Behind-the-Scenes Collections Tour: Canadian Pacific Railway
March 28, 2025 - 1:00PM - 2:30 PMAbout this experience
Ever wondered what lies beyond the Staff Only doors at your favorite museums? Now’s your chance to take a peek! Join us at the Maritime Museum of BC for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look for our LAST collection tour of the season!
This month’s guide is Murray Armstrong with a look at the MMBC’s collection of artefacts relating to the Canadian Pacific Railway.
About Your Guide:
Murray was born and educated in Victoria, BC. His great-grandfather, Frederick Jeune, a sailor and sail maker, arrived in Victoria from Jersey in the 1880s and founded Jeune Brothers, a long-standing Victoria business. While a student, Murray spent a summer crewing on the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Alexander MacKenzie before transferring to Vancouver for his banking career. He later fulfilled a lifelong desire to work in the airline industry, which eventually transitioned to the computer side, where he worked for nearly 25 years.
In 2001, Murray moved into academia, working in administration at UBC for 10 years before retiring in 2013. He has always been passionate about transportation systems—air, rail, and marine—and the performing arts. A lifelong lover of music, he has sung with choirs and performed on stage as a singing actor. He is also a long-standing member of the Titanic Historical Society, a student of the Lusitania disaster, and an amateur BC Coast historian, focusing on the CPR’s BC Coast Steamship Service.
In theatre, Murray has been involved in community organizations in Greater Vancouver, both administratively and as a performer. He also worked part-time as an usher for the Arts Club Theatre Company for 13 years and continues locally with the Royal and McPherson Theatres Society.
Since retirement, Murray has volunteered with Thrifty Foods’ Sendial program, Craigdarroch Castle, and, since 2021, as an Interpreter and Front Desk attendant at the MMBC. He has recorded several Maritime Minutes talks and met HRH Princess Anne during her visit to our collections.
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Participants should meet in the lobby of 4000 Seymour Place at 1 pm on Friday, April 25th. The tour will take place from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm.
Tours are limited to six participants and must be booked at least 24 hours in advance.
Your Host
The Maritime Museum of BC is on the territories of the Lekwungen speaking peoples who have respected these lands and waters for thousands of years. It's public gallery space is currently located downtown at 744 Douglas Street close to Victoria’s downtown Inner Harbour and the Empress Hotel. Here, you will find exhibits, a nautical-themed gift shop, and research space.