PHOTOS: Restored totem pole stands again outside Victoria’s Royal BC Museum
Published 5:15 pm Monday, June 8, 2026
As rain lashed Victoria on Monday, dozens gathered outside the Royal BC Museum to watch a small crew raise a newly refurbished totem pole.
This comes after the 47-year-old artwork, carved by Richard Hunt, was lowered on June 1 ahead of its first refresh since 2021.
The pole, now back to its original position at the centre of Thunderbird Park where it was raised in 1979, now stands with a few minor additions and a fresh coat of paint.
“It is a privilege to welcome Dr. Richard Hunt back to Thunderbird Park to continue the story of a pole he carved nearly 50 years ago,” Royal BC Museum CEO Allison Bond said in a news release. “This work reflects the living nature of Indigenous cultural traditions and our responsibility to care for the belongings entrusted to us. We are proud to support this work and the sharing of knowledge it represents.”
Hunt carved the pole when he was 19 years old, working as an apprentice carver at the Royal BC Museum under the guidance of his father, Henry Hunt.
Made from red cedar, the pole features figures and crests connected to Hunt’s Kwakwaka’wakw heritage.
While the tweaks to this pole have given it new life, the artist explained that most of the other poles at the park, some of which have been standing for almost 100 years, need restoration work too.
“The things like the beaks and the dorsal fins that are inside the wood are starting to, not rot, but shrink. So it gets loose. So they’re probably going to want those things fixed up,” he said.
The process of refurbishing the pole took a week and drew visitors to watch Hunt work.
“It’s good to come back here. I have a lot of memories,” Hunt said in the release. “It’s a good place. I love being here.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source vicnews.com ’
