Billy Barker

(Image from BC Archives A-01144)

Ever since the visit to Barkerville, I have been wanting to find out more about Billy Barker who found Gold at Barkerville.

Billy Barker was born in Cornwall England and came to Canada in 1858. He was a Canal operator in England and with the arrival of trains, the water travel was becoming less popular. Barker went to US first, hoping to strike gold at the California Gold rush, he then moved to Canada.

In 1861, a party led by William "Dutch Bill", found gold in a stream up the Fraser river and they named it Williams Creek in Dutch Bill's honor.
Most of the mining activity was confined to the portion of the creek above the canyon where gold was found at a shallow depth. Billy Barker was planning to stake the area around Williams creek, but all the available land was staked around the creek. He decided to stake the area where Barkerville is right now, a decision that was laughed at by everyone. Because that area was downstream beneath the canyon. Everyone knew there wouldn't be any gold there. He was the instant fool of Barkerville.

Billy Barker continued to dig in search of gold and he found none. He decided to dig one last time before calling it quits. He dug 40 feet, 50, feet and at 52 feet he hit pay dirt. A single pan yielded gold that was worth $5 and withing 48 hours they managed to get 1700gm of gold(today's equivalent of 8 million dollar worth of gold!)

There has been many stories about Billy Barker. One says he used to sing when he entered a saloon

"I'm English Bill,

Never worked and never will,

Get away girls,

Or I'll tousle your curls!"

Within days Barkerville was the town, the population swelled from 10 to 4000 in a short span. Barkerville suddenly became famous.

Billy Barker remarried and the legend is that his wife enjoyed spending the money! Billy Barker never striked gold again and when the money ran out, so did the wife.

Billy Barker died as a pauper in an old age home in Victoria. He died on July 11, 1896

BC Archives images of BarkerVille

Day 1: Barkerville

If you are ever planning to take a trip down Alaska highway, there is one book you must have. MILEPOST. For a directionally challenged person like me, milepost was a saviour. I knew where the camp sites were, where the tourism info centers were and even all the dangerous corners from that book.

From Vancouver we took the Fraser Canyon route( aka Cariboo gold rush trail/old Cariboo wagon road).

Cariboo gold rush trail was built in 1865 and at that time it was known as the 8 th wonder of the world because the trail was impassable by any living 'animal' but man!

It is one of the most scenic drive and the scenery changes from deciduous forests to ever green forest to nearly arid condition by the time you reach Cache creek. Few km before reaching Cache creek, the road is very close to Thomson river and I love the view of crystal clear water.

On the highway before reaching the town there is a sign board that says "caution mountain goats" and this was my 5th trip to Cache creek and I haven't seen a single mountain goat! However I did see handsome Cowboys while looking for the mountain goats!

Filled up Petrol at the shell station in Cache creek and picked up few route maps to Barkerville from the tourism info center. Kids had ice cream and mama stole a bit from each of them on the pretext of tasting to see whose is better!

Initially I was planning to camp at Quesnel, but we had to visit Barkerville and it made more sense to camp near to Barkerville. We reached Barkerville around 7.30pm and looked around for a camp site. All the govt campsites were full and then I found a campsite run by the Barkerville Historical society. It costs 16$/night and the best part?? FREE SHOWER!!

We ate pasta for dinner and Yaya helped to wash the dishes.

In the night the temperature dropped to 2 degrees! It was cold and I had to use the Coleman catalytic heater. I was a bit afraid of bears and every time something moved outside my tent, my heart would start pounding. Eventually I slept off. Some time in the night I noticed toothless running like a mad cow inside the tent and trying to open the windows. I asked him, what happend?

He started to hop up and down and I knew he needed to pee. There was no way I was going to walk to the wash room that was another 200 meters away. So I made him a new member of SUAES (Society for Uric Acid Enrichment of the Soil)..

I woke up around 8Am. ( I didn't want to. My sleeping bag was very cozy and comfortable, but the kids, they were jealous..they just don't like to see their mom sleeping.. First they started singing Malaysian National anthem(out of tune, often with the addition of new words), I ignored it, Then they decided to see who can bounce higher on the air bed( my blood pressure was increasing by the nano second. I paid 80$ for that bed!!) and finally they decided to climb inside my sleeping bag. That was it. I got up just like a mama bear about to growl and together they said Good morning mama, We love you. Ah the kids!!!, they know how to manipulate me and I fall for all their schemes! As soon as I smiled, toothless asked as though he was waiting for the cue

"What is for breakfast?" I really wanted to tell him nintey ammayi appantey thala..but I controlled!

We ate cereal and then realized we didn't brush our teeth!

While kids went to brush their teeth, I cooked rice and curry for lunch. Whoever invented Minute rice is a genius. I boiled the water, added the rice and switched it off. Curry was Gits sambhar.. I packed the lunch in a thermo pack, so we could eat in the car.

Then we packed up the tent. By the time we left the camp ground it was around 11.30 pm.

We headed to Barkerville historic town. Admission costs $29.75.

Kids absolutely enjoyed the town. Toothless even made friends with one of the boys in costume, who was acting the part of a junior miner who has come to town to buy some food!

We ate apple crisp, doughnuts and more ice cream from the bakery.

The Town( all the buildings are from the 18th century)

Costumes are also from the same period

St. Saviour's Church. Absolutely beautiful building

Mama and Yaya

Anaesthesia!!

Chinese people came to Barkerville in the 18th century( people from the same province also came to Malaya at that time in seach of Gold and minerals)

Original Barkerville school.

Toothless was fascinated with the scarecrow

Why did I do it?

I have been trying to answer that question since I came back. Was it for me? Was it for the kids? I am not really sure.
Before I started the journey, my only experience with camping was the short camping trips I do with my kids, plus staying at the Vidette during Christmas holidays last year.
Apart from that, I was a member of the girl guides.
I must tell that, I hated every bit of girl guides. I was forced to join them because my mother thought I needed the 10 bonus marks you get being a state level guide to pass my SSLC public exam.( She had that much faith in my abilities!!)
First of all, the guides meet on every Friday afternoon and Baker Memorial school where I did my schooling had long lunch break on Fridays(1 to 2.30 pm, because the teachers all had to go for prayer meeting). It is the day when all the girls get to play for a very long time after lunch.
Secondly I had to learn a lot of stuff in English and at the age of 10, I didn't even know to write my own address in English without making a mistake! Imagine attending a meeting on a Friday when all your friends are busy playing and add to that I had to learn oaths and laws in English!
In the first week after joining I had to write girl guide exam. We had to write the guide laws and I couldn't remember the guide laws and instead of writing girl guide is loyal for the 2nd law, I wrote a girl guide is beautiful!!. I still can remember my senior named Lalitha running to the guide leader(Ms.Job) and showing her my answer sheet and both of them laughing their heart out.. Oh how I hated the girl guides!( not to mention all the knots I had to learn, all the badges I had to earn.. all for 10 marks!!)
Any way every summer holidays Amma would pack me off to attend some guiding camps. Though I hated the guides, I enjoyed the camps. Anything that took me out of home was worth every bit of struggle.Even it involved the whole battalion was laughing at you because you were only one who couldn't get morse code right! At the camps I learned how to pitch a tent and basic survival skills.
Almost 30 years ago My father subscribed a magazine called world construction. I couldn't read it because it was in English. But I always liked to see all the pictures of yellow coloured machines. One day my father was reading the magazine and I climbed on his lap, so I too can see the pictures. He was reading about Alaska Highway and showed me the picture of Alaska Highway. He told me how it was built and may be because the way he explained, the word Alaska highway was always in my head. I wanted to see the highway and I told my father that.
He told me "One day you will".
And I knew one day I will..
And I did it, with three kids and the money I saved since I came to Canada by doing catering orders and the experience gained from attending girl guide camps.

Yeah We did it!

Back home safe and sound.

We travelled a total of 5790km.(Vancouver to Whitehorse(Yukon)and back

Car(see the amount of bugs that committed kamikaze on the bumper??)

Home

will update the blog tomorrow