STATUE OF MATTHEW BAILLIE BEGBIE ON BRITISH COLUMBIA'S LEGISlATURE BUILDING
In just a matter of weeks, the 1858 discovery of gold in the Fraser Canyon saw thousands of prospectors flood into Victoria, the newly established capital city of the colony of British Columbia. This influx was a seismic shift that would change the city’s legal, economic, and population landscapes forever; and with it would bring a need for a little colonial justice. But let's back up a moment...
You see, just 15 years earlier James Douglas had arrived on the island to establish Fort Victoria for the Hudson’s Bay Company, a fur trading post that for a few years had housed and employed just 500 men. But when gold was discovered in 1858, it threw the once quiet fortress town into turmoil as thousands of fortune-seekers, prospectors, and transients arrived, many of whom came armed and with little, if any, respect for the local laws.
As the governor of the newly minted colony, James Douglas let the Crown know they desperately needed law and order; and the sooner the better. Within the year Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie arrived: a Crown-appointed British barrister tasked with bringing much-needed authority, and law and order to the fledgling colony.
Known for his commanding presence (after all, he was 6’ 7”), his sharp mind and stern demeanour, Begbie wasted no time establishing the rule of law. He quickly formed a reputation for a deep commitment to justice and fair trials for all, even learning several Indigenous languages to ensure native people received fair hearings. His latter-day nickname, “the Hanging Judge,” was unfair since it came from Begbie’s need to carry out mandatory capital punishment sentences, and not bloodlust.
To support his effort, in the early 1860s a brick courthouse was constructed at the edge of Bastion Square. Besides a courtroom, the building housed a jail (or “gaol” in the 1800s) and had gallows outside the front door—a sobering reminder that British justice had arrived on the western frontier. A reasonable man, Judge Begbie always insisted anyone having a date with the gallows would first get a last meal (and pint) at The Garricks Head pub - a frontier town “last meal”, so to speak.
Unfortunate souls who experienced the “business end of a noose” were buried in a large pit behind the jail; a pit that, legend says, also claimed bodies of the sick, infirm, or anyone else not claimed by a next of kin.
As the city grew, its need for a more modern justice facility also grew; so in 1889, they built an updated jail and courthouse complex on the same site to replace the aging 1860s brick structure. Legend also says the foundation was dug and concrete poured with little regard towards the bodies that were supposedly buried at the site.
This new courthouse served Victoria until 1962 when authorities moved judicial operations to a more modern city building. After that, the courthouse housed The Maritime Museum of British Columbia, and would do so for the next 49 years.
However, because of concerns about structural integrity issues, in 2014, the Maritime Museum vacated the building, moving elsewhere in town leaving the crumbling old courthouse empty to this day. It’s a vexing conundrum, indeed: The old courthouse is too expensive to fix, but it’s historically too important to tear down. What to do? The jury is still out on that one...
So what happened to Matthew Begbie? He continued his career across the province until his death in 1894, when he was laid to rest in Victoria's Ross Bay Cemetery. Knighted in 1875, his legacy remains complicated—part colonial enforcer, part nation-builder, but undeniably foundational in shaping the early legal landscape of British Columbia - beginning right here in Fort Victoria.
Why not visit Bastion Square, the courthouse, and the Garricks Head with a Hidden Victoria tour? Our professional guides will enthral you with local history, stories, and in some cases, indulge you in delicious local snacks and drink!