This is an abridged version of an article by Chris Hives, "The Great Trek: The student pilgrimage that came to define a university", that appeared in Trek ( Spring 2001 )
The pilgrimage ended with the dedication of the cairn that still stands on campus (lower right) . Commissioned by the students before the "Great Trek" it was fittingly the first structure to be completed on the new campus. Ab Richards expressed the hope that "very soon around our cairn of rocks buildings will rise and a university will bring honour and glory to our Alma Mater and renown to our Province and Dominion."
Student organization of the Great Trek and the entire publicity campaign represents a remarkable, but not isolated, chapter in UBC's history. Subsequent student initiatives led to the construction of several campus buildings including the Gymnasium (1929), Brock Hall (1940), Armoury (1941), War Memorial Gymnasium (1951) and the Student Union Building (1968). Although perhaps not on the scale of the Great Trek, these initiatives too, helped define the University.
Other Virtual Displays || University Archives
- This event has passed.
Great Trek 100th Anniversary + Time Capsule
On October 28, 1922 the students of UBC marched through Vancouver to Point Grey to pressure the government to resume construction of the university and the government agreed. The Great Trek as it was later called is quite possibly the greatest example of student activism at UBC.
On October 28, 2022 we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the trek at the Great Trek Cairn on Mail Mall.
We’ll also be opening up the 50th Anniversary Time Capsule following the ceremony and sealing a new capsule.
- Google Calendar
- Outlook 365
- Outlook Live
Departments
Most of today's university undergraduates were born in the 2000s. Like every generation before them, their formative years are being influenced by a distinct set of social conditions, significant events, opportunities, and challenges. What's it like to be a student today? What do Gen Z want from university? And how are universities helping them prepare for their (and our) futures?
alumni UBC’s afterwords is a digital conversation series that shares the stories of some of UBC Okanagan’s extraordinary alumni.
UBC grads defining the future
News from your old classmates
One pressing question. Multiple expert perspectives.
Lives and legacies
Insider travel tips from alumni around the world.
We need more contact with the natural world if we really hope to preserve it.
A non-credit test of your UBC smarts
A glance into UBC’s past
More show, less tell
Q&As featuring well-known individuals with a UBC connection
The Great Trek
By Chris Hives | 9 MIN | October 05, 2015
On September 22, 1925, the university held its first classes at the new Point Grey campus. The move from the site of what is now the Vancouver General Hospital to Point Grey was an important part of UBC’s history, but that was not in and of itself the story. The real story was the massive student‑conceived and executed publicity campaign that convinced the government to provide funds to build the university and move it from its overcrowded facilities at the Fairview site. The campaign culminated in the Pilgrimage, or what we now call the Great Trek.
The Legislature had approved funds to clear the 175‑acre site at Point Grey in 1913, and work began on the Science Building the following summer. However, the First World War began soon after the concrete and steel framework began to take shape, and with the diversion of resources to the war effort, the government stopped construction. The bare girders of the Science Building would serve as a monument to the unrealized vision of the Point Grey campus for almost a decade.
Everyone viewed the use of the shacks at Fairview as an exigency measure and hoped that work would soon resume at Point Grey. But with a depleted treasury, the provincial government did not consider the university a high priority. UBC spent its first decade at Fairview. Unfortunately, President Wesbrook died shortly before the armistice in 1918. He was replaced by Dean of Agriculture Leonard Klinck.
The inadequacy of the Fairview facilities became increasingly apparent with each passing year. Between 1916 and 1922 UBC enrolment expanded by 211 per cent (from 378 to 1,178), while the capacity of the buildings grew by only 25 per cent. The wards of a small three‑floor former hospital building made reasonably good classrooms, while the rest of the facilities, including the Auditorium, offices and lecture rooms, were housed in old army shacks. Additional space had to be found as the number of students grew. Professors held agriculture classes in a private residence, French classes in the basement of a church unused by its congregation during the week, and chemistry classes in the famous chemistry tent erected on the site. Professors often had to repeat their lectures several times because not enough adequate classroom space existed and neither students nor faculty members had proper laboratory facilities. The Auditorium, used for general assemblies, held only 650 people. But the close quarters and relatively small student numbers produced a cohesive and united student body, and a strong sense of community between students and faculty. This spirit set the stage for the events of 1922.
Professors held agriculture classes in a private residence, French classes in the basement of a church unused by its congregation during the week, and chemistry classes in the famous chemistry tent erected on the site. Professors often had to repeat their lectures several times because not enough adequate classroom space existed.
By the spring of 1922, students began organizing a campaign to generate support for the resumption of construction at Point Grey. Returned war veteran and AMS president‑elect Albert “Ab” Richards (Class of ‘23) became leader of the “Build the University” campaign. As a first step in what would become a massive and well‑organized undertaking, students were asked to take petitions back to their hometowns in the summer and collect at least 25 signatures. The petition read, in part: “... we the undersigned humbly petition the Government of the Province of British Columbia to institute a definite and progressive policy toward the University of British Columbia, and to take immediate action toward the erection of permanent buildings on the chosen University site at Point Grey.” While students collected signatures at home, the Publicity Campaign Committee consisting of Richards, Marjorie Agnew, Percy Barr, J.V. Clyne, Allan H. Finlay, Jack Grant, and Aubrey Roberts co‑ordinated activities in Vancouver and organized meetings with service clubs and business leaders to promote their cause.
Students returned in the fall with 17,000 signatures on their petitions. Leaders felt that the numbers, though impressive, were not enough to convince the government to take action. As part of Varsity Week (October 22‑28), the students conducted a door‑to‑door canvas in Vancouver to increase the number of signatures. They divided the city with each class responsible for canvassing in specific sections. Just prior to the Vancouver canvas, a special edition of the Ubyssey provided students with facts and figures they could use in promoting the cause. The instructions also made clear that the success of this exercise depended on every student doing his or her part, and reminded them that as representatives of the university their behaviour would have an effect on public opinion. At the end of the organized petition blitz, students had collected 56,000 signatures. Students also solicited support from service agencies and other organizations. During Varsity Week, many store windows included displays and posters supporting the campaign. Newspapers, too, carried stories about the campaign as the students established their own news service to send regular campaign updates throughout the province. President Klinck observed:
No effort on the part of the authorities has ever attracted the attention of the public as has the campaign now being carried on by the students for removal of the University to Point Grey. Their enthusiasm is contagious. Everywhere one goes questions are asked as to the progress of the campaign and the best wishes are expressed for the success of the movement. The initiative, resource and energy with which the canvas is being prosecuted has caught and fired the imagination of men and women in all parts of the province.” (The Ubyssey , 17 October 1922)
At Granville and Davie the students boarded trolley buses provided by BC Electric Railway and rode to the end of the line at 10th Avenue and Sasamat. They continued on foot along what was little more than a wagon trail to the Point Grey campus.
As the student campaign neared its end, only one critical event remained. The Pilgrimage (the term Great Trek would be coined some 25 years later) was set to end Varsity Week on Saturday, October 28. Nearly 1,200 students showed up, along with banners and placards, floats and a marching band. The procession began at the east end of the Georgia viaduct and made its way through downtown Vancouver along Main, Hastings and Granville. At Granville and Davie, the students boarded trolley buses provided by BC Electric Railway and rode to the end of the line at 10th Avenue and Sasamat. They continued on foot along what was little more than a wagon trail to the Point Grey campus. Along the way students continued to sing and chant. Lyrics for one of the official marching songs composed for the event conveyed their sentiments.
We’re through with tents and hovels, We’re done with shingle stain, That’s why we want you to join us And carry our Campaign. The Government can’t refuse us No matter what they say, For we’ll get the people voting For our new home at Point Grey.
The students gathered on the west side of the skeleton of the Science Building and then climbed the concrete stairs to take their place. That symbolic occupation and the familiar formation of the letters “UBC” with student bodies were staged so they could be recorded for posterity by newsreel cameramen conveniently attending the event.
The Pilgrimage ended with the dedication of the cairn that still stands on Main Mall in front of the Chemistry Building. Students threw stones in the hollow centre of the structure that had been designed by the university architects and built from rocks gathered on the campus site. It was fitting that the students completed the first structure at Point Grey. Richards expressed the hope that “very soon around our Cairn of rock buildings will rise and a university will be established which will bring honour and glory to our Alma Mater and renown to our Province and Dominion.”
In the week following the Pilgrimage, a student delegation of Richards, Grant, Clyne and Barr packed the 56,000‑name petition in seven suitcases and on November 1 met with the cabinet and the Legislature in Victoria. Captain Ian Mackenzie, a Vancouver MLA and an active supporter of the campaign introduced the delegation, and six page‑boys hauled the petition roles into the House. Then Richards addressed the Legislature. This persuasive presentation and obvious public support helped convince the provincial government to resume work on the Point Grey campus and within a week the premier announced that the government would secure a $1.5 million loan to proceed. These funds completed the Science Building and built the Library and powerhouse according to the original plans. Completed in 1923 and 1925 respectively, the Science Building and Library stood as impressive but isolated structures on the stark campus. In the spring of 1924, work began on six new frame and stucco “semi‑permanent” buildings to house Agriculture, Applied Science, Arts, the Auditorium, and the administration.
On September 22, 1925, 1,400 students crowded into the Auditorium and stood for the university’s first inaugural general assembly. The campus to which the students travelled on that day was significantly less grandiose than that envisaged in the original 1914 plans. Only a few modest buildings dotted the landscape, there were no trees or grass, and roads and sidewalks were still under construction. Students had no playing fields or gymnasium, piles of construction debris littered the campus and mud and dust were everywhere. Despite these shortcomings, this was the university campus that the students had, with single‑minded determination, worked so hard to achieve.
Student involvement in the Great Trek and the entire publicity campaign represents a remarkable, but not isolated, chapter in UBC’s history. The events of 1922 should be viewed as the beginning of a trend. Subsequent student initiatives led to the construction of several campus buildings including the Gymnasium (1929), Brock Hall (1940), Armoury (1941), War Memorial Gymnasium (1951) and the Student Union Building (1968). Although perhaps not on the scale of the Great Trek, these initiatives too, helped define the university.
A version of this article was published in the inaugural issue of Trek magazine in 2001.
Selected Stories
AMS celebrates 100 years since Great Trek, digs up 50-year-old time capsule and buries new one
The AMS unearthed a 1972 time capsule and put a new one in its place celebrating the Great Trek this Friday. The event took place at the Great Trek Cairn on Main Mall and included speeches from notable former AMS executives on the importance of student activism.
The event marked the 100 year anniversary of the Great Trek, a protest organized in 1922 by the AMS to push the government to start construction on UBC’s current campus. Students gathered 56,000 signatures before the AMS president at the time led protesters from Fairview to the half-built Chemistry Building in what is now the Point Grey campus. This, along with AMS advocacy in Victoria, pushed the provincial government to commit $1.5 million to the new campus .
“[This day] marks the anniversary of the first big win that students ever had on this campus," said AMS President Eshana Bhangu.
1972/73 AMS President Gordon Blankstein's speech before the capsule was unearthed touched on 1972 tuition and living costs, music performances from the likes of Billy Joel and Frank Zappa and other notorious accounts of his time at UBC, putting the 50 - year time difference in perspective.
“I'm a little terrified of what might be in the time capsule," said Blankstein. "I hope there's nothing offensive to anybody because it was definitely different times."
Event speakers dug up the time capsules, and current students opened it. It included several magazines and newspapers from the day, including a copy of The Ubyssey . It also had a student registration list, some postcards and an invitation and the menu from the 1972 Great Trek Ceremony to bury the capsule.
There was also a copy of an engineering publication The Red Rag which Bhangu described as "PG-13 content."
All the items will be displayed in the AMS archives on the third floor of the Nest.
Reflections on a colonial past
The Great Trek, while an iconic moment of student activism at UBC, was colonial in nature — a fact speakers at the ceremony didn't shy away from.
“[The Great Trek] only perpetuated the idea that what is now BC and what is now Vancouver what is now UBC was empty land free for the taking, and also further excluded our people from this type of decision making,” said Jordan Wilson, a representative for Musqueam Indian Band.
Wilson said he believes the relationship between the university and Musqeuam has changed for the better.
“On first glance, [Musqueam house posts and artwork] might seem like window dressing or decoration. But to my mind, these initiatives . . . speak to the way the relationship [between UBC and the Musqueam Nation] is transforming.”
Wilson put photos of significant events with Musqueam people at UBC, a booklet about the history of Musqueam and Indigenous communities along with an orange shirt that says ‘Every Child Matters’ in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, the Musqueam language, into the new time capsule.
Kim Campbell, former prime minister and former AMS executive also spoke at the event about the privilege of interacting with students from different faculties during her time working for the AMS. She also mentioned the importance of thinking and advocating for beyond our own time.
“Can we develop that way of thinking as the Great Trekers did in a way to try [and] create something that they would not live to see?” said Campbell.
Herb Dhaliwal, former minister of natural resources and VP finance of the AMS, addressed students in particular, speaking on how consequential student activism is.
“Education is very important but you need to get involved in all the other issues and participate. You can make a difference,” said Dhaliwal.
New time capsule to be opened in 2072
Along with the Musqueam items, every undergraduate society placed objects into the new time capsule. UBC also contributed an alumni UBC strategic plan, a letter from Santa Ono and a bow tie.
Some notable undergraduate society additions included locally-sourced honey from the Land and Food Systems Undergraduate Society, a resume and cover letter from the Commerce Undergraduate Society describing the faculty's current programs and the Engineering Undergraduate Society’s signature letterman jacket — along with some secret objects in its pockets.
The AMS added menus from all its current food outlets, a KN95 mask, a copy of The Hundred-Year Trek by AMS Archivist Sheldon Goldfarb and letters from students. After the ceremony, they added a copy of The Ubyssey.
"I think it was really cool to see how easy it was to differentiate between the items. . . It's very team pride,” said Kinesiology Undergraduate Society Ivran Rai after the event.
The new time capsule will not be opened for another 50 years — in 2072.
Bhangu closed the event by calling on future students to continue the work of student advocacy.
“I think this is a testament to student advocacy and student activism, and we really, really hope the next 50 years bring so much more of this.”
- Arts & Humanities
- Business, Law & Society
- Science, Health & Technology
- University News
- Services for Journalists
- Services for Faculty
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
Event: UBC students to celebrate Great Trek by opening time capsule from 1972
Media advisories.
Oct 28, 2022 | For more information, contact Eric Lowe
UBC students will commemorate the 100 th anniversary of the Great Trek by opening a time capsule buried by students 50 years ago.
The Great Trek was a student-led march on Oct. 28, 1922, that prompted the government to resume construction of the Point Grey campus after it had been stalled by the First World War.
The time capsule was buried on the occasion of the 50 th anniversary in 1972. Today, a new capsule will be sealed for future students to open.
Event: Great Trek 100 th Anniversary Celebration and Time Capsule
Date/Time: Friday, Oct. 28, 1 p.m.
Location: Great Trek Cairn, outside 2036 Main Mall, UBC ( Map )
Parking: Nearest parkade is Rose Garden Parkade, 6278 NW Marine Dr. ( Map )
Event speakers
- Jordan Wilson, Musqueam representative
- Eshana Bhangu, president, UBC Alma Mater Society (host)
- John Metras, UBC interim vice-president, operations
- Kim Campbell, former prime minister and former AMS second vice-president, frosh president
- Joyce Murray, MP, Vancouver Quadra, minister of fisheries, oceans and coast guard
- Herb Dhaliwal, former MP, South Vancouver-Burnaby
- Gordon Blankstein, 1972-73 AMS executive
Interviews will be available following the event.
Assignment editors: Please arrive at least 20 minutes early to set up cameras.
Find other stories about: Alma Mater Society , Great Trek , time capsule , UBC students
Eric Lowe Senior Communications and Marketing Manager, AMS of UBC Cel: 604-318-8454 Email: [email protected]
Find UBC Experts
An information source that gives journalists access to UBC’s expertise.
Tweets by @ubcnews
- Your Profile
- Your Subscriptions
- Your Business
- Support Local News
- Payment History
- Sign up for Daily Headlines
- Sign up for Notifications
A 50-year-old time capsule will be opened in Vancouver this week
- Share by Email
- Share on Facebook
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share via Text Message
A 50-year-old time capsule will be dug up on the UBC Vancouver campus and its contents are a complete mystery.
Friday (Oct. 28) will mark the 100th anniversary of the Great Trek, one of the greatest examples of student activism at UBC. The massive student protest took place on Oct. 28 in 1922.
UBC Great Trek time capsule: What's inside?
On the 50th anniversary of the Great Trek , a time capsule was buried on campus on Oct. 19 in 1972.
Now, a half-century later, the time capsule will be opened and replaced with a new capsule, which will be opened in another 50 years, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Great Trek.
It will also help "get a sense of what was happening on campus [and] what was important enough to students to put in the time capsule," says a media spokesperson from UBC's AMS Student Society.
The original 1972 time capsule was seemingly buried in a cement-filled hole and had to be pre-dug for the event. "I promise you we haven't peeked into it," they assure.
The new capsule is made of fiberglass, has a plastic lid, and is 28 inches tall and 14 inches in diameter, making it bigger than the preceding capsule.
AMS Student Society invites UBC students to write letters to themselves via an online form or by dropping off hand-written letters in a mailbox outside of the AMS office. "If we have too many letters we will bury a second capsule beside this one," says the spokesperson.
Students can also suggest several items that will go into the new capsule and can vote for the top three of five items selected.
100th anniversary of the Great Trek
On Oct. 28 1922 around 98 per cent of the UBC student body (just under 1,200 people at the time) marched from their temporary campus at Fairview Slopes to the chemistry building at UBC to pressure the government to resume construction of the Point Grey campus.
The efforts were interrupted by the First World War and, after, when Fairview student residencies became overcrowded, students gathered around 56,000 signatures for a petition with which they marched again (in what is now called the Great Trek) to the chemistry building at UBC. In the end, it worked and the government agreed to fund the completion of the campus.
A century later, AMS Student Society invites students along with Musqueam representatives, the former Prime Minister of Canada, Kim Campbell, presidents of undergrad societies, and politicians, to reopen the capsule and commemorate the historical event.
Five students will be drawn to open the time capsule and see what's inside.
The anniversary and time capsule event will take place at the Great Trek Cairn outside of the chemistry building at UBC at 1 p.m. on Oct. 28.
- Oldest Newest
This has been shared 0 times
Featured Flyer
- Library Home
- General (Summon)
- Books & Media (Catalogue)
- Indexes, Databases & Articles
- Research Guides
- UBC Research
- UBC Open Collections
- UBC Vancouver
- Asian Library
- Biomedical Branch Library
- Chapman Learning Commons Help Desk
- David Lam Management Research Library
- Education Library
- Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
- Koerner Library
- Law Library
- Music, Art and Architecture Library
- Rare Books and Special Collections
- Research Commons
- University Archives
- Woodward Library
- X wi7 x wa Library
- UBC Okanagan
- Okanagan Library
- Special Collections & Archives
- The Commons (Okanagan)
- UBC Virtual
- AskAway Chat Services
- Borrowing Services
- My Library Account
- How to Get Library Access
- See More...
- Electronic Access
- Connect to Library Resources
- OpenAthens Login Overview
- Computers & Technology
- Print, Copy, Scan
- Public Computers & Software
- Group & Silent Study Spaces
- Technology Spaces
- Guides for Library Users
- Undergraduate Students
- Faculty & Instructors
- Planning Your Research
- Getting Started on Your Research
- Finding Resources
- Journal Articles
- Evaluating & Citing Sources
- Evaluating Information Sources
- How to Cite
- Publishing Research
- Getting Started with cIRcle
- Building Your Academic Profile
- Collections
- Policies, Procedures and Guidelines
- Work with Us
- Accessing Library Resources?
- OpenAthens Login
- Add Browser Extension for Access
- Managing Your Account?
- My Library Account Login
- Need Citation Management?
- Citation Management Tools
JavaScript is disabled: Site features and functionality may be limited.
- Library Home /
- Search Collections /
- Open Collections /
- Browse Collections /
- UBC Archives Photograph Collection /
- Great Trek celebration of Cairn
Open Collections
Ubc archives photograph collection, great trek celebration of cairn banham, jim --> -->, item metadata.
- 1.0146141.jpg --
Item Citations and Data
Permanent URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0146141
Download Metadata
Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy or otherwise use these images must be obtained from the UBC Archives: https://archives.library.ubc.ca/contact-us/
TEXTBOOKS AND COURSE MATERIALS
- Instructors
FEATURED BOOK LISTS
- April is Poetry Month!
- Author Events
- New Releases
- Literary Awards
- Our Favourites
- Books about UBC
- Faculty Authors
- Local Authors
- Canadian Authors
- Staff Picks
- Non-Fiction
- Extended Learning
- French Books
- Indigenous Studies & Authors
- Kids & K-12 Education
BOOK SEARCH
Ubc branded stationery.
- Agendas & Calendars
- Binders & Clipboards
- Desk Accessories
- Notebooks & Paper
- Writing Supplies
ART SUPPLIES
- Shop All Art Supplies
GENERAL STATIONERY
- Folders & Filing
- Notebooks & Journals
- Office Supplies
- Paper & Notetaking
MEDICAL & COURSE SUPPLIES
- Course & Lab Supplies
- Lab Coats & PPE
- Medical Supplies
- Okanagan Nursing
DEPARTMENTAL ORDERS
- Departmental Orders Hub
- Order Forms and Online Catalogues
- Custom Gifts & Imprint Services
- Hoodies & Sweaters
- Pants & Shorts
- Women's Fit
- Children/Youth
ACCESSORIES
- Backpacks & Bags
- Headwear & Neckwear
- Socks & Gloves
FACULTY BRANDED
- Allard School of Law
- BC Children's Hospital
- BC Women's Hospital
- Faculty of Arts
- Faculty of Medicine
- Land and Food Systems
- Master of Data Science
- Sauder School of Business
- School of Kinesiology
- Okanagan Heat
- UBCO Master of Social Work
Collections
- Spring Essentials
- Thunderbird
- Customizable Apparel
DISCOUNT PROGRAMS
Ubc branded tech.
- Shop All UBC Branded Tech
CALCULATORS
- Shop All Calculators
COMPUTER ACCESSORIES
- Adapters, Cables & Chargers
- Cases & Stands
- Hard Drives & Data Storage
- Keyboards, Mice & Peripherals
- Webcams & Headsets
PHONE ACCESSORIES
- Shop All Phone Accessories
- Shop All Audio & Headphones
HOME ELECTRONICS
- Batteries & Power
- Networking & Internet
- Printer Supplies
- House Accessories
- UBC Branded Goods
- UBC Signature Collection
- Foods and Souvenirs
- Graduation Gifts
- Greeting Cards & Gift Wrap
CUSTOM GIFTS
- Residence Supplies
- Health & Body Care
- Home, Decor & Garden
- Fitness & Outdoors
- Novelty Items
- Indigenous Designs
- Pet Accessories
- Purchase a UBC Bookstore Gift Card
- Diploma Frames
Graduation Gowns
- Student Gown Rentals
- Faculty Gown Rentals
- Custom University Rings
- Bookstore Directory
- Community Support & Donations
- Return Policy
- Shipping & Returns
Type a keyword into the search bar to find a specific or general book.
Book Search
Faculty specific, ubc-branded stationary, general stationary, 9781772032239 hundred year trek : a history of student life at ubc.
- UBC Bookstore
