Arthur Bunster (1827 – October 8, 1891) was a Canadian entrepreneur and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. Bunster was born in Queen's County (now

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

), Ireland and was educated in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, attending

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. He came to

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

in 1856 and settled in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

. After trying his hand at several other ventures, Bunster purchased the Colonial Brewery in 1859. The brewery was destroyed in a fire and rebuilt, both in 1869. In 1869, he served as a member of the town council for Victoria. He represented Nanaimo in the

Legislative Council of British Columbia The Legislative Council of British Columbia was an advisory body created in 1867 to the governor of the "new" Colony of British Columbia, which had been created from the merger of the old Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia (a.k.a ...

in 1871. Bunster, a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, was elected in the two-member Victoria riding in British Columbia's first provincial election, in 1871. He was initially a candidate for the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

seat (i.e.

, not today's City of

) in the federal election of 1872. However, Bunster and other local candidates stepped aside so that Minister of Finance

Francis Hincks Sir Francis Hincks, (December 14, 1807 – August 18, 1885) was a Canadian businessman, politician, and British colonial administrator. An immigrant from Ireland, he was the Co-Premier of the Province of Canada (1851–1854), Governor of Barb ...

could win the seat by acclamation after he had lost his Ontario seat. Bunster did resign his seat in the provincial assembly in 1874 to contest and win the seat in the 1874 federal election. He was re-elected in

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle o ...

but ultimately lost the seat in

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...

. Bunster sold the brewery, to the original owners, in the same year. He later moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where he entered real estate and later died in 1891, when he drowned in

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

. Bunster was opposed to immigration by Chinese people to Canada. In 1871, he proposed that a fifty dollar poll tax be imposed on Chinese persons working in British Columbia. The proposal was withdrawn because it fell outside of the powers of the colonial council. In 1874, he lobbied for legislation making it illegal for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

to hire persons with hair longer than 5.5 inches, a measure again aimed at the Chinese. Bunster is also remembered for his 1878 fist-fight in the House of Commons with Liberal MP Guillaume Cheval.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunster, Arthur 1827 births 1891 deaths Accidental deaths in California Deaths by drowning in California Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Politicians from County Laois