Description of Historic Place

The Cariboo Gur Sikh temple is a two-story stucco building 80 ft X 60 ft (frontage X sides) with a flat metal roof in Quesnel, BC.

Heritage Value

This heritage site holds spiritual value as the building is a spiritual gathering place for all who practice the Sikh religion. The Guru Garanth Sahib, a living sacred book, is housed here, with passages read every day at morning and evening services. It is a place of mediation, recitation, and prayer.

It also has significant social and cultural value as a space for members of the South Asian community, where ceremonies are held to mark important passages in life (the naming of a child, marriage, initiation into the Sikh religion and funeral rites), or to commemorate historic events - the Gurus' special days and to celebrate cultural festivals such as Diwali and Vaisakhi. It provides a focal point to help the community preserve and pass on their culture. The Langar provides a social space where the community can visit and share food and embodies the Sikh principles of shared earnings and serving the community by contributing to the cost of the communal meal and by preparing and serving it. These principles are also embedded in the building, which was built with volunteer labour and donations from the community. The Cariboo Observer reported in May 1981 "Every working man contributed $250 - $500 towards the construction" with donations of lumber from local merchants and contributions from Sikh communities in Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George and other centres.

It exemplifies the growth of the Sikh community in Quesnel from a few single young men in the late 1950s to a community requiring a modest temple in 1974 to a doubling of size in the 1980s. Its integration in a network of Sikh communities throughout BC and the acceptance and support from merchants, industry/employers in Quesnel and the population remains vibrant, contributing to community events and the development of institutions like the Quesnel campus of CNC/UNBC.

It also serves as a social and cultural reminder of the importance of the Indo Canadian families in the development of West Quesnel during the period when the lumber industry expanded on an industrial scale in Quesnel.

It has historic significance as the second Sikh temple on this location. The first was built in 1974. It was destroyed by fire in 1980. The present building was constructed in 1981 and was twice as large as the original gurdwara.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements may be found in the:

- two story frame
- stucco exterior
- symmetrical front façade divided into 7 bays by shallow square arches
- double doors and pointed brick arch central bay, flanked by two smaller blind pointed arches
- flagpole with the Nishan Sahib

Character-defining interior elements include the:

- Langar (kitchen and dining hall) on the lower level
- men's and women's staircases to the upper level with a washing station on the landing
- Darbar Sahib (congregational hall)
- throne of the Guru Garanth Sahib comprised of a Chanani (rectangular cloth suspended from the ceiling), Palki Sahib (the main structure that houses the holy book), a Manji sahib (platform that supports the holy book wrapped in Rumalla (decorative cloths), all on a raised platform with a Golak (collection box) in front
- Sukhasan (the room to which the Guru Garanth Sahib retires for the night)