Great Fire of Vancouver - Survivors speak - Black Sunday in Gastown - June 13th 1886

On June 13th 1966 CBC Radio interviewed five survivors of the fire 80 years earlier. The audio is very clear, it does not sound like a broadcast for the mid 60s.
Honestly, I am blown away that this audio exists.
The fire started in the slash piles being burned by the CPR to clear the West End. The wind was strong and the whole town was burned down in 45 minutes.
Vancouver was not much at the time, but it was clear it was going to be a major port because it was the end of the line for CP.
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More information at this link:
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Vancouver seniors:
Mrs. John MacKee
Mrs. W.M. Drainey
Mrs. Gertrude E. Gao
Mrs. Eliza Jane Beach
Alex M. Matheson
Written and produced by Bill Herbert
Narration by Bill Herbert and Bob Switzer
Research by Heimey Koshovoy
Technical operation and tape editing by Omar Winton.
Images and audio are public domain
The raw audio file is at this link:
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[@gmikoner]

Wonderful to have a vocal record of first hand accounts of the very beginnings of our city. Amazing.

[@BCHistory]

WHen I first found the broadcast my brain could not compute that there were still people alive who had experienced the Great Fire. I was not quite one at the time of this broadcast

[@lmiddleman]

This is very cool. The character of Major Matthews' voice was rather unexpected. One questions whether tiny, fledgling Vancouver actually had as many as 3000 residents at the time of the fire. The 1887 Vancouver directory, available at the VPL website, claimed the Feb 1886 population was 300.

[@BCHistory]

I know, that voice for Mahor Matthews is not pleasant. The directory would have the estanlished population, which was likely low. What the population was with the loggers and railway workers all coming to town? And all the construction workers - there was a lot of building going on. Also, with 5 survivors, all of whom must have been 85+, it speaks to there being a much larger population in 1886

[@KyleEricksonPoetry1617]

What a great find 👍. 137 years ago just the other day.

[@BCHistory]

Yes indeed!

[@alecksfawth]

yeah, audio is great

[@colinyandon6137]

GREAT FIRE? I mean, it was a pretty good fire, but...

[@BCHistory]

Most of the new town was up in smoke, but the town was real small