Tin Man Statue

THE WORLD'S LARGEST TIN SOLDIER

The Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, founded, surveyed, and laid out the City of New Westminster. This Tin Soldier looks out over the Fraser River where the first soldiers set ashore. The detachment of Royal Engineers were instrumental in laying the foundations for law and order, communication routes, communities, government services, and more, during their time here: 1859 to 1863.

The Soldier stands as a replica of a Sergeant Major with his distinctive scarlet tunic, blue trousers with wide red stripes and most noteworthy his red gold-trimmed pill-box hat.

The Soldier was completed as a highlight of the Royal Christmas Festival in New Westminster in support of the Simon Fraser Society for Community Living and their programs for children with special needs and adults with disabilities. Unveiled on November 29, 2000 adjacent to the Armoury of The Royal Westminster Regiment at 6th Street and Queens Avenue, it was moved here and rededicated on February 14, 2002. A time capsule was placed within the Soldier to be opened in 2025.

Built as a labour of love by the joint efforts of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local Union 280 and the BC Sheet Metal Association (SMACNA-BC) for the benefit of The Simon Fraser Society for Community Living. The Soldier is 32 feet tall, weighs 5 tons and was fabricated using materials to last 100 years or more.