Captain Duke Snider Captain David (Duke) Snider Master Mariner, and resident of Victoria. After serving briefly as a naval officer David Snider joined the Canadian Coast Guard in 1979. Between service with the CCG and two years in an ice-braking bulk carrier in the Arctic he qualified as a Master Mariner. His CCG service [...]
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons PEMBERTON, JOSEPH DESPARD (1821-1893) engineer, surveyor, farmer, politician, jp, and businessman; b. 23 July 1821 near Dublin (Republic of Ireland), son of Joseph Pemberton and Margaret Stephens; m. 1864 Theresa Jane Despard Grautoff in London, England, and they had three sons and three daughters, including the artist Sophia Theresa; d. 11 Nov. 1893 in Oak Bay, B.C. [...]
Peter Freeman (1952 - ) grew up in the fishing village of Noosa Heads, south of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. In 1976 he accompanied Max Dorfligger, a Swiss carpenter, shipwright, and mountaineer on a voyage across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand aboard Sunshine, the 32-foot sloop Dorfligger had built. The experience inspired Freeman [...]
Audrey Grimshaw is a founding committee member of the Victoria Real Estate Board's Victoria Classic Boat Festival. Audrey was the President of the Victoria Real Estate Salesmans' Association, which merged with the Victoria Real Estate Board in 1976. With the merger Audrey became the Board's representative on the Classic Boat Festival committee. Audrey served [...]
In the Hawaiian language kanaka means "human being", their name for themselves, kānaka ʻōiwi or kānaka maoli, . In the 19th and early 20th centuries Kanakas were workers from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia Fiji, and Queensland, Australia. They also worked in California and Chile. Canadian Kanakas were [...]
The Reverend Alexander Garrett. Wikimedia Alexander Charles Garrett (1832-1924) was born in Ireland. He graduated from Dublin’s Trinity College in 1855 and ordained an Anglican Minister in 1859. That year Rev. G. Hills was travelling through England recruiting men and raising money for the establishment of the Diocese in the colony of [...]
The old rice mill housed a ship-breaking industry that evolved into one of Victoria's most comprehensive and popular hardware store. The Victoria Harbour History Society is currently researching the Greene Family's contribution to the vibrancy of Victoria's Harbour. If you would like notification of this story's post please send us an email. [...]
Aerial view of the Gorge Waterway / Victoria Harbour Watershed.Courtesy CRD The Veins of Life Watershed Society is a community environmental organization focusing on habitat restoration projects and garbage removal initiatives along the shorelines and streams in our local watershed. The society also maintains an environmental education program and various public outreach [...]
Meet the man who saved Craigdarroch Castle James K. Nesbitt, (1908-1981)was a descendant of one of Victoria’s pioneer families, a Daily Colonist newspaperman, and an early champion of the preservation of the city’s history. In recognition of his efforts to preserve and document the city's historical resources Nesbitt was given Plaque Number One on his [...]
Captain Robert Bartlett and Robert Peary, standing on ship, Battle Harbour, Labrador in 1909. Wikimedia Commons Captain Robert "Bob" Abram Bartlett (1875 - 1946) was born in Brigus, Newfoundland, the oldest of ten children and heir to a seafaring tradition. By age of 17 he had mastered his first ship. Over his [...]