Beacon of Maritime Safety

During its heyday, the Brockton Point Lighthouse played a key role in guiding ships safely in and out of Coal Harbour. Built in 1890, the first lighthouse alerted ships to shore-related dangers and warned them of impending storms. The lighthouse keeper ran the fog bell, kept the lanterns lit, fired the Nine O'clock Gun, and hoisted signals on the storm warning mast 182 metres off Brockton Point, raising a wicker cone for a forecasted westerly gale and adding a wicker pot for a heavy gale warning. The current lighthouse replaced the original in 1915, and although it was decommissioned in 2005 and no longer serves as a formal aid to navigation, it remained associated with the work of keeper Davy Jones, who rescued many people in the harbour and received a Canadian government gold medal in 1907 for his rescue efforts. Jones lived in a cottage across Park Drive until 1930, where he raised flowers for the Military Hospitals Commission during the First World War. The cottage was torn down during the 1950s after the light's automation and the onset of modern ship navigation ended the need for a keeper. Before industry dominated Burrard Inlet, marine mammals such as killer and pilot whales, porpoises, dolphins, California sea lions, harbour seals, and perhaps humpback whales were regular sights in these waters, while today harbour seals and river otters may still be seen, with rare sightings of killer whales and sea lions.

British Columbia · Canada