BURST
The PNE Fair got a military twist Tuesday when a collection of artifacts unearthed during on-site excavations early this year were returned to the Canadian Armed Forces.
The historically significant collection included more than a dozen First-Word-War-era guns found buried at Hastings Park, first during construction of the new amphitheatre and in a followup dig where more weaponry was located.
The ceremony at the Freedom Mobile Stage in Festival Park was attended by military personnel, veterans, dignitaries and curious guests taking in the annual Fair at the PNE.
The repatriation marked the end of a “decades-old mystery” surrounding the fate of several wartime items long thought lost after going on display at the park shortly after the war.
The artifacts were found during work on the new amphitheatre, which is making its debut at the 2025 PNE Fair.
“The discovery of these important pieces of Canadian military history solves a decades-long mystery,” said Shelley Frost, president of the PNE.
“It was an honour to return these items to the Canadian Armed Forces, and equally meaningful to recognize the service of our veterans and active-duty personnel with free admission to the Fair today.”
The artifacts included a captured German howitzer and its trailer; four captured German MG08/15 machine-guns, also from the First World War; and two British/Canadian nine-pounder cannons dating back to the 1870s.
Two of the nine-pounders will be on display until the end of the PNE Fair on Labour Day, while the full collection will be preserved and exhibited at the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada Museum and Archives in Vancouver.
The fairgrounds in Hastings Park were used extensively for military assembly, training and deployment during the war.
