Khalsa Diwan Society, Victoria (Topaz Avenue Gurdwara)

The Victoria Khalsa Diwan Society built the first Topaz Avenue Sikh Gurdwara in 1912. Canada's Register of Historic Places calls it the third gurdwara established in British Columbia, and the Province of British Columbia has called it "one of the two oldest operating Gurdwaras in North America", without giving a source for that claim.

Its beginnings: The first South Asian pioneers reached the Victoria area in 1904, and many worked in Vancouver Island's forest industry and in the lumber mills along the Gorge Waterway. The 1912 brick and wood gurdwara was a traditional design by the architect H. S. Griffith. The Register says the early temple gave the community a place to keep its faith and to practise langar for travellers and pilgrims of every faith, during years of racism and discrimination against South Asians in the province.

Key moments

• 1904: the first South Asian pioneers arrive in the Victoria area.
• 1912: the society builds the gurdwara at Topaz Avenue and Blackwood Street.
• 1969: the present building replaces it, a modern gurdwara with a second-floor prayer hall, a Sukh Aasan room for the Guru Granth Sahib and a langar hall. Men of the society travelled to raise money, and businesses such as BC Forest Products and Imperial Building Materials gave funds.
• 2012: the gurdwara marks its hundredth anniversary.
• 14 April 2019: the Province announces a grant of $1 million for accessibility and safety upgrades to the kitchen, common areas, main entrances and outdoor decks.
• 7 February 2020: the Province recognises it as a heritage site under the Heritage Conservation Act. It was added to the Canadian Register on 19 February 2021.

Where it stands: The Register lists the gurdwara as still serving as a place of worship and community gathering. The sources opened do not name its present office-bearers.