Islands history
Central Schoolhouse on Salt Spring Island, circa 1894.Pioneer Edward Harrison stands at
left with his oxen attached to a wagon.
First Nations, settlers from around the world
are
part of islands history
While Captain George Vancouver made his first Gulf Islands sightings in 1792, the area was already home to several Coast Salish First Nations, who lived a semi-nomadic existence off the bounty provided by the sea and lands. More and more you'll hear the Gulf Islands region referred to as "the Salish Sea," in recognition of its original inhabitants.
Captain Vancouver claimed the islands for the British Crown, and referred to them as being located in a "gulf." It is pretty apparent to anyone looking at a modern map of the area that the Gulf Islands are not in a gulf. Nevertheless, the name stuck. In the same year, Spanish and British cartographic expeditions also explored the area intent on finding a passage to the northwest Atlantic.
As marine traffic between Victoria and the Fraser River area of the Mainland increased, it became clear that a new map of the Strait of Georgia was needed. In 1858-59, another British cartographic expedition, on the HMS Plumper, was dispatched and more accurate maps were produced. By now, pioneers had begun establishing settlements on the Gulf Islands. African Americans and Portuguese arrived in 1859 and carved out homesteads in fertile valleys on the central and north end of Salt Spring.
Hawaiians, who were employed by the Hudson's Bay Company or living in the San Juan Islands when they became U.S. territory in 1872, also settled on south Salt Spring and nearby islands. St. Paul's Catholic church in Fulford Harbour was built largely with labour from the local Hawaiian community between 1880 and 1885.
Settlers from other parts of the world soon followed, establishing farms and small industries. Japanese residents created productive farms and fish salteries, which they lost during the internment of World War II. A Japanese Garden at Dinner Bay Park on Mayne Island recognizes the contributions of Japanese settlers on that island.
The gold rush of 1858 also had an impact on the Gulf Islands, although the gold was far from here. But when prospectors heard the cry of "gold" in the Fraser River area, they sailed first to Victoria and then crossed the Strait of Georgia to the mainland. Many prospectors rowed boats across the strait, and Miners Bay on Mayne Island became an important and busy resting point en route. The village boomed with activity and the island quickly became the commercial and social hub for all of the Gulf Islands. In fact, for years afterwards, the postmasters from Galiano and Pender islands had to row to Mayne Island to collect the mail.
Gulf Islands place names are steeped in history of the explorers and those on mapping expeditions. Local residents had named the waterway between Galiano and Mayne Island "Plumper Pass" after the mapping ship that came in 1858-59. However, Captain Richards officially named the waterway "Active Pass," not because of the turbulence of the water, but after the US Active, the first steamship to navigate the pass in 1855. Now the name "Plumper" is used to identify the waterway between Saturna and Pender islands.
Spanish explorer Dionisio Galiano named, obviously, Galiano Island, and now the marine park at the north end of the island has been give his first name, Dionisio Point Marine Park. Saturna Island was named after the Spanish ship Saturnina, captained by Jose Maria Narvaez, who left his name on a Saturna Island bay.
Gabriola Island also bears evidence of Spanish exploration from the late 18th century, with the Malaspina Galleries and Descanso Bay being two examples. Gabriola is believed to be the outcome of the Spanish word for seagull - gaviota.
Evidence of First Nations habitation can be found with shell middens located throughout the islands, along with petroglyphs or stone carvings in some spots, and particularly on Gabriola Island. As well, the Gulf Islands are full of historic buildings, from hundred-year-old churches and halls to farmhouses and barns built long ago. Most islands have museums of some kind.
On Salt Spring, historic artifacts can be viewed in two collections by appointment: At the Bittancourt Museum on the Farmers Institute gorunds on Rainbow Road (call 537-4895); and at The Akerman Museum in the Fulford Valley. Call Bob Akerman at 653-4228 to schedule a visit. On Mayne Island the museum is in a former jail built in 1896. It is easily spotted in the commercial area of Miners Bay.
Gabriola's museum, opened in 1995, is located on South Road, about a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal. The museum on Galiano Island can be found at #2-1122 Porlier Pass Road. Its phone number is 539-5006. The Pender Island Museum Society is in the process of establishing a museum on the historic Roesland Resort property now part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve.