Seeman on history uncorked by bottle discovery

Royal Roads University archivist Jenny Seeman appeared on the Ryan Price Show on CFAX 1070 regarding a recent historical find on campus. A set of century-old bottles were found in the ground during construction work on the university’s new Learning and Teaching Auditorium.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

“They found the intact beer bottles about five feet down in the ground… Three of them are from the Victoria Brewing Company, and one is from the Silver Springs Brewery. And a quick Google search shows you the Silver Springs Company was only in operation from 1902 to 1928, so that immediately gives you a time frame they must have come from.

“I immediately did some digging to find out more about where they came from and what it was they would be doing on site. Between 1908 and 1912 the estate was being developed. What I imagine must have happened is there are hundreds of labourers and construction people on site, and they knew the area will be covered with a road, so they start chucking their beer bottles there…

“For me, it’s interesting because it indicates that everyday life that was going on there, and not just the rich and comfortable Dunsmuir family. This was the ordinary people and the ordinary life, and this is evidence of that ordinary life.”

Hear the entire interview, and how the Dunsmuir family was connected to a riot that destroyed the factory of the Victoria Brewing Company, at CFAX 1070.