John Hatch (1937 – 2000)
John Hatch was born in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec to parents James V. and Kathleen Hatch. In 1935, John moved to Quebec City and joined the Air Force. He was discharged after two years and took various jobs until he moved north.1) He arrived in the Yukon in late 1960s.2)
John Hatch first lived in Dawson with his father and then moved to Whitehorse.3) He lived in a relocated portion of the Pioneer Hotel, located in a squatter area north of the old shipyards. In 1957, the government amended the Territorial Lands Act to allow the removal of squatters who didn’t own the land under their dwellings.4)
John Hatch was a well-known photographer and advocate for the preservation of the Shipyards neighbourhood.5) He documented the changing face of Whitehorse for over thirty years. He travelled to Japan in the early 1990s, staying with people who had visited him in Whitehorse over the years. He attended the Concordia University arts program in Montreal in 1998. He was the lead in a decade-long dispute with the government for the right to compensation for having to move from his home. After his death, his friends spoke about his eccentric nature and the need to treat Yukon’s characters with care and respect.6)
Shipyards Lament, produced by Andrew Conners, is a film following John Hatch through the process of negotiating with the government and moving from his home on the waterfront.7)