Arthur Bunster (1831 – October 8, 1891) was a Canadian entrepreneur and Member of Parliament. Bunster was born in Queen's County (now Laois), Ireland and was educated in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, attending Trinity College. He came to

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

in 1856 and settled in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. 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 in 1871. Bunster, a Liberal, 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 cit ...

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 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 * 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 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

but ultimately lost the seat in 1882. Bunster sold the brewery, to the original owners, in the same year. He later moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

. 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 () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

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 19th-century births 1891 deaths 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 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia BC United MLAs