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Originally known as St. Ann’s School for Young Ladies, St. Ann’s Academy New Westminster was opened in 1865. The first students consisted of Catholics and non-Catholics, as well as Indigenous students. The school was expanded and altered many times over the next decades, and badly destroyed by a fire in 1944. A new school was completed in 1945 and was used until 1968 when the school closed and was subsequently demolished in 1969.

Series consists of records created at St. Ann’s Academy in New Westminster, including of the convent where the Sisters of St. Ann who were missioned to this school lived. The series is arranged into three subseries: A. St. Ann’s Covent; B. St. Ann’s Academy; C. Photographs and audio/visual material.

Records in this series consist of histories, correspondence, chronicles, local council minutes, visitation reports, property records, financial records, student lists and attendance records, student accounts, school anniversary materials, teaching materials, photographs and artworks. Since the Sisters housed and educated orphans at this school, there are records related to adoptions.

The fonds consists of records related to the administration of the hospital as well as the admission and treatment of patients. Records include: minute book of board meetings and other hospital meetings (1862-1881); annual reports (1864-1868, 1904); financial records (1862-1904); records of tenders (1862-1916); correspondence, including applications for positions (1861-1903) and miscellaneous records, including by-laws and subscription lists (1863-1908, 1912, 1937 and 1943); case books of Dr. Thomas R. McInnes and Dr. Charles Newland Trew (1874-1882); patient histories, prognosis and orders (1878-1881); record of patient diets (1881-1888); record of patient valuables (1910); and patient registers and admission slips (1862-1901). Also included in this fonds are the minutes of the New Westminster Medical Society (1893-1903) and the treasurer's book of the Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Columbian Hospital (1920-1926).

Records in accession N/A/R81 include the 1861 resolution that led to the creation of the hospital, and 1865 letter regarding the establishment of a dispensary within the hospital, and a tally of patients received during the years 1862 to 1865.

This series contains legal opinions offered by Attorney General on a wide range of subjects. For more information on the subjects covered, please consult the attached finding aid.

This series contains the correspondence inward to the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works, Colonel R.C. Moody. The records consists largely of letters from Governor James Douglas and the Colonial Secretary pertaining to town lots, other lands, trails and roads, and other public works in the vicinity of New Westminster. The series includes letters on the Harrison River road and pack trail.

The series consists of probate cause books, and later case cards, for records probated in New Westminster between 1881 and 1991. A typical entry provides the probate file number, the name of the deceased party, and a short list of proceedings. These records are arranged in chronological order of the date of filing and can be used to locate the probate file number for an individual. That number can then be used to locate the file.

Wills book (indexed) containing copies of wills probated in New Westminster, 1894- ca. 1900. These are convenience copies; the original probated wills were sent to the Victoria Court Registry and are found in GR-1052.

Probate case files, 1/1881 - 8566/1943.

Probate/estate files nos. 8567/1943 - 13765/1949.

Series consists of letters probate (Form A) from the New Westminster Supreme Court from 1881 to 1956. Volumes 2-4 contain succession duties. Folios are not in exact numerical order.

This series consists of grants of letters of administration with will annexed (form B) from the New Westminster Supreme Court from 1925-1977. The series also includes letters of administration with will annexed orders from 1992-1999.

Letters of Administration (Form C).

Letters probate (Form C and Forms 161 and 162) some with Succession Duties attached.

A 1887 probate file for an Andrew Carlson has also been placed in this series. It was found in a box of miscellaneous court records in December 2021, and as there was no other appropriate series to interfile it with, it has been placed in container GR3157-0001.

Letters of administration with the will annexed (Form F and Form 157) some with Succession Duties attached.

Letters of administration (Form G and Form 156) some with Succession Duties attached.

Letters of administration for estates probated by the Official Administrator in New Westminster County Court, 1895-1940 (Vols. 1-5) and New Westminster Supreme Court, 1895-1954 (Vols. 1-8).

Indexes to estates probated in New Westminster. See also GR-1422, GR-2215 and GR-3006.

Cause of death: Found in woods [near New Westminster] [starvation and exposure]

No deaths reported.

Series consists of original divorce decrees nisi, decrees absolute, and orders created between 1972 and 1990 by the New Westminster Supreme Court registry. Also includes some divorce-related custody, access, maintenance, and property orders. Between 1968 and 1985, a judgement by way of decree nisi required a three-month waiting period before a judgement by way of decree absolute could be applied for. During this time, a divorce was not legally in effect without a decree absolute. After 1985, divorce orders automatically came into effect 31 days after the divorce was granted, barring an appeal.

The records are arranged by volume and folio numbers, as assigned by the Court Registry. Records from 1972-1983 are not indexed, but BC Archives staff have access to internal indexes. Nominal file lists are available from mid-Dec 1983 onwards. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51440-25.

Series consists of 8 volumes of divorce cause books created by the New Westminster Supreme Court between 1968 and 1977. The cause books are arranged chronologically, and cases are assigned a number in the cause book. Cause book entries generally consist of the names of the parties, their solicitors, a list of the proceedings, and a volume and folio number which can be used to obtain a copy of the divorce order. Cause books are a particularly valuable source of information, as they list proceedings for divorce trials that were ultimately dismissed or abandoned. In these instances, the only surviving evidence that the case took place is found in the divorce cause books, as no final order would have been issued.

This series contains New Westminster Supreme Court orders from January 1940 to May 1945 and January 1948 to December 2004 (predominantly up to April 2001). Orders are the formal expression of the ruling of the court and judgements are the final orders issued in a case. Records relate to a variety of civil matters including divorces, bankruptcies, foreclosures, probates, and some adoptions.

Records are arranged by volume and folio number as assigned by the court registry. Beginning in May 1950, orders and judgements were separated and volume numbers 49-108 are duplicated. Beginning in March 1976, orders and judgements are interfiled. Between October 1990 and December 2004, orders, default judgements, certificates, and determinations related to financial cases were separated into their own volumes, 148-204, once again creating duplicated volume numbers. Researchers are encouraged to check volume numbers against dates when searching for specific records. Most, but not all, volumes include indexes or volume file lists. However, beginning in July 1990, volumes include a file list by case number only. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51400-25.

This series consists of a variety of records created by various provincial mental health institutions from 1872 to 2008. Records relate to the administration and operation of Riverview Hospital and related mental health facilities at the Essondale site in Coquitlam, as well as other facilities across the province. These mental health institutions include: Victoria Asylum, New Westminster Provincial Asylum (later Public Hospital for the Insane or Provincial Hospital for the Insane), Home for the Aged Coquitlam (later Valleyview), Home for the Aged Terrace (later Skeenaview), Home for the Aged Vernon (later Dellview), Crease Clinic, Colony Farm, Colquitz, Woodlands School, Tranquille and other medical facilities.

The names and administrative structure of these institutions changed over time. Mental health functions were originally part of the Provincial Secretary’s mandate; they were transferred to Mental Health Services when it was created in 1950.

These government records were collected by the Riverview Historical Society and include a wide variety of subject matter and media. This includes subjects such as: early development of the Essondale lands and Colony Farm; the construction and expansion of the facility; admissions, transfers, and discharges of patients; administration of patient care; administration of therapy programs; patient and staff recreation; staff and nurse training; operation of the audiovisual department; library services; research into new medical and therapeutic practices; research by staff regarding mental health practices at Riverview and further afield; community involvement; volunteer activity; policy development; the redevelopment of the Riverview lands; general administration; and, administration of other services at the site such as postal, food, laundry, banking, transportation and safety services.

The collection has been arranged into the following series based on record types:

GR-3924 - record books
GR-3925 - operational records
GR-3926 - newsletters
GR-3927 - photographs and other graphic material
GR-3928 - films and videos

Classified as 20000-20 in Operational Records Classification System (ORCS) schedule 144007.