The Yee Fung Toy Society of Vancouver

 




回顧百年事

光陰似箭,自從 1858 628 日首批華人來到加拿大西部,而在 1871 年卑詩成為加拿大之省份。 當時,即大約百多年前,我們余氏前輩己組成有孔懷房,後稱武溪房, 設立在温哥華埠佐治東街 300 號地段作為聯誼通訊之用。 及後余氏兄弟不斷增加,而當時到加之華人必經之地 --- 維多利亞埠 --- 即現今卑詩省府所在地,一班余氏父老商量議决于光緒甲辰年即 1904 年成立加拿大第一所風釆堂。

但時移世易,温哥華人流速增,商務發展進步,本族首長早有遠見,幾經東奔西跑,幸得熱心父老出錢出力,終於在 1949 年購下現址。



Building the Yee Fung Toy Society

The founding of the Yee Fung Toy Society (YFTS) 100 years ago was a direct result of Chinese immigration into British Columbia,which began in the 1850s with the discovery of gold in the Fraser valley. Many of these early immigrants came from the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. They sailed to San Francisco but in May of 1858 reports of the discovery of gold sent some of them to Victoria. It is reported that the first Chinese arrived in Victoria on June 28, 1858 (source).

In 1871, as British Columbia entered confederation (and joined the new Dominion of Canada founded in 1867), it had about 3,000 Chinese within its boundaries, mostly men.

Victoria became a centre for Chinese immigrants either on their way into Canada, or on their way back to China. There were enough members of the Yee Family in Victoria that in 1904 they formed an association to help out one another. They provided the most basic of services. In the beginning they would pool their resources to rent a few rooms for extended periods, so that whoever is in town from the gold mines or the railway camps would have a roof over their heads during their stays, no matter how crowded it might get. They might cook some meals together, and pass their leisure time playing Mah Jong and smoking their water pipes. In time the association would save up enough money to buy a small property to serve as permanent quarters for the YFTS in the Victoria Chinatown area.

A similar story took place in Vancouver in terms of developing a Yee Fung Toy House. As the commercial importance of Victoria waned, so did its Chinese population. In 1951 the YFTS was moved to Vancouver Chinatown in its current location at 226 East Georgia Street.

 

Copyright ©2004-2015 Yee Fung Toy Society of Vancouver. All rights reserved. Information subject to change without notice. Last updated on Last updated on 2015-12-17.