'Namgis fishing late 1800s

This photo, dated from the late 1800s, shows First Nations from Alert Bay, likely members of the 'Namgis First Nation, fishing on the Nimpkish River. In this type of fishery a net was pulled out into the river by a dugout canoe. In the late 1800s a saltery was set up in Alert Bay to process fish caught locally. One side of the net has 'corks' to make it float, and one side has 'lead' to make it sink. Nets could either be strung across the river to catch salmon by the gills (a gill net), or taken out from the shore into a large purse which was gradually made smaller as it was pulled onto shore (seine).

Koskimo Village

The Koskimo First Nation had its origin stories from the northern part of Vancouver Island, but by the late 1700s they had become the main tribe within the Quatsino Sound area. In the 1800s there was an amalgamation of a number of First Nations in the area to the village adjacent to Quatsino Narrows.This photo, from BC archives, is reported to be from about the year 1870. It notes that is is a Koskimo village, but it may be the village of Maate (May-lat-tee) in Koskimo Bay which was a fishing station with cultivated fields where potatoes were grown, or Hwates/ Hwutis/ Quattishe near Hecate Cove, which was noted to have a population of about 400 at that time.

"Members of the village of Koskimo near the entrance to Quatsino Sound" 

circa 1870 BC Archives: F-08199 

RCAF Stn. Coal Harbour Boxing Match

In 1940 the Canadian Air Force began construction of RCAF Stn. Coal Harbour. Its purpose was to serve as a base for small sea planes that would fly reconnaissance missions out over the Pacific to look for enemy naval ships or submarines during World War II. In 1941 four officers and seventy six men were assigned to the unit. During the war one of the pastimes the crew enjoyed was a good boxing match. The unit was disbanded in August 1945 and later became a whaling station.

"Boxing match in no. 1 hangar, Royal Canadian Air Force Station Coal Harbour, British Columbia, May 15, 1942" Department of National Defense, National Archives of Canada Reference: MIKAN 3525183

Shushartie Bay

For many years Shushartie Bay was an important hub of economic activity on the North Island. Prior to the establishment of a trading port at Fort Rupert by the Hudsons Bay Company trading vessels would often anchor at Shushartie to trade. 

In the early 1900s the Skinner family opened a store in the Bay.  A salmon cannery was built in 1914 by the Goletas Fish Company, during World War I. It was eventually taken over by Western Packers Ltd, and then the Canadian Fisheries Company, and operated until 1928. When the cannery closed, much of its equipment was moved to Bones Bay.

The store operated and the area was a steamship stop servicing some of the more northern island inhabitants until the 1940s. 

 

Shushartie Bay 1944 (BC Archives I-20517) 

Illustration of "Skinner's Store" by Lindley Crease 1937 (BC Archives PDP07459)

West Huson's House & Store, Alert Bay circa 1870s

West Huson's house and store on the Alert Bay waterfront, circa 1870s.
Alden Wesley Huson was born in New York in 1832. He is believed to have come to BC in the 1850s and by the 1870s was a partner in the salmon saltery and a store in Alert Bay. He died in Alert Bay in 1911, and the Huson Lake, which is a part of the Nimpkish watershed, is named after him.

Alert Bay Waterfront 1880s

This photo is an early picture of the Alert Bay settlement on Cormorant Island in the 1880s. In the mid 1870s a fish saltery was opened on the island and many Indigenous peoples from the surrounding area, specifically those from the 'Namgis Nation, built houses at Alert Bay. At this time the population of the village of Whulk on the banks of the Nimpkish River declined as many residents moved to Alert Bay for more steady year-round employment opportunities. 

Alert Bay waterfront 1880s

CPR steamer the Tees in Quatsino Sound

Canadian Pacific Railway steamer the Tees, entering Quatsino Sound in the early 1900s.

For most of the last 150 years, the main method of transport around the Northern Vancouver Island was by ship. The Canadian Pacific Railway's fleet of steamers were a lifeline and a highway for coastal communities.
Built in 1893 in England, the steamer Tees was first used to transport gold prospectors back and forth to Alaska. In 1903 she was reassigned to the West Coast of Vancouver Island, a route which she plied until 1913 when she was replaced by the Princess Maquinna.