Ross Bay Cemetery is home to many iconic Victorians; Sir James Douglas, Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie and Amor De Cosmos and members of the Dunsmuir family. The Carr family grave has become a pilgrimage place for visitors, who leave small tributes to Emily.

With the city’s rapidly growing population, Victoria needed a new cemetery. James Bay was the first suggested site for the new cemetery, but residents soon rejected this proposal. A large piece of land owned by Isabella Ross, widow of Charles Ross, a Fort Victoria founder divided her land into smaller sections to be sold. Robert Burnaby purchased some of this land and sold 12 acres to the City of Victoria, this land would become Ross Bay Cemetery.
In December 1872, Mary Pearse would become the first person to be buried at the graveyard. Even with further land purchases to enlarge the cemetery, by 1923 the Ross Bay Cemetery was close to being full.

It was at this time that Royal Oak Burial Park opened. Royal Oak Burial Park would eventually become one of western Canada’s largest graveyards.

Vandalism in Ross Bay has become a major problem in recent years. Memorial parks such as Ross Bay are easy targets for vandals, the remote location of burial grounds combined with the old growth trees in these cemeteries create perfect hangout spots. This is when deliberate damage to the old vulnerable memorials may occur. Accidental damage to cemetery stones may also occur in memorial gardens by cemetery maintenance, large tree roots, tall grass and overall lack of maintenance.

If you have a memorial in Cemetery that needs to be preserved and restored, please contact us.

We do not use harsh chemicals such as acids and bleaches to clean memorials and we do not use high psi pressure washers.

Our techniques in monument preservation are like those used in restoring historic buildings; gentle, natural and long-lasting, without causing damage.