniter tantum – “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much” House Hymn: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
House Colours: purple and white House Emblem: dove House Motto:Alis volamus propriis – “With wings we fly” House Hymn: And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time
House Colours: sky blue and white House Emblem: dogwood blossom with swan in centre House Motto:Cherchons – “Let us seek” House Hymn: Be Thou My Vision
House Colours: forest green, gold and black House Emblem: phoenix House Motto:Ex Fumo Dare Lucem – “To give light from smoke” House Hymn: "How Great Thou Art"
House Colours: crimson and white House Emblem: cross-crosslet House Motto:Ubi Crux Ibi Lux – "Where there is a cross, there is light" House Hymn: Lift High the Cross
House Colours: emerald green and light blue House Emblem: griffin House Motto:Non Sibi Sed Aliis – "Not for ourselves, but for others" House Hymn: Amazing Grace
It has always been important for the School to have a gathering place. By around 1920, a separate building was constructed for this purpose and was called the “Big School,” a term borrowed from British tradition. We know it included a piano. In the new 1927 School, the Big School was a separate room in the centre of the building opposite the front door. It was accessed through arched wooden doors that mirrored the double doors at the entrance. At the far end was a slightly raised platform. The Big School was used for large gatherings of all kinds – assemblies, guest speakers, plays, dances. A stone fireplace was on the east side. In the 1930s, new boys went through an initiation ceremony that required them to walk along the fireplace mantle, stepping over teacups that had been placed along it, while also ducking under a large moose head hunting trophy that hung over the middle. Later the moose head was replaced by a buffalo head.
Many races start with the sound of a starting pistol, a pistol that fires blanks. The School did use a starting pistol in the past, but by the mid-1980s it was replaced by a simple homemade contraption made from two 2x4-inch lengths and a hinge. The "clap" sound it makes is sharp and loud and surprisingly similar to a gunshot. It is known as the starting clapper.
The closure of Strathcona Lodge School in 1977, an all-girls boarding school in Shawnigan Lake, had a ground-altering impact on Shawnigan Lake School. For 40 years the two schools – only 3.5 kilometres apart – had enjoyed a successful working relationship. The administrations worked closely to bring the boys and girls together for dances and other social events, stage plays and musicals and, in later years, even a few classes.
For many years, when one pictured Shawnigan Lake School, colourful marigolds often dotted the frame. They were a favourite choice of gardener Bernie Dinter, who started with thousands of seedlings in the large greenhouse located on the south slope below Copeman's House. Once the flowers were established, Dinter planted them throughout the campus. For decades, massive swaths of gold marigolds were featured on the covers of prospecti and other publications.
In photos of the first School building, there are no signs of a flagpole; the earliest we see one is in 1921, located then in almost the same location it stands today. It is worth noting that the original flagpole actually survived the catastrophic 1926 fire. When building the new School following the fire, the driveway and front garden area were regraded, and a new flagpole was erected slightly west of its original location, next to the driveway near the southwest corner of the Main Building.
By 1928, the new Main Building, the original Gym/Assembly Hall and the Chapel had been built. These three buildings surrounded a rectangular patch of land that has become known as the Quad: a grassy gathering place, used for many purposes. For a number of years, sheep grazed there as a way to keep the lawn trimmed. For many years, the June Closing Ceremonies were held in the Quad. When grad balls were still held at the School, elaborate decorations spilled out from the Assembly Hall into the Quad, everything from Japanese gardens to a pyramid. Not only a place for pomp, the Quad has also housed many a prank, such as a petting zoo. Each fall, the School gathers in the Quad to welcome the Cops for Cancer riders, where staff and student heads are shaved for fundraising. Since 2020, the Remembrance Day Service has been held in the Quad. More recently, it is where the Grad luncheon is served on Closing Day. In addition to these scheduled events, the Quad offers a pleasant place to throw a ball or just relax, and at various times throughout the year, School BBQs are hosted in this space.
The iron gates gracing the School entrance were a gift from Dr. Peter Banks, a long-time and very active member of the Board of Governors, later serving as Chairman from 1985-1993. The gates were brought from England. Before they could be installed, permission was obtained to change access to the School entrance from Renfrew Road. The ribbon cutting was November 9, 1979.
The story of the School's Robotics cannot be told without mentioning the student behind its genesis: Dennis Ren. In 2012, Dennis arrived part way through Grade 9 with an abundance of curiosity and confidence. His ambitious projects became more and more dangerous, including an electromagnetic nail gun and a crossbow built from scratch, and a Tesla coil that sent sparks flying across the Hobbies Building. Sympathetic but concerned staff enjoyed his inventive spirit, but felt some urgency to find a safe outlet for his creative intellect and so steered him toward a new robotics competition in the area. A few other students jumped on board and voila! The Robot Club was born.
Marina Musleh ’24 (Renfrew) donated this shirt to Shawnigan Lake School as a way to thank the community for providing her with what she claims to be “the path that changed my whole life direction in a very positive way.”
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.