Mural #16 Chinese Bull Gang

Many Chinese people had been enticed to the west coast of Canada as labourers in the late 1800’s. A number settled in Chemainus with the promise of steady work in the lumber industry. In the painting, twenty-three men of the Chinese “Bull Gang” struggle to move a huge timber through the lumber yard to a sailing vessel. Planks laid in front of the wheels of the cart provided a smooth track. The mural is based on a photograph from the Victoria Lumber & Manufacturing Company at the turn of the century.