Statue of John Deighton

The statue of John Deighton, also known as "Gassy Jack", is installed in Vancouver's Gastown neighborhood, in British Columbia, Canada.[1][2] It stands at the intersection of Carrall and Water streets.

Statue of John Deighton
The statue in 2003
SubjectJohn Deighton
LocationVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates49.283322°N 123.104257°W / 49.283322; -123.104257

History

Deighton (November 1830 – May 23, 1875) was a Canadian bar owner who was born in Hull, England. He traveled to California and then New Caledonia (now British Columbia, Canada) as a gold prospector, before operating bars in New Westminster and later on the south side of Burrard Inlet.[3] The area later became known as Gastown after him.

The statue was commissioned in 1970 by a group of Gastown developers.[1] It is located near where Deighton had operated the Globe Saloon.

On June 16, 2020, the statue was splattered with red paint amidst growing calls to remove statues honoring colonialist or racist individuals. Activists cited Deighton's marriage to a 12 year old Squamish girl named Quahail-ya as the reason for its removal.[4] A petition calling for its removal garnered over 1,500 signatures.[4][5]

References
  1. "Pioneer Maple Tree Monument to Captain John Deighton". Vancouver Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019.
  2. Sciarpelletti, Laura (June 30, 2019). "Indigenous activists say the story of Gassy Jack is missing sordid details". CBC News. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  3. Hull, Raymond; Ruskin, Olga (1971). Gastown's Gassy Jack. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Gordon Soules Economic Research. ISBN 0919574017.
  4. Britten, Liam (June 16, 2020). "Vancouver's Gassy Jack statue defaced, petition calls for its removal". CBC News. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  5. Judd, Amy. "Vandals target Vancouver's Gassy Jack statue, considered a symbol of Indigenous oppression". Global News. globalnews.ca. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
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