If there were ever a local pioneer/politician who has not achieved prominence in Delta based on service and contributions both locally and provincially, it would be John Oliver.
To be sure his name is associated with a portion of 112th Street south of Highway 99 in East Delta adjacent to his original homestead. There are also active rugby and football fields on land originally owned by his son, W.A. Oliver, bordering John Oliver's farmland.
Oliver Road and John Oliver Park have been named in his honour, but I doubt most Deltans have ever travelled Oliver Road or have reason to pause and reflect on the life of John Oliver at the out of the way park named after him.
Here's a short summary of John Oliver's life in Delta. For those wishing more detail, his biography written by James Morton, Oliver's principal secretary, is in Delta's library and a copy is in the Edgar Dunning Reading Room.
Oliver arrived in B.C. as a 21-year-old in 1877 and settled in Surrey. Survey crews were laying out the route for the long expected cross-country rail line and Oliver's first employment was as an axeman, clearing land for the rail line. As strong and brawny as he was, this was a most difficult assignment, one that lasted five years. He demonstrated interest in education by leading a petition for a school site and in local government by appointment as municipal clerk in Surrey. He was able to save enough money during this period to pre-empt and purchase 151 acres of low land in East Delta in 1882 for a dollar an acre.
Oliver built his home on the highest site on his land, which continually flooded during high tide, particularly in the winter. Oliver and his crew of six set about constructing a six-foot high, half-mile long dike at the edge of Mud Bay that provided some protection, but his children recall the house flooding and riding on floating logs on some of the farmland.
In 1886, Oliver married Elizabeth Woodward, daughter of one of Surrey's earliest pioneers
(Woodward Hill on King George Boulevard honours the name). The couple named the farm "Bayside" and raised eight children.
Oliver's education was modest as he left school at 11 to work in a lead mine in England before immigrating to Canada at 14. When it was time for his children's education, he hired a tutor who lived on the farm.
Along with his backbreaking work as a farmer plying fields with oxen and plough, he soon added a herd of cattle. Each spring he and his crew would drive the herd to Pitt Meadows for summer pasture via a wooden bridge near New Westminster, returning them to "Bayside" in the fall.
With his keen mind and endless energy, Oliver was soon recognized as having one of the area's finest farms.
With his prospering farm life and large family, Oliver continued his interest in community leadership in Delta. He again showed interest in education and was elected to a term as school trustee. Thereafter he served a term as Delta councillor and two terms as reeve.
There was still time for provincial politics.
To be continued.
