The Gur Sikh Temple

The Reach N294

It goes without saying that Sunder Singh was a prominent member in the Abbotsford community, not only in agriculture but also with the other Sikh people. Without Sunder Singh the Gur Sikh temple would have either never been built or taken a long longer to be built. While Sunder managed the Abbotsford Lumber Mill, he was able to ask for the wood to build the temple to be donated. This donation from the mill was so greatly appreciated and still is today because with the $3000 Singh put down for the land (approximately worth $65,000 in today’s economy) there was no extra money for building materials. While Singh donated the land for the Gur Sikh temple and asked for the donation from the lumber mill, the Abbotsford community came together to donate the rest of the money so this religious site could be built. Sunder Singh along with much of the community helped clean the lumber that was given to them, by hand and built the Temple themselves. This Temple was successfully built and running by 1911 and is still a place of worship for many Sikh people today in Abbotsford. Sunder Singh’s wife, Bibi Mohinder Kaur played a crucial role in the Gur Sikh Temple as well and she was “one of the longest serving treasurers.” Sunder Singh went back to India in order to marry his wife, Bibi. It was not until his return that he decided to farm and by the 1940’s he became one of the most prominent and leading farmers in the Fraser Valley.