Royal Oakland Park

Another Sunday - with a specific destination in mind this time. It took a couple of tries but we got there.

Royal Oakland Park in Burnaby by Deer Lake.

A bit of history about the area we visited that is now known as The Royal Oakland Park - long discending/ascending staircase - depending on your starting point, with a very cool water art installation at the top of the stairs.

The Oakalla Prison Farm (also known as the Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre or LMRCC) once occupied the site. It was a model prison farm on 185 acres of land next to Deer Lake in Burnaby. The prison had its own dairy, vegetable gardens and livestock.

It first opened in 1912 and was designed to hold 150 men and women (maximum). In 1916, the women's section officially opened. (By the 1950s, the population was well over 1000).

In 1942 the women's unit, became a whole separate facility and was renamed in 1979 to the "Lakeside Correctional Centre for Women".

Executions in British Columbia were primarily carried out in Oakalla. There were 44 prisoners hanged at Oakalla between 1919 and 1959.

The last execution in British Columbia took place at Oakalla in 1959 - a former sailor Leo Mantha aged 33 was hanged.

A Crime of Passion. Hanged for simply being gay.

On, Sept. 6, 1958, Aaron “Bud” Jenkins was stabbed to death as he slept in the barracks at Esquimalt’s naval base.

To read more, go to https://globalnews.ca/news/5238533/leo-mantha-last-bc-execution/

There were bloody riots in the 80s and a mass escape in 1987, and by 1991 Oakalla Prison was closed down.

To read more about the riots and escapes, go to https://globalnews.ca/news/4414861/oakalla-prison-riot-escape/

The site was turned into a new residential housing development and the Royal Oakland park was expanded.

When Oakalla closed, prisoners were moved to various other Correctional Facilities in British Columbia, consisting of but not limited to, Vancouver Pretrial Services Centre (VPSC), Fraser Regional (FRCC), Alouette Regional Correctional Centre (ARCC) (Later Alouette Correctional Centre for Women).

Oh, and we stopped briefly at the New Westminster Works Yard to look at some odd looking trees. [the droopy ones are possibly Weeping Nootka Cypress]

So, some images of what stands on the spot now and some odd looking trees . . .