Louis
SpeciesBlue and Gold Macaw
SexMale
BornSouth America
HatchedBetween 1860-1880
Nation fromCanada
OwnerVictoria Wilson, Yue Wah Wong

Louis was a well-known parrot from Victoria, British Columbia.[1] From the time of his reclusive owner's death in 1949 until 1966, he continued to live on his owner's estate, well-provided for in her will, and preventing development of the prime real estate.

History

Victoria Jane Wilson (1878–1949) was born in Victoria to wealthy European-Canadian parents. Her father Keith Wilson was manager of the Bank of BC, and dabbled in real estate. Her mother Mary Wilson was the daughter of Alexander Munro, a fur trader.

The Wilson home was a three-story mansion at 730 Burdett Street. At the age of five, Victoria received a Blue-and-yellow macaw as a pet whom she named Louis. From this point she began to obtain many other birds, and later converted the entire top floor floor of the mansion into an aviary. In 1911, Victoria asked her father to buy her a luxury Hupp-Yeats electric car in order to take Louis on short drives.[2]

Wilson led a reclusive life with her birds at the mansion on Courtney Street where she had been raised until her death in 1949 at the age of seventy-two. Her will also included the electric car, and provided a large amount of funds to take care of her fifty-three birds, in which Mr. Yue Wah Wong, Wilson's trusted gardener, was to be paid $250 a month (equivalent to $2,700 today) to be the birds' caretaker.[3][1][4][5]

Life magazine featured a one-page article on Louis in the August 9, 1963 issue, titled "The Old Bird Won't Sell". Magazine writer Russell Sackett had first written about Louis in 1957, and returned to Victoria in 1963 for a welfare checkup. Sackett reported that “Louis callously recovered from the pain of his mistress’s passing and, to Abrams’s rueful astonishment, seemed to take a new lease on life” in Mr. Wong's care. Louis was a well-known local resident at this point in his life for not only enjoying a typical diet of seeds, nuts, and fruit, but also enjoying hard-boiled eggs, walnuts, and two bottles of brandy per year, doled out daily in small dollops. For his alcohol consumption, news reports at the time liked to humorously refer to him as a lush.[6][7][8]

In 1966, the lawyer administering the Wilson estate transferred ownership of the bird to Mr. Wong, and Louis went to live with him and his family. Wong was delighted, but he unfortunately died in 1967 shortly after taking Louis in. Mr. Wong's family continued to care for Louis until his death in 1985, at over 100 years old.

Louis' relocation allowed the Wilson property be developed as the Chauteau Victoria hotel in 1975, with a restaurant called the Parrot House on the top floor (later renamed "Vista 18"). [1][9][10]

Today, Louis has been described as a folk hero to Victoria's city heritage preservationists. Victoria Daily Times columnist Arthur Mayse noted that Louis “is regarded…as a jewel in the city’s crown." The top award of Hallmark Society of the Capital Regional District is called the Louis Award, awarded for exceptional heritage building restoration.[11][1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ruttan, Stephen (30 September 2012). Tales from the Vault, a new Victoria history series, begins with Miss Wilson and the famous parrot, Times Colonist
  2. ↑ Brehl, John (20 April 1985). Victoria: The city of the Tweed Curtain, high tea, flower myths and don't forget Louis the parrot Lush, The Gazette (Montreal)
  3. ↑ (11 October 1949). Pretty Polly, Ottawa Citizen
  4. ↑ (23 June 1959). Hard-Drinking Parrot Stymies Progress, Calgary Herald
  5. ↑ Sackett, Russell (9 August 1963). The Old Bird Won't Sell, Life (magazine)
  6. ↑ McKinley, Barney (24 September 1967). They're Plucking Poor Louie's Well-Feathered Nest, The Register-Guard
  7. ↑ (30 December 1961). 100 Year Old Parrot Still Soaks Up Brandy In Victoria, The Vancouver Sun
  8. ↑ (23 December 1964). Christmas Means Extra Tot of Brandy For Old Louis, The StarPhoenix
  9. ↑ Chateau Victoria, Our History Archived 2012-08-28 at the Wayback Machine, chateauvictoria.com, Retrieved 1 October 2012 (reporting that Louis died in 1985)
  10. ↑ Paterson, T.W. (14 October 2011). Pampered parrot postponing push for people, Cowichan Valley Citizen
  11. ↑ Goldenberg, Susan (March 26, 2021). "Something to Squawk About". Canada's History. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
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