Suquash Regional District of Mount Waddington, British Columbia

Landing (1) - A coastal or shore location where boats may put in to load or unload. W of Malcolm Island, NW of Port McNeill (Post Office), Rupert Land District

Mapped Location

Suquash: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on Suquash

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Suquash

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name Description
Suquash Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Suquash

References to Suquash that document the origin of its place name

Adopted 6 May 1947 as Suquash (Locality) as listed in 1930 Gazetteer and as listed on Reference Map 2C "Vancouver Island - Northerly" (1919, 1929). Feature type change 6 April 1950 to Suquash Landing. May have appeared as early as 1835 as adopted by officers of the Hudson's Bay Company (maps/dates not cited).

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff.  |  Province of British Columbia

Recorded in 1947 there was no one living at Suquash according to surveyor, but it was considered that there "may be some mining activity some day." An anchorage is listed as likely appearing in the B.C. Pilot, p. 213 (date not cited). Suqaush listed as being abandonded is what led to its retention as "Landing," instead of settlement (6 May 1947) (Q.1.36).

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff.  |  Province of British Columbia

"An adaptation of the [Indigenous] in the [Kwakwala] language, spoken by the [local Indigenous peoples]; 'Su-kwa' is the verb 'to cute seal meat up into strips,' and 'Su-gwas' is the place where 'seals are cut up,' the termination 'as' meaning 'place.' This operation was carried on here years ago, hence the [Indigenous] name for the place, 'Su-gwas' (Suquash), which was adopted by the officers of the Hudsun's Bay Company when here, in 1835 coal was first found on Vancouver Island." (p. 476)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Walbran, John T; "British Columbia Coast Names, 1592-1906: Their Origin and History"; published for the Geographic Board of Canada, Ottawa, 1909 (republished for the Vancouver Public Library by J.J. Douglas Ltd, Vancouver, 1971)  |  Province of British Columbia

"Suquash is an adaptation of a [Kwakwala] term meaning “where seals are butchered”. The name was adopted by Hudson Bay Company officers after the first coal discovery on Vancouver Island was made here in 1835." (p. 575)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009.  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Regional District of Mount Waddington

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-10-01