The Chronicles

Fire.

This was the single greatest threat common to all BC frontier communities. 

More than flood and famine, more than the threat of epidemic, fire haunted the minds of those who valued their lives and their property.

“Oh, my son, I lost my son.”

Such was the heart-breaking front-page headline of the Aug. 3, 1970 Vancouver Sun, published the day after the BC ferry Queen of Victoria and the Russian freighter Sergey Yesinen met in a deadly, noon-hour crash in Active Pass. 

There’s no denying that, after most of a lifetime of researching and writing about BC history, the fascinating, rich and tragic story of coal mining has become my favourite subject. 

And, because the Greater Nanaimo area, which was home to some of the Island’s greatest coal mines, is also in my backyard, so to speak, that’s where I’ve focused my attention.

In this brave new world of AI, the world needs more copper. 

More copper, in fact, than is known to remain in the ground, untapped, after centuries of wholesale extraction! 

What to do?

oday, it’s William Head Institution, a minimum-security prison, located at the outermost reach of the District of Metchosin. It’s prime waterfront real estate. 

Originally, these acres served as western Canada’s quarantine station. Every ship headed for Victoria, Vancouver or other BC ports, had to stop here so that passengers and crews could be examined for infectious diseases.

Had Friends In High Places
(Conclusion)

Alleged murderer Mr. Kelly, it seems, wasn't just an ordinary desperado; he had friends. Important friends. And when they were through pulling strings, creating smokescreens and calling names, B.C. authorities were sorry they'd ever heard of the leering Irishman.

This evil letter appears on the maritime casualty lists with unnerving frequency.

Andalusia, Coolcha, Hera, Rosalia, Walla Walla, Princess Sophia: fishpacker, tugboat and ocean-going liner—from the humble to the mighty—each had at least two things in common: their names ended in the letter ‘a’ and each encountered disaster on the high seas.

(Part 1)
Had Friends In High Places
It would take little less than a full-fledged miracle to uncover a murderer's loot cached near the town of Golden, British Columbia, but if a treasure hunter could match painstaking research with phenomenal luck, he might find himself $4,500 (actually much more at today's values) richer.

How many British Columbia communities commemorate a murderer?

Here is irony at its best. Legions of men and women who spent their lives working and contributing to the building of this province have faded into history and are forgotten. But at Gray Creek, on the north shore of Kootenay Lake, a fancy signboard marks the site of Henry Rose’s cabin. Only the chimney remains and it has become a popular geocache site. 

(Conclusion)

Last week, I introduced you to the George Medal, one step short of the George Cross which is the non-combat equivalent of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the British Commonwealth. 

To date, 77 Canadians, military and civilian, have earned this distinguished recognition of valour. I’ve been trying to nail down one in particular that was awarded for heroism in the deadly crash of an RCAF bomber at Comox airbase in the early 1950s. 

"The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the George Medal in recognition of conspicuous gallantry in carrying out hazardous work in a very brave manner." 

Last week marked another workers’ memorial day when we honoured the 1000s of men and women who have been killed or injured on the job. During the past year, in BC alone, there were 138 workplace deaths.

In Nanaimo, the National Day of Mourning also commemorates the May 3, 1887 No. 1 Esplanade Mine disaster that killed 150 men in a single disaster.

News reports of both events coincided with my writing my newest book about the coal mines of the South Wellington area. In the course of research, I’d found myself checking the Department of Mines’ Annual Reports for 1959 and 1960.

(Conclusion)

In last week’s BC Chronicles, banker David Doig and his Mountie escort successfully arrived in boomtown Dawson City with $1 million in cash. The young Scottish banker had been entrusted with opening Canada’s most northerly branch of the Bank of British North America.

This was at the height of the fabled Klondike gold rush.