Vancouver Island Feature
Island - Land area surrounded by water or marsh. SW British Columbia, separated from the mainland by Queen Charlotte, Georgia and Juan de Fuca Straits
Mapped Location
Vancouver Island: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on Vancouver Island
- Feature Type: Feature
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Vancouver Island
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Vancouver Island | Official |
Origin Notes and History of Vancouver Island
References to Vancouver Island that document the origin of its place name
Vancouver island. Vancouver rock, Milbank sound. Vancouver bay, Jervis inlet. Vancouver city, Burrard inlet.
After Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy, who made an extensive exploring survey of this coast in command of H.M.S. Discovery, accompanied by the armed tender Chatham, during the years 1792-1793-1794. The two vessels sailed from Falmouth, 1 April, 1791, and the Discovery anchored in the Shannon on her return, 12 September, 1795, the Chatham arriving in England a few weeks afterwards. The following note relating to the return of the Discovery appears in the Annual Register, 1795, XXXVII, Chronicle, p. 35, under date 24 September, 1795:—
"The Discovery sloop of war, Captain Vancouver, arrived at Limerick on the 13th inst., in company with the homeward bound East India fleet, having completely effected the object of her expedition, and made some important discoveries on the northwest coast of America. She sailed from England with 150 men on• board, and such was the attention of the officers to their health, that only one died in the course of a very fatiguing voyage of four years. They speak in the highest terms of the inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands, from whom they experienced every possible civility and attention."
Vancouver island, the largest on the west coast of North America, was first named "Quadra and Vancouver," after the two naval officers in the service, respectively, of Spain and Great Britain, who met at Nootka in 1792 to carry out certain provisions of the Britannic-Spanish agreement embodied in the "Nootka convention," dated 28 October, 1790, the result of what is known in British naval annals as The Spanish Armament." These officers were Captain ("capitan de navio" ) Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, commandant of Nootka and of the marine establishment at San Blas; and Commander George Vancouver, R.N., of H.M.S. Discovery. Quadra's vessel, flying his commodore's broad pennant, was the Activa, brig, 12 guns. Quadra and Vancouver were most kindly disposed to each other, and during a pleasant autumn picnic together in September, 1792, while visiting the Nootka chief Maquinna at his summer village at the head of Tahsis canal, it was suggested to Vancouver by the Spanish commander that some port or island should be named after them both, not only to commemorate their meeting but the friendly intercourse that existed between them. Vancouver agreed to this request of Quadra's, and says in his journal:
"Conceiving no spot so proper for this denomination as the place where we had first met, which was nearly in the centre of a tract of land that had first been circumnavigated by us, forming the southwestern sides of the gulf of Georgia, and the southern sides of Johnstone's straits and Queen Charlotte's sound, I named that country the island of Quadra and Vancouver; with which compliment he seemed highly pleased." (Vancouver, 8°, Il, p. 357.)
The name of Quadra has, however, as regards this island, long fallen into disuse and that of Vancouver alone remains.
Vancouver was born at King's Lynn, Norfolk, 22 June, 1757, the youngest child of John Gasper Vancouver and Bridget Berners, his wife, and he was baptized in St. Margaret's church on the 16 March, 1761. Vancouver's father was of Dutch or Flemish origin, and settled in Lynn some years before the birth of George. He was deputy collector of customs in King's Lynn, then the third largest seaport in England, under Sir Charles Turner. He resided in a house in New Conduit ward, rented at £10 per annum, 1755-1773, and in this house his son George was born. The house is built of brick, and at this date (1906) the lower part has been converted into a shop. In 1750, Mr. John G. Vancouver with Sir Charles Turner was appointed surveyor of the highways in the adjoining parish of South Lynn. In the year 1759-1760 he and another burgess were chosen to collect the church rate. He died on the 12 January, 1773, and was buried in the churchyard of All Saints, South Lynn. Captain Vancouver honoured his mother by naming point Bridget and Berners bay in Lynn canal, Alaska, after her. Lynn canal he named after his birthplace, and Couverden point, the west point of entrance to the canal, after the seat of his ancestors, which place is in North Holland. Vancouver also bestowed many Norfolk names in Alaska besides the foregoing, amongst them being Windham bay, Holkham bay and Port Snettisham; Walpole, Coke, Anmer and Styleman points, all Norfolk names or names in connection with King's Lynn. (From the parish records, King's Lynn, Norfolk, and other sources in that county, per Mr. A. E. Rust, parish clerk; Vancouver, 8°, V, pp. 423, 429, 435, and 436.)
Vancouver entered the navy in 1771 with the rating of A.B., but was placed on the quarterdeck as a junior officer, and under this rating sailed with Cook in the Resolution on that navigator's second voyage of discovery, 1772-1775, and was a midshipman in the Discovery, Commander Clerke, during Cook's third and last voyage, 1776-1780. (For the rating of junior officers on entering the naval service in the 18th century, see "The British Fleet," Commander Robinson, R.N., 1895, p. 356; and "Naval Chronicle," 1806, XV, pp. 400-407, Article XXXVI.)
The following anecdote relating to Vancouver's voyage in the Resolution is given in the Naval Chronicle for 1799, I, p. 125 :—
"Captain Vancouver used to say that he had been nearer the south pole' than any other man—for when the immortal Cook, in latitude 72°, was stopped in his progress by impenetrable mountains of ice and was preparing to tack about, he went to the very end of the bowsprit and waving his hat, exclaimed, Ne plus ultra.'"
When a midshipman in the Discovery he narrowly escaped meeting with the same fate as his commander, as the day before Cook's death Vancouver was on shore with Edgar, the master of the Discovery, attempting to capture a native who had escaped with some plunder from that vessel, when a scuffle arose with the natives regarding a canoe, when both Edgar and Vancouver owed their lives to tho interference of a chief named Pareah.
As regards Vancouver's connection with Cook and commencing his career at sea under that renowned navigator, the writer has been informed by an old resident of King's Lynn that in all probability the acquaintance took place through the Burney family. Dr. Charle Burney, father of Fanny Burney the novelist, was a celebrated musician and author in the 18th century. He resigned his appointment as organist of a London church in 1751, acting on medical advice, and obtained similar employment at King's Lynn. He there made the acquaintance of the Vancouver family. Dr. Burney returned to London in 1760, and in 1771 spent a few days at the house of Lord Sandwich where he had been specially invited to meet Captain Cook, Mr. Banks, and Dr. Solander, on their return from the South Seas in the Endeavour. His eldest son James Burney, a young naval officer, afterwards post captain and author, was introduced to Cook by Lord Sandwich and ultimately sailed with Cook as a junior officer in the Resolution, from which ship, during the progress of the voyage, he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant of the Adventure. Vancouver served during this voyage in the Resolution. Cook must have appreciated the services of Burney because though absent from England on the North American station when the third voyage was preparing, he was sent for and appointed 1st lieutenant of the Discovery, and in this vessel one of the midshipmen was George Vancouver. Burney returned, owing to deaths during the voyage, 1st lieutenant of the Resolution. (Cook's 2nd voyage, 40, 11, p. 254; 3rd Voyage, 1, p. 11; 111, p. 285.)
Vancouver on returning in the Discovery passed for lieutenant, his passing certificate being dated 19 October, 1780, this date being a fortnight after his arrival in England. This document states that Vancouver "by certificate appears to be more than twenty-three years of age, and that he has gone to sea more than eight years." He was appointed lieutenant on the Martin sloop, 9 December, 1780, and from her was moved into the Fame, one of the ships that sailed with Rodney for the West Indies in December, 1781, and took part in Rodney's victory over the French fleet on the 12 April, 1782. The Fame returned to England in the summer of 1783 and in the following year Vancouver was appointed to the Europa, a two decked ship of 50 guns which in 1786, under the command of Captain Vashon, went out to Jamaica with the broad pennant of Commodore Alan (afterwards Lord) Gardner. From her he was paid-off in September, 1789, and he was then, at Gardner's suggestion, appointed to go out with Captain Roberts as second in command of an exploring expedition to the South seas, as the Pacific was then generally termed, and a new vessel, which was named the Discovery, was selected for that purpose. Owing to the Nootka difficulty, which took place in the summer of 1790, the voyage was postponed, nearly the whole of the crew dispersed, and Vancouver was appointed to the Courageux, commanded by Gardner, where he remained until 17 November following, when he was ordered to London to attend the commands of the board of Admiralty. On the 15 December, 1790, he was promoted to commander and given charge of the expedition which has gained for him on this coast imperishable fame.
His instructions, dated 8 March, 1791, with additional instructions, dated 20 August, 1791 (the latter received by the Dædalus storeship), were to proceed to the northwest coast of America for the purpose of acquiring a more complete knowledge of it between 30° latitude and Cook's river, and also at Nootka "to be put in possession of the buildings, and districts, or parcels of lands, which were occupied by His Majesty's subjects in the month of April, 1789, agreeable to the first article of the late convention." (Introduction, Vancouver's Voyage, 8°, I, p. 68.) The vessels came out via the Cape of Good Hope, Australia, New Zealand, and the Sandwich islands, arriving on this coast 17 April, 1792, when the surveying duty commenced and was carried out during the years, 1792, 1793 and 1794, with a zeal beyond all praise. The remarks he made in his journal while examining this broken and intricate coast line respecting the description of the shore, rocks, and shoals are excellent, and the names he bestowed along the coast of what is now known as the state of Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska, are an enduring mark of his faithful work. The diplomatic portion of his orders, owing to a difference of opinion between Vancouver and Quadra as to the portion to be ceded, had to be left in abeyance (see Kendrick arm) pending further instructions from England and Spain, which did not arrive till Vancouver had sailed from Nootka for home, 16 October, 1794.
While absent from England, Vancouver was advanced to post rank, 28 August, 1794. After his return he devoted himself entirely to preparing his journal for publication. He had corrected the proofs of all but the last few pages when he died at the old Star and Garter inn, Richmond Hill, Surrey, 10 May, 1798, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Peters, at Petersham, on the 18th. His brother John, with assistance from Captain Puget, completed the work for the press, it was dedicated to King George Ill, and published in two editions, 3 volumes, 4°, with folio atlas of charts, 1798, and 6 volumes, 8°, with one general chart, 1801. The copper plates of the charts were stolen between the first and second publications and never recovered, the general one only being re-engraved. An oil painting of Vancouver (copy) is in the legislative buildings, Victoria; the original of this copy is supposed to have been painted by Lemuel F. Abbott, circa 1796, and is in the National Gallery, London. His friend Quadra, in 1794, had pre-deceased him and was greatly regretted by Vancouver. On Christmas Day, 1794, at the fourth and last Christmas dinner Vancouver had on board the Discovery, the memory of Quadra was duly honoured.
The following is the text of Vancouver's will which doubtless was dictated in the Brewer Room at the Inn during his last illness, the view from which room Vancouver on first entering had spoken of most highly.
"Captain George Vancouver, being desirous of making arrangements of his property, has declared before us this twenty-eighth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, that he revoked all former wills and that after paying a legacy of twenty-five pounds to his agent, Mr. Sykes, he gave to his elder brother, John Vancouver, the rest of his property which is now about to be engaged in the purchase and improvement of Ealing Manor in Berks, subject to the payment of fifty pounds per annum to his brother Charles Vancouver, and of twenty-five pounds per annum to each of his sisters, Sarah and Mary Vancouver, during each of their natural lives, and that, in the event of his brother Charles Vancouver, dying before both or either of his sisters then the annuity of fifty pounds per annum so given to him, Charles Vancouver, to be equally divided between his two said sisters, Sarah and Mary Vancouver."
The will is witnessed by David Dundas and Granville Penn. It is evident from this document that Vancouver at the time of his death had two brothers and two sisters living, and was doubtless seriously ill when it was executed, as he died twelve days later. John Vancouver was married to Martha Partridge, one of the Partridges of Hockham Hall, Norfolk, who at the latter end of the eighteenth century also had a seat in Berkshire. This, no doubt, was why John was trying to acquire Ealing Manor. John was not able to secure the place as the property is not known to have ever been in his hands. His wife died at Llangennech Park in Carmarthenshire, 23 April, 1807, and he was living in 1809.
It has been recorded by Sir Joseph Banks that Captain Vancouver was a strict disciplinarian. One of his midshipmen, the Hon. Thomas Pitt, afterwards Lord Camelford, of notorious memory, whom Vancouver for continued wilful disobedience and contemptuous conduct finally punished by discharging him to the shore at the Sandwich islands, bitterly resented the treatment he had received on the Discovery, and in 1797 sent his late commander a challenge. Captain Vancouver declining to accept a challenge from his late insubordinate officer, unless any flag officer to whom the case might be referred should decide that he owed Camelford satisfaction, the latter refused any such reference and meeting Vancouver in the streets of London attempted to strike him with a stick, but was prevented by the bystanders. (Dict. Nat. Biog. IN Ill, p. 96; Annual Register, 1807; and Naval Chronicles.)
Vancouver bay, Jervis inlet, was named by Captain Richards, in 1860, because Vancouver, when examining the inlet in the Discovery's yawl accompanied by the launch, stayed here on the night of Sunday, 17 June, 1792.
Vancouver rock, Milbank sound, derives its name from the fact that Vancouver particularly noted it as a "very dangerous sunken rock when passing to the westward of it in the Discovery, 20 June, 1793. (Vancouver, 80, IV, p. 55.) Name adopted by Captain Pender (master, R.N.), Beaver, 1866.
Vancouver, the growing and prosperous city on Burrard inlet, owes its existence to the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, of which it is the western terminus. Before the railway was constructed n small collection of houses was named Granville, but when it was decided that the Canadian Pacific Railway would make this point the terminus the village sprang into prominence and in 1886 the city was incorporated under the name of "Vancouver" in honour of the man who ninety-four years before had explored and named Burrard inlet. The inlet was surveyed by Captain Richards, H.M.S. Plumper, 1859-1860, and the harbour and approaches resurveyed by Mr. W. J. Stewart, Hydrographic department, Canada, 1891.
The facsimile of the signature of Vancouver given in this work was procured for the writer by H.B.M. consul at Honolulu in 1905, from a letter of Vancouver's written by him in 1794 to Kamehameha, (Tamaahmaah) King of Owhyhee, and which letter is preserved in the archives of the territory of Hawaii at Honolulu.
See Cape Cook: Discovery island; Chatham islands; Point Sarah ; Roberts point; Quadra island; Burrard inlet; Broughton strait ; Puget sound; Baker mountain: Johnstone strait; Whidbey island ; Gardner inlet; Wales point; Vashon island; Duff point; Kendrik arm; Domett point; Banks island; Birch bay; Cordero channel; Nootka sound; Maquinna point ; Tlupana arm: Rodney mountain ; Meares island; Duncan rock; Rivers inlet; Hunter point; Skeena river • Stephens island; and Grenville channel.
Vancouver Island adopted 29 June 1921 on Ottawa file OBF 0611, as long identified on maps and charts.
"Vancouver Island" and the approved French form, "Île de Vancouver", identified as names of pan-Canadian significance per Treasury Board Circular 1983-58, 23 November 1983.
"Señor Quadra has very earnestly requested that I would name some port or island after us both, to commemorate our meeting and the very friendly intercourse that had taken place and subsisted between us. Conceiving no spot so proper for this denomination as the place where we had first met, which was nearly in the centre of a tract of land that had first been circumnavigated by us... I named that country the island of QUADRA and VANCOUVER; with which compliment he seemed highly pleased." (vol 2. p 672; Vancouver's journals, republished as "The Voyage of George Vancouver..." by The Hakluyt Society, 1984, edited by W.K. Lamb).
Named "Quadra and Vancouver's Island" by Captain George Vancouver, and so-labelled on his Chart of the Coast of Northwest America. The name arose from a conversation between the English navigator and Bodega y Quadra as they returned to Friendly Cove after making a formal visit to Maquinna's village at the head of the Tahsis Inlet in early September 1792. Between 1792 and 1794, Vancouver explored and surveyed the coastline from California to Alaska, and was the first to create detailed charts of many sections of the complex British Columbia coast, waterways and offshore islands; along the way, he bestowed names on many features and recorded observations & impressions in his journal. Vancouver's journals were published in London, 1798-1801, as "A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World" (5 books, including maps & illustrations). Republished with annotations in 1984 by The Hakluyt Society as "The Voyages of George Vancouver..." (4 volumes, comprising 1752 pages plus introduction & appendices, W.K. Lamb, editor. [Hakluyt Society 2nd Series, Part II, nos. 163, 164, 165, 166.] )
Bodega had referred to the island as the Gran Isla de Fuca, but following the Vancouver/Bogeda agreement, "Quadra and Vancouver's Island" initially appeared on British, Spanish and even French charts. However, as Spanish influence in North America declined, "Quadra" was soon dropped. By 1824 the Hudson's Bay Company was referring to "Vancouver's Island" in formal correspondence. Its influential position on the west coast ensured that this would soon become the norm. Sometime later the apostrophe was eliminated and the island took on its present name. (introductory notes, "The Voyage of George Vancouver..." by The Hakluyt Society, 1984, edited by W.K. Lamb).
The Colony of Vancouver Island was established in 1849, when the entire island (12,408 sq. miles / 32,260 sq. km) was leased to the Hudson's Bay Company for seven shillings a year. In return for colonizing the island, the company was given the right to sell land and mineral rights to entice potential settlers. "Vancouver's Island" (with apostrophe) was the name of the Colony for about 10 years in official documents; after c1860 usually identified as "Vancouver Island" (no apostrophe); no definite authority for the change.
A Selected Bibliography of Vancouver Island, Feature
A compilation of essential readings detailing the history, geography, and culture of the region.
The curious passage of Richard Blanshard first governor of Vancouver Island by Barry M. Gough
"Celebrated historian Barry Gough brings a defining era of Pacific Northwest history into focus in this biography of Richard Blanshard, the first governor of Vancouver Island--illuminating with intriguing detail the genesis and early days of Canada’s westernmost province. Early one wintry day in March 1850, after seven weary weeks out of sight of land, a well-dressed Londoner, a bachelor aged thirty-two, stood at the ship’s rail taking in the immensity of the unfolding scene. From Her Britannic Majesty’s paddlewheel sloop-of-war Driver, steadily thumping forth on Imperial purpose, all that Richard Blanshard could make out to port, in reflected purple light upon the northern side, was a forested, rock-clad island rising to considerable height. Vancouver’s Island they called it in those far-off days. This was his destination. Richard Blanshard was governor of the young colony for three short, unhappy years--only one and a half of which were spent in the colony itself. From the very beginning he was at odds with the vastly influential Hudson’s Bay Company, run by its Chief Factor James Douglas, who succeeded Blanshard as governor of the colony of Vancouver Island and later became the first governor of the colony of British Columbia. While James Douglas is remembered, for better or worse, as a founding father of British Columbia, Richard Blanshard’s name is now largely forgotten, despite his vitally important role in warning London of American cross-border aggressions, including a planned takeover of Haida Gwaii. However, his failures highlight the fascinating struggles of the time--the supreme influence of commerce, the disparity between expectations and reality, and the bewildering collision of European and Pacific Northwest culture."-- Provided by publisher
368 p.
Desiderata
Flourishing and free more true stories of trailblazing women of Vancouver Island by Haley Healey
"An inspiring and eye-opening collection of true stories about fourteen women who blazed their own trails in life and contributed in a fundamental way to the history of Vancouver Island and the surrounding islands. In this fascinating follow-up to On Their Own Terms, author Haley Healey chronicles the lives of a whole new crop of resilient, hard-working, rule-breaking, diverse women who lived on and around Vancouver Island. Flourishing and Free introduces readers to Sylvia Stark (1839-1944), who was born into slavery in Missouri and went on to become a homesteader on Salt Spring Island; Mary Ann Croft (1865-1935), the first female lighthouse keeper in all of Canada; Victoria Chung (1897-1966), the first Asian-Canadian person to earn a medical degree, who provided urgent care during the Second World War; Dr. Ellen White (1922-2018), a renowned Coast Salish educator, author, and storyteller; and Isabel Kimoto (1921-), a cook, who was sent to a Japanese-Canadian internment camp in 1942 with her three-month-old baby; and many more. Uplifting, empowering, and entertaining, this concise collection of stories will appeal to anyone interested in learning more about the unsung heroines of the West Coast."-- Provided by publisher
144 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.
Desiderata
On their own terms true stories of trailblazing women of Vancouver Island by Haley Healey
"A fascinating collection of concise stories about twenty-one courageous, independent, and diverse women who shaped the history of Vancouver Island. From the lush rainforest of Clayoquot Sound to the bustling city streets of Victoria, Vancouver Island has been home to an astounding number of inspiring women. On Their Own Terms: True Stories of Trailblazing Women of Vancouver Island celebrates the achievements of twenty-one amazing heroines working in multiple fields, from world-famous artists to social activists to groundbreaking scientists and quietly defiant labourers. The diverse women in this engaging new collection include: - pioneer and midwife Tuwa 'hwiye Tusium Gollelim, Mary Ann Gyves; - world-renowned algae botanist Josephine Tilden; - undiscovered aviatrix Lilian Bland; - Vancouver Island's first African-Canadian teacher, Emma Stark; and - entrepreneur and bounty hunter Ada Annie Rae-Arthur, better known as Cougar Annie. On Their Own Terms will delight and empower anyone looking for true stories of nineteenth- and twentieth-century women who confronted uncertainty, challenged gender norms, and excelled in their respective vocations. Whether you are an entrepreneur, an educator, a rebellious spirit, or an armchair adventurer, these incredible women who thrived on Vancouver Island will captivate you."-- Provided by publisher
141 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.
Desiderata
In nature's realm early naturalists explore Vancouver Island by Michael Layland
"A celebration of the richly diverse flora and fauna of Vancouver Island as explored through the records of explorers, settlers, and visitors, and with due respect to the wealth of Indigenous traditional knowledge of the island's ecosystems. In Nature's Realm gathers initial reports, recorded histories, and personal accounts left by Vancouver Island's early naturalists who studied the region's flora and fauna. Many, such as Archibald Menzies, accompanied English and Spanish explorations investigating the coastal geography for colonial expansion. Doctor-naturalists such as John Scouler, David Douglas, and Robert Brown worked with the Hudson's Bay Company and collected specimens. Irish-born John Macoun, a renowned naturalist, brought his expertise to Vancouver Island, as did botanical artists Sarah Lindley (Lady Crease) and Emily Henrietta Woods. In Nature's Realm is a companion volume to Layland's two previous titles: A Perfect Eden: Encounters by Early Explorers of Vancouver Island, shortlisted for a BC Book Prize in two categories; and The Land of Heart's Delight: Early Maps and Charts of Vancouver Island, shortlisted for the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Prize, and for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize."-- Provided by publisher
282 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 25 x 27 cm
Desiderata
Along the E&N a journey back to the historic hotels of Vancouver Island by Glen Mofford
"An exploration of the fascinating history of more than thirty historic hotels--with some still in operation--nestled along Vancouver Island's E&N Railway, spanning from Esquimalt to Campbell River. In 1886, Vancouver Island's E&N rail service was established to carry coal to smelters and ships, and the towns in the railway's path prospered as the tracks expanded and passenger travel flourished. Along the E&N celebrates the historic and still-surviving hotels and roadhouses that sprung up near the E&N. Within this carefully researched historical narrative, you'll find stories of the Halfway House in the Esquimalt District, the murder and suicide at the Mt Sicker Hotel, and the iconic Quinsam Hotel in Campbell River, burned down in 2017. This book chronicles the history of more than thirty hotels--many long gone, destroyed by fire, or simply demolished, like the Lorne Hotel in Comox, and others that have been remodelled into modern-day neighbourhood pubs--such as the Rod & Gun in Parksville and the Waverley Hotel in Cumberland. Peppered with the fascinating stories of patrons and proprietors alike, Along the E&N resonates with the haunting echoes of the train's iconic whistle."-- Provided by publisher
263 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 22 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
The west coast of Vancouver Island including Bunsby Islands & the Broken group by Anne Yeadon-Jones , Laurence Yeadon-Jones
With its rugged, rock-studded shoreline, relentlessly crashing ocean swells, miles of sandy beaches, diversity of wildlife and countless coves and bays, Vancouver Island’s western shoreline presents a challenging and thrilling adventure. Volume 6 covers the best spots from Cape Scott to Sooke, including Bull Harbour, the Bunsby Islands and Barclay Sound. This new revised edition presents updated information along with Laurence’s charming hand-drawn shoreline plans of selected marinas and small boat anchorages, ranging from safe all-weather havens to secluded picnic spots and marine parks. With charts, tips and helpful data, this guide will enhance the enjoyment and safety of any voyage to the wild West Coast.
191 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 31 cm.
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
A perfect Eden encounters by early explorers of Vancouver Island by Michael Layland
"In 1842, when explorer James Douglas encountered the rugged natural paradise that would become Vancouver Island, he described it as "a perfect Eden." This book gathers the early recorded histories and personal accounts left by Chinese seafarers, Spanish and British naval officers, traders seeking sea otter pelts, colonial surveyors, as well as soldiers, settlers, and other adventurers, starting from many centuries ago up to 1858. Collected here in detail for the first time, these accounts create a multilayered tale of discovery and exploration."-- Provided by publisher
xv, 240 pages : illustrations (some colour), maps (some colour), portraits (some colour) ; 25 x 27 cm
Non-circulating [ 2 ]
Vancouver Island scoundrels, eccentrics and originals tales from the library vault by Stephen Ruttan
Found on the history shelves of the Greater Victoria Public Library, these twenty true stories are brought to life by Stephen Ruttan. They draw a picture of the life of a city with a recent past that's both unconventional and colourful. From Miss Wilson and her famous parrot, Louis, to Jimmy Chicken Island, named after a man who acquired his surname from his habit of stealing chickens, to the Pig War, when Britain and the United States nearly came to blows over the San Juan Islands, to the rise and fall of Francis Rattenbury, one of Victorias best-known architects, these stories reveal a lively history of a West Coast capital city. Archival illustrations, newspaper clippings, and modern photos help make Vancouver Island Scoundrels, Eccentrics and Originals a delightful and illluminating read.
184 pages : illustrations (some colour), maps, portraits ; 19 cm.
Desiderata
The land of heart's delight early maps and charts of Vancouver Island by Michael Layland
"Just how, and why, did Vancouver Island get onto the map? How was knowledge of our immediate geography acquired and recorded? With 130 maps, dating between 1593 and 1915, this cartographic history tells the story of how Vancouver Island and the surrounding area came to be mapped. The book shows local cartographic milestones, marking progress in our knowledge through the island's rich--although comparatively short--recorded history. However, the maps, by themselves and without context, cannot tell the whole story. The accompanying text reveals the motives, constraints, agendas, and intrigues that underpin their making."--Publisher's description
232 pages : maps (chiefly color) ; 25 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Those island people by Lynne Bowen
Those Island People,began with a series of articles in the Times-Colonist about interesting and often unknown Islanders: gold seekers and gamblers, former slaves and veteran soldiers, missionaries and rabble rousers. Some of their forebears had been on the Island for thousands of years, but most of them came from somewhere else to make their lives on Vancouver Island. Those Island People involved more than the usual amount of detective work. I was determined to have a photograph for every chapter, but photographs of some subjects had eluded me for years.
x, 118 pages : illustrations, map, portraits ; 23 cm.
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
The private journal of Captain G.H. Richards the Vancouver Island survey (1860-1862) by George Henry Richards, Linda Dorricott, Deidre Cullon
Literary Nonfiction. History. Memoir. Native American Studies. Captain Richards's journal is an account of three survey seasons on Vancouver Island aboard two British Navy ships, the HMS Plumper and the HMS Hecate. Between 1860 and 1862 Richards and his dedicated crew surveyed and charted the entire coastline of Vancouver Island, creating baseline information for the nautical charts we use today. This monumental task, faithfully and often humorously recorded, also includes a lively description of California on the eve of the American Civil War as Richards sits in dry dock following the near wreck of the Hecate. Part of the private collection of a direct descendant of Captain Richards, the journal is a little known and untapped resource. Extensively annotated and supplemented with excerpts from the journals of Second Master John Gowlland, the journal provides a unique and personal view of the aboriginal, colonial, nautical and natural history of Vancouver Island. Richards is revealed as a man of immense energy and diplomacy; the descriptions of the First Nations he encounters are remarkably unbiased for the time and his keen observations are a portal into the social and political life of Vancouver Island during these formative years of the colony. The journal will appeal to historians, anthropologists, sailors, meteorologists and the general reading public alike.
271 pages, [32] pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps, portraits ; 23 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
A concise dictionary of the Nuuchahnulth language of Vancouver Island by John T. Stonham
For some 20 years, Stonham (linguistics, U. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne) has been researching the language of the Nuuchahnulth, a group of First Nations peoples occupying the west coast of Vancouver Island. His dictionary is the first attempt to provide a detailed account of the lexicon of the Nuuchahnulth language, complete with examples and grammatical information. The work is based primarily on fieldnotes gathered by Edward Sapir between 1910 and 1922, fieldnotes by Morris Swadesh in the 1940s, and Stonham's own field research since the 1980s. The volume includes a Nuuchahnulth-English dictionary with some 7,000 main entries, an English-Nuuchahnulth glossary of some 8,500 entries consisting of English headwords and their Nuuchahnulth equivalents, and appendices of grammatical paradigms and place names. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
xviii, 537 pages ; 24 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
A most unusual colony Vancouver Island 1849-1860 by Maureen Duffus
To travel back in time to the Colony of Vancouver Island, read the story of the Hudson's Bay years as told through recollections of a colonial childhood by the fictional Kate Murray and the letters of the real Mary Yates. The letters are inventions, but the real Mary lived through the events of the early years. Their stories combine to give an authentic glimpse of the extraordinary life inside the palisades of Fort Victoria, the world of children at Chaplain Staines's school, the settlers who rebelled against the HBC's autocratic rule, and the growing sophistication of colonial social life before and after BC's gold rush of 1858.
viii, 156 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Exploring Vancouver Island's west coast a cruising guide by Don Douglass
Nowhere does the tourist motto Super, National British Columbia! come more alive than on Vancouver Island's West Coast. With five great sounds, sixteen major inlets, and an abundance of spectacular wildlife, the largest island on the west coast of North America is a cruising paradise. The Douglasses consider their voyages along this coast to be among their most satisfying adventures. In this guide they give small craft skippers the kind of local knowledge they need to circumnavigate the island and drop hook in an abundance of intimate coves.
287 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm
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Seven shillings a year the history of Vancouver Island by Charles Lillard, Ellen J. Lehman (Donor)
Seven Shillings a Year: The History of Vancouver Island by Charles Lillard is a 1986 popular history—awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing—that offers a sweeping narrative of the island from pre-contact Indigenous cultures through the end of World War II. The title references the modest annual rent the Hudson's Bay Company paid the British Crown for the island upon establishing Fort Victoria. The book chronicles the early Spanish and English maritime explorations, the subsequent influx of miners, loggers, and farmers, and the evolution of Victoria from a rowdy frontier outpost to a cosmopolitan capital. Ultimately, it serves as an accessible, engaging, and pioneering single-volume overview of Vancouver Island's colonial and civic development, though modern scholars often contextualize it within the historiographical perspectives of its time.
viii, 248 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
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Place-names of the Island Halkomelem Indian people by David Lewis Rozen (Creator)
The Island Halkomelem Indian people live on the southeastern part of Vancouver Island and on some of the southern Gulf Islands in British Columbia. A total of three hundred two (302) place-names are known to these people today, in their Coast Salish language. Each of these names is transcribed in a practical writing system, corresponding to the pronunciation of the Indian words by some of the thirteen elderly Island Halkomelem people who collaborated on this study. For each geographical name, information regarding its traditional and present utilization by the Indians is given. This data is derived from interviews with the Indian people conducted by the author over a ten year period and also includes all the available information on each place-name from the pertinent ethnographic, linguistic and historical literature. After the information on the place-names is presented a brief analysis of the Indian names is attempted, focusing on a preliminary typology of the names derived from the use, English translations and etymologies of each name. A complete and detailed series of maps is included. The study concludes with some statements about how the Indian geographical toponymy reflects Island Halkomelem culture
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Boss whistle the coal miners of Vancouver Island remember by Lynne Bowen
The colonial postal systems and postage stamps of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, 1849-1871 by Alfred Stanley Deaville
The colonial postal systems and postage stamps of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, 1849-1871 examines the immense logistical challenges of establishing reliable communication networks across the vast, unforgiving terrains of Canada's westernmost colonial frontiers. Deaville details how early postal routes struggled to penetrate the region's extreme physical barriers, tracking the movement of mail from the isolated maritime hub of Victoria on Vancouver Island through the treacherous, steep-walled canyons of the Fraser River. By mapping the perilous overland express trails that supplied remote gold rush encampments deep within the rugged Cariboo interior, the narrative highlights the profound physical isolation of these early mainland settlements. Ultimately, the book illustrates how the development of early postal infrastructure was a direct, necessary response to the sprawling and mountainous topography that separated this rugged Pacific Northwest outpost from the rest of the world.
210 pages, 8 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
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Vancouver Island railroads by Robert D. Turner
The history of railroads on Vancouver Island begins in 1863. Turner presents the stories of the lines, the men who built them, and the locomotives and cars that gave them a unique character. Included is the saga of the Dunsmuirs, the coal barons and railroad builders who influenced the entire history of the Island
170 pages illustrations 29 cm
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Frontiers of Vancouver Island by E. Blanche Norcross, Doris Farmer Tonkin
Frontiers of Vancouver Island by E. Blanche Norcross and Doris Farmer Tonkin offers a detailed historical account of British Columbia's Vancouver Island from the late eighteenth century onward. The narrative explores the rugged coastal geography and interior valleys of the island, focusing heavily on the growth of early settlements and resource-based communities like Zeballos, Ladysmith, Campbell River, and Tofino. By chronicling the transformation of these isolated outposts and the ancestral lands of the Cowichan tribes into established coastal villages, the book vividly captures the frontier spirit of Canada's westernmost Pacific Northwest territory.
128 pages, [1] leaf of plates : illustrations, folded map ; 22 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Romantic Vancouver Island Victoria yesterday and today by Dorothy Abraham
Dorothy Abraham’s Romantic Vancouver Island: Victoria Yesterday and Today provides a geographical and historical portrait of British Columbia’s capital city and its surrounding maritime landscapes. The narrative contrasts the original footprint of Fort Victoria—an isolated Pacific Northwest fur-trading outpost on the island's southern tip—with the cultivated gardens and urban development of the modern coastal city. Expanding beyond the capital, the book maps the broader terrain of Vancouver Island, documenting the pioneer settlements, rugged shorelines, and dense timberlands that define this massive Canadian landmass. Through this localized lens, Abraham captures the physical transformation of this prominent British Columbia island from a wild frontier into an established cultural hub.
120 pages illustrations, map, portraits 23 cm
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Vancouver Island's west coast 1762-1962. With illustrations, map and list of shipwrecks by George Salier Willis Nicholson
George Salier Willis Nicholson’s Vancouver Island's West Coast 1762-1962 chronicles two centuries of maritime exploration, indigenous encounter, and pioneer resource extraction along one of the Pacific Northwest’s most unforgiving shorelines. The narrative meticulously maps the treacherous, storm-battered topography that defines the seaward edge of the island, stretching across deep, glaciated fjords like Nootka and Clayoquot Sounds, which are walled in by dense temperate rainforests and the rugged Insular Mountains. By detailing the area’s notorious reputation as the "Graveyard of the Pacific"—evidenced by the book’s extensive catalog of maritime disasters—Nicholson illustrates how the perilous combination of dense fogs, violent winter gales, and jagged offshore reefs constantly threatened early marine transit and commercial shipping. The text traces how subsequent pioneer enterprises, including isolated coastal logging camps, commercial salmon canneries, and whaling stations, were forced to operate entirely dependent on these dangerous aquatic highways due to the impassable nature of the island’s interior. Ultimately, the book captures the extreme physical isolation of Vancouver Island's outer coast, demonstrating how the constant battle against this formidable, wave-swept geography fundamentally shaped the cultural and industrial survival of its remote coastal enclaves.
Index of shipwrecks. History from the time of the landing of the Spaniards and Captain Cook
356 pages : illustrations, portraits, maps (on lining papers) ; 25 cm
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Lone Cone a journal of life on the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. by Dorothy Abraham
Dorothy Abraham’s Lone Cone: A Journal of Life on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. provides an intimate pioneer chronicle of daily survival and domestic adaptation in one of the Pacific Northwest's most geographically isolated and storm-battered environments. The narrative meticulously maps the formidable marine topography of Clayoquot Sound, dominated by the imposing alpine presence of its titular peak, where dense, nearly impenetrable temperate rainforests plunge directly into the volatile, deep-water fjords of the Pacific edge. By detailing the grueling realities of twentieth-century homesteading, the book illustrates how the complete absence of viable overland transit through the steep, rain-soaked interior forced settlers to rely entirely on precarious aquatic highways for basic communication, medical access, and supply delivery. The text highlights how the unrelenting oceanic climate and sheer physical isolation demanded absolute self-sufficiency, dictating that every aspect of domestic life be tethered to the unpredictable schedules of coastal steamers navigating treacherous offshore reefs. Ultimately, the account captures the profound geographical determinism of Vancouver Island’s western seaboard, demonstrating how yielding to the overwhelming forces of extreme maritime weather and mastering a fractured, water-bound landscape were the absolute prerequisites for enduring at the very edge of the continental frontier.
103 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
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Milestones on Vancouver Island the story of this "Island to the West", its past, and its present by C. P. Lyons
C. P. Lyons’s Milestones on Vancouver Island chronicles the grueling pioneer colonization and resource extraction of a massive, heavily forested landmass completely severed from the North American continent by the treacherous waters of the Pacific Ocean. The narrative maps how the island’s formidable topography—defined by an impassable, glaciated mountainous spine and impenetrable coastal rainforests—forced early settlements to cling precariously to the sheltered eastern shoreline along the Strait of Georgia. By detailing the massive industrial efforts required to exploit rich coal deposits and vast timber reserves, the text illustrates how establishing robust maritime infrastructure and localized logging rail networks was strictly dictated by the severe overland constraints of this rugged terrain. Ultimately, the account demonstrates that conquering the extreme geographic isolation and dense biological barriers of this offshore frontier was the absolute prerequisite for integrating its immense natural wealth into the broader Pacific maritime economy.
viii, 315 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Vancouver Island and British Columbia their history, resources and prospects by Matthew Macfie
Published in London in 1865 after the author's five-year residency in Victoria, Matthew Macfie’s Vancouver Island and British Columbia offers a comprehensive geographical, historical, and economic assessment of the twin Pacific colonies during the transformative Cariboo Gold Rush. A keen insight drawn from the text is how Macfie strategically weaponizes his critique of the monopolistic Hudson's Bay Company, arguing that true imperial prosperity and a robust defense against American expansionism required both the immediate political union of the two colonies and the construction of a transcontinental railway. Functioning as sophisticated promotional literature for prospective British emigrants, the volume meticulously catalogs the region's agricultural, mining, and timber potential while actively minimizing the complex realities of the existing Indigenous and growing Chinese populations. Consequently, the book stands as a quintessential artifact of Victorian colonial boosterism that accurately forecasted the infrastructural and political integration that would ultimately define western Canada.
xxi, 574 pages, 2 unnumbered pages, 3 leaves of plates (2 folded) : illustrations, frontispiece, 2 color maps ; 23 cm
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Four years in British Columbia and Vancouver Island an account of their forests, rivers, coasts, gold fields and resources for colonisation by Richard C. Mayne, John Murray (Firm) (Publisher), William Clowes and Sons (Printer), Northern Pacific Railroad Company (Former owner), Northern Transcontinental Survey (Associated name)
Published in 1862, Royal Navy Commander Richard C. Mayne’s Four Years in British Columbia and Vancouver Island provides a detailed firsthand account of the region's geography, indigenous populations, and natural resources during the height of the Fraser River Gold Rush. Based on his extensive coastal and inland surveying expeditions aboard the HMS Plumper and Hecate, the narrative captures the rapid transformation of the territory from a remote fur-trade outpost into an actively managed British colony. A keen insight drawn from the text is how Mayne's meticulous cartographic and resource-focused observations demonstrate the Royal Navy's crucial role as agents of colonial statecraft, systematically converting a rugged, Indigenous-inhabited landscape into a legible, commodified space designed specifically for imperial investment. Furthermore, the volume's historical provenance as property of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company perfectly illustrates how these early military surveys ultimately functioned as direct strategic blueprints for subsequent corporate and infrastructural expansion across the Pacific Northwest.
xi, 468 pages, 20 unnumbered pages of plates + 32 pages publisher's ads : illustrations, maps (1 folded) ; 23 cm
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A glance at British Columbia and Vancouver's Island in 1861 by Alfred J. Langley
Published in London in 1862, Alfred J. Langley’s pamphlet A Glance at British Columbia and Vancouver's Island in 1861 serves as a classic piece of colonial booster literature explicitly designed to attract British emigrants and investment to the Pacific Northwest. The text outlines the region's physical geography, favorable climate, and abundant natural resources, with a particular emphasis on the explosive wealth generated by the Cariboo Gold Rush and the availability of agricultural land. It captures a pivotal moment of transition as the British administration actively sought to shift the region away from the monopolistic fur-trade economy of the Hudson's Bay Company toward a permanent, settler-driven society. A keen insight drawn from the publication is how Langley’s promotional rhetoric conceptually maps the rugged frontier strictly through the lens of capitalist extraction, systematically minimizing the existing Indigenous presence in order to aggressively market the region as an "empty" wilderness ripe for immediate white settlement and industrial exploitation.
44 pages ; 19 cm
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Colonization of Vancouver's Island by Hudson's Bay Company Ltd.
"Written to encourage emigrants to obtain land from the Hudson's Bay Company for settlement, the work outlines conditions of land purchase and quotes published sources as to the suitability of Vancouver Island for colonization." -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 2.
28 pages map 22 cm
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Related Online Resources
Vancouver Island Local History Society
Vancouver Island Local History Society’s Mission: a) To promote, encourage, and engage the study of local and regional history within the communities of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. b) To develop and support local history initiatives that take a critical and exploratory approach to Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations. c) To develop and support projects that are inclusive, diverse, and representative of communities in the past and present. d) To act as a facilitator of local efforts that build relationships between organizations and communities and situate history as a foundational or key element. Includes a wiki type resource of transcribed documents from the Point Ellice House & Museum collection.
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Last updated: 2026-10-13