Travellers on BC ferries in and out of Horsehoe Bay get to see a unique property perched on Tyee Point..The derelict, graffiti-covered house, now empty and dubbed the “party house with a view” by photographer Mark Teasdale, was built in 1951 by Cyril Diplock, who worked at the BC Telephone company, where he had started in 1913. He rose to become the general manager of the company and was on the board of directors..Diplock, the great uncle of Sharon Cerbasi, reports the Vancouver Sun, built the house as a weekend getaway..Diplock served with the Canadian army in the First World War and was wounded on July 23, 1916, at the infamous battle of Ypres when he was only 20. He recovered well enough to go back to the front but caught the Spanish influenza while still overseas in 1919..Upon returning to Canada, he went back to work at the telephone company, but was forced into early retirement because of his war wounds..“He had shrapnel in his head, it bothered him the rest of his life with headaches and depression,” said Gerbasi..Diplock, the great uncle of Sharon Cerbasi, reports the Vancouver Sun, built the house as a weekend getaway..“The property at the tip of the point was originally part of the large hill behind it, all of which is owned by Telus and contains a small radio site up on top,” said former BC Tel engineer Jerry Vernon. “This is now an important cellphone site and also one of the sites for the pay-phone system on the B.C. Ferries.”.Vernon told the Sun, Hugh Cummings of North West Telephone “was sent out to negotiate with the owner of the property. He only wanted a small square of land, but the owner said it was all or nothing, so Hughie bought the entire peninsula for $1,500 and caught hell from NWT’s head honcho, the late C.J. (John) McLean when he got back to the office.”. Horseshoe bay homeHorseshoe bay home .The power for Diplock’s house originally came from the North West radio site..“It was simply strung on trees between the radio site and the house, and maybe still is,” said Vernon. “It is on private property so if the wind blew it down, which it sometimes did, it wasn’t BC Hydro’s problem!”.The property was then subdivided, and a slice of waterfront was sold to Diplock. The purchase price is unknown, but a search of a July 7, 1951, Vancouver Sun found another waterfront cottage for sale in West Vancouver for $11,500..The home, graffiti and all, now has an assessed value of $7.2 million..At the time no roads led to the location and Diplock had to walk to his home..“The house was very nice, quite modern,” Cerbasi told the Sun. “It just had one bedroom, one bathroom, a large living room and dining room and kitchen. When I look at the house now, it looks like they built on top of it.”. Then and nowThen and now .“After he retired, he went out there quite a bit, because it did require a lot of maintenance, being on the water.” .“He had to maintain the six bridges going into the property. We used to walk in from Horseshoe Bay.”.Diplock sold the house at Tyee Point in the mid-1960s, although Gerbasi doesn’t know the price. The property is on two parcels of land and has been sold several times in recent years..Cyril Bramah Diplock died on Aug. 15, 1975 at age 79, reports the Sun..“He was a neat guy,” said Gerbasi. “The funny part is, he didn’t get married, but he had two girlfriends his whole life. And they both knew about each other, because they kept stuff at the house at Horseshoe Bay and were both at his funeral when he passed away.”.The assessed $7.2 million value is indicative of how much Lower Mainland property has gone up since the 1970s, the earliest that can be searched for sale prices on BC Assessment. In May 1978 the property sold for $250,000. In January 1980 it sold for $350,000. In March 1985 it sold for $400,000..In August 1990, the 1.79 acre parcel where the house is located was sold separately from the larger-but-steeper 6.63 acre parcel toward the village. The purchase price was $600,000..On Dec. 15, 1992, the current owner, PAK Construction, purchased both parcels for $2,325,951. It isn’t currently for sale, but there is a 2012 listing online that said it was for sale for $15 million.. Seaside livingSeaside living
