Dr. Wallace Chung is the top collector in Canada of historic Chinese and Canadian Pacific Railway artifacts and memorabilia.
Phil Lind was the leading collector in Canada of artifacts and memorabilia from the Klondike Gold Rush.
They both donated their collections to the University of British Columbia. UBC’s Katherine Kalsbeek suggested displaying them together in a new museum.
Kalsbeek, the head of Rare Books and Special Collections at UBC, brought Phil and Dr. Chung together and proposed the idea. They liked it, and now the new museum is a reality.
The new Chung/Lind Gallery, located in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC, will open to the public on May 1.
Tragically, Lind passed away last year. However, about 40 of his family members attended the official opening of the 3,100-square-foot space on April 19.
Dr. Chung attended the opening but, at 98 years old, declined to make a speech. Visitors can listen to taped stories from both Chung and Lind in the gallery.
The Chung collection used to be in a smaller space on the first floor of the Barber Centre. The new gallery is in a more prominent location, right off the main entrance to the building.
Upon entering, visitors will see one of Dr. Chung’s most treasured objects—an incredibly detailed scale model of the Canadian Pacific luxury liner, the Empress of Asia.
The new display includes a twist—the model appears to be floating on an aquarium simulating the ocean, with porcelain cups and saucers at the bottom and live fish.
Kalsbeek wanted to bring Dr. Chung’s story to life. He mentions how the paths of the (CP) ships on the ocean floor could be traced because many dishwashing staff would throw the dishes overboard instead of washing them.
The water and fish in the aquarium are not real; they are an illusion created by a company in Amsterdam that specializes in “holographic experiences” and dioramas for museum displays. Dutch Igloo, a company in Amsterdam that creates “holographic experiences” and dioramas to bring museum displays to life.
Another Dutch Igloo piece recreates Phil Lind’s grandfather’s log cabin in the Klondike, complete with Johnny Lind and his pet husky inside. The details are impressive, including Johnny’s cooking of two eggs in a cast-iron pan on top of a wood stove.
Johnny Lind went prospecting in Yukon and Alaska in 1894, and when gold was found in Bonanza Creek in the Klondike in 1896, he climbed the notorious Chilkoot Trail to seek his fortune.
Phil Lind’s grandfather Johnny in the Klondike.
It was a harsh time, with extreme cold and physical exhaustion.
Kalsbeek said that when they asked Phil what he wanted the items in the space to represent, he said he wanted to show how hard it was for the men and women to work in that environment.
The main exhibition hall features a blow-up photo of hundreds of miners trekking up the Chilkoot Trail in winter.
It seems extremely hard, especially when you think about how miners were met by Mounties at the top of the trail and told to bring 2,000 pounds of supplies and gear. Miners had to go back and forth 20 or 30 times to haul up all their gear.
Phil Lind put together a huge collection of over 500 books, 1,800 photographs and 74 maps, inspired by his grandfather's time in the Klondike.
The Chung collection of 25,000 items started from Dr. Chung's childhood fascination with a Canadian Pacific poster that used to hang in his father's tailor shop in Victoria.
Both collections have a mix of artifacts and ephemera. There's a Klondike miner's equipment on the Lind side, and an “opium chest” in the Chung collection with a real opium pipe, bowl and needle.
The Lind side features colorful posters attracting people to the Klondike, and early Hollywood movie posters about the Klondike’s characters. On the Chung side, there is an impressive collection of Canadian Pacific travel posters, gathered from around the world for their beauty.
UBC has displayed both collections on its Open Collections website. Open Collections website, which has 288,998 “unique digital objects.”
A reduced model of the Canadian Pacific steamship the Empress of Asia “floats” above a new display at the Chung/Lind Gallery that looks like the ocean floor. UBC photo.
A creative exhibit at the Chung/Lind Gallery at the University of British Columbia resembles the ocean floor covered with porcelain from Canadian Pacific steamships. UBC photo.
A model of Phil Lind’s grandfather’s log cabin in the Klondike at the new Chung/Lind gallery at UBC. Made by the company Dutch Igloo, it shows a holographic image of Johnny Lind and his pet husky inside.
Family members mark the official opening of the Chung/Lind Gallery on April 19, 2024.
Dr. Wallace Chung with some of his Canadian Pacific collection inside the Chung/Lind Gallery at the Irving K Barber Centre UBC in Vancouver, BC, April 19, 2024.
A photograph of a Dawson City firefighter covered in icicles after battling a winter fire in 1899. From the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection at the University of British Columbia.
Phil Lind gave his Klondike gold rush collection to UBC, his alma mater. Lind was a top executive at Rogers Communications for decades. He died on his 80th birthday, Aug. 20, 2023.
Dr. Wallace Chung and his late wife Dr. Madeline Chung in 2010.
