Yvon Lehoux has been working on a unique project for several months and it's now complete.
Lehoux's neighbour commissioned him to build a replica of the SS Komagata Maru. Not his usual project—he usually builds scale models of Canadian warships from scratch—he approached the new challenge with excitement.
Lehoux told the Cloverdale Reporter it took him about 300 hours to complete the Komagata Maru, a dramatic drop from the 700 hours it took him to build his first ship.
"I am getting faster and faster as I build more ships," Lehoux explained.
He enjoyed the challenge and is quite proud of his latest build.
"This is going to be the first model of the ship, as far as I know,” he noted. “There are two places around here, one in Vancouver and one in Abbotsford, that have exhibits about the Komagata Maru and what happened, but as far as I am aware, they only have pictures of the ship, no models.”
Lehoux is hoping to showcase the Komagata Maru at an upcoming Community Treasures exhibit at the Museum of Surrey. He has been in communication with the museum about possibly doing a exhibit in 2025 showcasing all of the model’s he’s built, though nothing is confirmed as of yet.
"I should find out in about three or four weeks."
No rest for the weary, Lehoux will now begin building a WWII-era Canadian Navy warship for the Cloverdale Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time now."
KOMAGATA MARU
The SS Komagata Maru was involved in what is now known as the Komagata Maru incident. In April 1914, the Japanese steamship Komagata Maru sailed into Vancouver carrying 376 South Asians who hoped to immigrate to Canada. They were all British subjects of Indian descent, including 337 Sikhs, 27 Muslims and 12 Hindus. Even though they were British subjects, most were denied entry. Only 24 passengers were admitted into Canada. The ship was forced to leave and the prospective immigrants aboard had to return to India.
Those onboard were also persecuted upon their return to India when they disembarked in Kolkata. The incident was one of many during the early 1900s where specific exclusion laws in both the U.S. and Canada were used to bar people of Asian origin from immigrating to North America.