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The Government of Canada through the
Department of Canadian Heritage and
the Canada Interactive Fund.
Dallas Road below Beacon Hill Death, Life and happiness are in the story of Beacon Hill. On these headlands where an ardent people once buried their dead, early settlers erected beacons to guide mariners past dangerous Brotchie Ledge. Here, too, … More »
Amor De Cosmos (Lover of the Universe) was the name adopted by William Smith of Windor, Nova Scotia, while in the California goldfields. In 1858 he arrived in Victoria and founded the opposition journal, the Colonist. For over two decades … More »
Born near Levis, Demers was trained at the Seminary of Quebec, ordained in 1836 and sent in 1838 as a missionary to the Columbia. His ministry extended from the interior of British Columbia to Oregon. First pastor of St. John’s … More »
In 1858, when the Fraser River gold rush erupted, thousands of men raced to seek their fortunes. Among them were several hundred people of African descent. Many of these men stayed in Victoria and the surrounding area to settle and … More »
The province of British Columbia was created on July 20, 1871. Formerly a crown colony established by the union in 1866 of Vancouver Island with the mainland colony of British Columbia, the addition of the Pacific coast province made Canada … More »
The mooring rings on the rocks below are the only surviving fragment of Fort Victoria built by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1843. From 1846, when the Oregon boundary was drawn at the 49th parallel, this post served as grand … More »
Sir Musgrave entered civil service at an early age, filling posts in several colonial locations for the benefit of the crown and its people. He served in the Caribbean before becoming Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, then Governor of British … More »
James Douglas began his career in the fur trade serving in various posts before being assigned to build Fort Victoria in 1843. From there, he rose to the rank of Chief Factor before being appointed Governor of the Colony of … More »
The distinctive architecture of St. Ann’s Academy, built in three stages from 1871 to 1910, reflects the strong influence of the French Canadian religious order during the early history of British Columbia. The building and landscape reflects over 100 years … More »
For a quarter of a century, the wood-burning steam ‘locies’ of the ‘Cordwood Limited’ hauled trains throughout the Saanich Peninsula. From 1894 to1919, the Victoria and Sidney Railway was vital to the growth of sawmilling and agriculture communities in Saanich. … More »
The Legislative Buildings for the Colony of Vancouver Island were built here in 1859. Nicknamed ‘The Birdcages’, due to their quaint style, they were replaced in 1894 by the present buildings. The original Legislative Hall, meeting place of the first … More »
In a small park on the west side of Wharf Street, opposite the foot of Fort Street From a muddy trail fronting Fort Victoria, this street changed with the maturing city. In the 1850s, Hudson’s Bay Co. ships loaded furs … More »
