Interview with John Gourlay

Audio recording and transcript of John Gourlay's 1979 interview with Myrtle Bergren for the Coal Tyee History Project. Gourlay discusses his jobs in the coal mining industry, which he eventually left to become first a hard rock miner and then a school teacher. Gourlay explains how his family came to Vancouver Island and how his father worked in both the Wellington and Extension Mines. Gourlay describes his own coal mining jobs in the Extension and White Rapids Mines. He shares his opinions about Chinese workers in the coal mining industry and he also talks about race relations in Ladysmith. He explains how he left the mining industry and how he became a school teacher. During the interview Gourlay reflects on his father's stance during the Vancouver Island Coal Miners' Strike and how his family home was destroyed. He talks about both his and his wife's families' connections the Dunsmuir family, and gives his opinion of the Dunsmuirs' motivations. He concludes the interview by talking about his father's connection to William Sloan, who Gourlay feels was an influential person in establishing the Workmen's Compensation Board of B.C.