Ship`s mast restored at RRU
Goldstream News Gazette, Wednesday, September 24, page A3.
(Photo caption: Scott Clements vice-chair of the Royal Roads University Foundation, says the ships mast is only the start of bringing historical atrtifacts back to campus.)
Eighty feet of Royal Roads history is set straight.
With a fresh coat of paint, a ship’s mastwas officially unveiled Sept. 14. The various
ropes and pulleys were designed to hold the Canadian flag and up to six pendants
marking the presence of naval officers and other dignitaries on campus.
The mast was first put up in 1942 when the property was home to the Royal Canadian Naval College. It remained standing beside Hatley Castle until 1996.
The property became home to Royal Roads University and demands on rentals for the castle brought the orders to remove the mast, said Paul Arsenault, RRU construction program manager. When Hatley Castle was rented out for the filming of XMen the mast didn’t fit in with the production company’s vision, he said.
“It laid horizontal for a little over 11 years,” he said.
Members of the RRU military heritage committee identified the mast as their first restoration project on campus, explained Scott Clements, RRU Foundation vice-chair.
The mast, in its new location, is a marriage of past and future, he said. It’s also a
clear symbol that Royal Roads University is dedicated to honouring the property’s heritage.
It took three months to restore the mast.
Layers of lead-based paint were scraped off, pulleys and other metal parts oiled and ropes replaced. The majority of the wood is original, Arsenault said.
“That is the wood that was put up in 1942,” he said, although a few pieces had to be replaced due to rot.
The mast was relocated to the former vice-commandant’s house on campus. The site can be clearly seen from the water, said RRU president Allan Cahoon, which is a tribute to the men and women currently serving in the navy.
“It will be viewed from the strait (of Juan de Fuca) by our naval service men and women as they leave for duty,” he said.
The location will see further development as the Robert Batemen Art and Environmental Education Centre is constructed nearby, drawing more people to the wooded part of campus.
It is the hope of the military heritage committee that other artifacts, including a naval bell, will be restored and brought back to campus, Clements said.
