People uprooted from Woodfibre (301)

Woodfibre (formerly Britannia West), on Howe Sound, was established as a company town in 1912, when the BC Pulp and Paper Company built a mill. A second mill was built in 1920 by the Whalen Pulp and Paper Company. Woodfibre became a highly isolated yet important pulp-producing community that was only accessible by water. Every month, a Japanese freighter docked to recieve pulp. The hazardous task of loading the pulp was completed by Japanese Canadian worker and resulted in at least one death.

Japanese Canadians, primarily single men, made up roughly half of Woodfibre’s population of about 1,000. They arrived during the First World War, and the numbers of men working in the mills grew from fifty-nine in 1918 to 230 by 1930 before declining to 157 in 1934. Most were employed by the BC Pulp and Paper Company and lived in ethnically segregated bunkhouses and family houses.

Despite segregation, there were frequent baseball games between the Japanese Canadians and white residents. The community held events throughout the year, including Sumo wrestling tournaments and the Annual Christmas Variety show. By 1940, Woodfibre had a Japanese Language School and a kendo dojo.