This small cemetery is not very well known. I will readily admit that I did not even know it existed until I specifically went looking for it after reading the obituary of Brother Alexander Chalmers Aitken, a member of Temple Lodge, No. 33 who died unexpectedly in 1923 at the home of his neighbour in Maple Bay, and was buried in this cemetery.
As far as we are aware, Brother Alexander Chalmers Aitken is the only Freemason interred in this cemetery. He was a farmer and served several terms as Councillor on the North Cowichan District Council. He also served as Reeve (or Mayor) of North Cowichan in 1909, 1910, 1911 and 1923.
Brother Aitken's obituary referred to his body being buried in "the Maple Bay Methodist cemetery. This burial ground is on the site of the old log church which stood there some forty years ago."
I have used this reference to the "Maple Bay Methodist cemetery" as the name for this small cemetery. There are no signs at the site indicating any other name for the cemetery although locals often refer to it as "the Pioneer Cemetery."
There is no trace of the "old log church" today. But some of the gravestones in this cemetery clearly date back to the period when this church was still on the site in the late 19th century.
Brother Aitken's 1923 obituary also says that "even under good weather conditions [this cemetery] is not easily accessible as one has to pass through some bush." This is still somewhat true today. The narrow access road is steep and unpaved and there is only enough space to park a few vehicles at the cemetery entrance. But perhaps that's a good thing as it may help to protect the site.
The Maple Bay Methodist Cemetery is on Pioneer Road, a dead end (no pun intended) unpaved road which ends at the cemetery entrance and intersects with Herd Road between Lakes Road and Osborne Bay Road in North Cowichan.
- W.B. Mark Anderson, Past Master, Temple Lodge, No.33
