history

Bill Merilees, a retired B.C. Parks regional information officer, collected mollusk shells from B.C. and Washington state coastlines for 50 years and has donated his 140,000-specimen collection to University of British Columbia’s Beaty Biodiversity Museum. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

Nanaimo man donates 140,000 mollusk specimens to biodiversity museum

UBC’s Beaty museum grateful for Bill Merilees’s historical record of B.C. marine biodiversity

 

West Coast General Hospital, as depicted sometime between 1913-1915, was a two-storey building with two wings connected by a central piece. The hospital was located near the spot where the Port Alberni RCMP building is today, and underwent a few renovations over the years. This is one of 24,000 photos contained in the Alberni Valley Museum's online archives, available at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN00108 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

LOOK BACK: Alberni Valley hit by Spanish flu in 1918

Some things change, while others stay the same

 

Captain James Cook statue splashes into Victoria’s Inner Harbour, after being removed from its upper causeway pedestal on July 1. (@CJusticeVic/Twitter)

Cast in bronze, then into Victoria’s Inner Harbour: So who was James Cook?

Likeness of British maritime explorer commissioned in 1976, forcibly removed on July 1

 

Yak Flight is a group of six Greater Victoria vintage plane pilots best known for their Remembrance Day flyover. (Courtesy of Chris Walker)

‘It’s just magic’: Greater Victoria group thankful for one-of-a-kind hobby

Yak Flight is best known for its formation fly on Remembrance Day

Yak Flight is a group of six Greater Victoria vintage plane pilots best known for their Remembrance Day flyover. (Courtesy of Chris Walker)
Gwen Spencer Hethey with her uncle and mentor Major Frederick Richardson. (Courtesy of Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame)

‘She was a killer’: The Victoria woman who pioneered female sharpshooting

Gwen Spencer Hethey made military men ‘look like turkeys’ says her son

Gwen Spencer Hethey with her uncle and mentor Major Frederick Richardson. (Courtesy of Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame)
(Courtesy Photo | Frank Zmuda)

Beaver secretion found as part of ancient throwing dart in Yukon

Researchers saying it’s earliest known evidence of Indigenous peoples using the substance

(Courtesy Photo | Frank Zmuda)
A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on Sunday June 6, 2021. A much-maligned statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled in Toronto on Sunday. The statue, prominently displayed on the campus of Ryerson University, has come under renewed scrutiny after the discovery in Kamloops, B.C., of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Beheaded statue of Egerton Ryerson, toppled Sunday in Toronto, won’t be replaced

Ryerson is credited as one of the architects of Canada’s residential school system

A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on Sunday June 6, 2021. A much-maligned statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled in Toronto on Sunday. The statue, prominently displayed on the campus of Ryerson University, has come under renewed scrutiny after the discovery in Kamloops, B.C., of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Oak Bay police Sgt. Manny Montero with a selection of historical department items he’s collected in his nearly four years with the department. (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)

Oak Bay cop targets police history, aims to share

Century of police paraphernalia slated for display at Monterey station

Oak Bay police Sgt. Manny Montero with a selection of historical department items he’s collected in his nearly four years with the department. (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)
Minnie Paterson, known as the ‘Heroine of Cape Beale’ for her lifesaving efforts following a tragic shipwreck on the west coast of Vancouver Island, poses for a portrait with her dog Yarrow in 1900. Paterson’s husband Thomas was the Cape Beale lighthouse keeper at the time of the wrecks of the SS Valencia on Jan. 22, 1906 and the Coloma on Dec. 7, 1906. Minnie earned her nickname after trekking through rough terrain and weather to Bamfield to alert Coast Guard Service Quadra that the Coloma was sinking. All aboard were saved thanks to her heroic efforts. This photo is one of 24,000 included in the Alberni Valley Museum’s online archives, available for public viewing at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN11869 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

Meet Minnie Paterson, the heroine of Cape Beale

How a lighthouse keeper’s wife saved the victims of a turn-of-the-century shipwreck

Minnie Paterson, known as the ‘Heroine of Cape Beale’ for her lifesaving efforts following a tragic shipwreck on the west coast of Vancouver Island, poses for a portrait with her dog Yarrow in 1900. Paterson’s husband Thomas was the Cape Beale lighthouse keeper at the time of the wrecks of the SS Valencia on Jan. 22, 1906 and the Coloma on Dec. 7, 1906. Minnie earned her nickname after trekking through rough terrain and weather to Bamfield to alert Coast Guard Service Quadra that the Coloma was sinking. All aboard were saved thanks to her heroic efforts. This photo is one of 24,000 included in the Alberni Valley Museum’s online archives, available for public viewing at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN11869 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)
The Morden Mine tipple and headframe structure has undergone $1.4 million in restoration work, which included strengthening the 108-year-old concrete structure and new fencing around the historical site south of Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

Restoration work finished at Morden Mine historical site

$1.4-million project strengthens mine structure south of Nanaimo

The Morden Mine tipple and headframe structure has undergone $1.4 million in restoration work, which included strengthening the 108-year-old concrete structure and new fencing around the historical site south of Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)
A petition launched by a group of University of Victoria students calls for the renaming of Trutch Street. (Google Maps)

Campaign to get racist name off Victoria street getting online support

UVic students say Trutch Street puts racist history on a pedestal

A petition launched by a group of University of Victoria students calls for the renaming of Trutch Street. (Google Maps)
Rob Rondeau, PhD candidate at SFU, is embarking on a mission to find definitive evidence of human migration to the continent. (SFU supplied image)

VIDEO: Marine archaeologist looking for clues of ancient migration in B.C. waters

SFU researcher hoping to find 15,000 year-old archaeological sites underwater

Rob Rondeau, PhD candidate at SFU, is embarking on a mission to find definitive evidence of human migration to the continent. (SFU supplied image)
Dan Vedova holds up an Ensign retrieved from the HMCS Clayoquot as she was sinking on Dec. 24, 1944. (Andrew Bailey photo)

No virus required: A harrowing story of one Christmas Eve past

Short of lifeboats, dozens of sailors jumped into the black frigid water

  • Dec 24, 2020
Dan Vedova holds up an Ensign retrieved from the HMCS Clayoquot as she was sinking on Dec. 24, 1944. (Andrew Bailey photo)
The historic St. Andrews Lodge was saved for demolition. (PQB News file photo)

Qualicum Beach lays out requirements for renovation of historic St. Andrews Lodge

Council defers matter until society has been established

The historic St. Andrews Lodge was saved for demolition. (PQB News file photo)
Qualicum Beach Coun. Teunis Westbroek talks to protesters fighting to save the St. Andrews Lodge. (Michael Briones photo)

Qualicum Beach councillors call special meeting in effort to save historic St. Andrews Lodge

Old building slated for demolition

Qualicum Beach Coun. Teunis Westbroek talks to protesters fighting to save the St. Andrews Lodge. (Michael Briones photo)
A fence has been erected in Qualicum Beach around St. Andrews Lodge, scheduled to be demolished, with the gate locked to keep the public out. (Michael Briones photo)

Qualicum Beach mayor pens open letter to council after controversy surrounding historic lodge

‘A decision was made after all other avenues were exhausted’

A fence has been erected in Qualicum Beach around St. Andrews Lodge, scheduled to be demolished, with the gate locked to keep the public out. (Michael Briones photo)
Qualicum Beach councillor Teunis Westbroek talks to protesters fighting to save the St. Andrews Lodge. (Michael Briones photo)

Wrecking ball reprieve for heritage Qualicum building?

Qualicum Beach councillor agrees with quest to save historic St. Andrews Lodge

Qualicum Beach councillor Teunis Westbroek talks to protesters fighting to save the St. Andrews Lodge. (Michael Briones photo)
Protesters against the demolition of St. Andrews Lodge in Qualicum Beach took shifts along the Island Highway on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, to maintain social distancing regulations while demonstrating. (Mandy Moraes photo)

Qualicum Beach residents rally to preserve historic St. Andrews Lodge

Building slated for demolition

Protesters against the demolition of St. Andrews Lodge in Qualicum Beach took shifts along the Island Highway on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, to maintain social distancing regulations while demonstrating. (Mandy Moraes photo)
A rally will be held at the St. Andrews Lodge and Cottages property on Nov. 2. (Town of Qualicum Beach Photo)

Qualicum Beach residents stage rally to save historic St. Andrews Lodge

Event is aimed at stopping town from removing or demolishing old building

A rally will be held at the St. Andrews Lodge and Cottages property on Nov. 2. (Town of Qualicum Beach Photo)
Frederick Lee and Eva Lillian Baker lived in Victoria from the 1930s until their passing. Now, their great nephew who lives in Birmingham, U.K. is asking for Victoria residents’ help to learn more. (Courtesy Derek Roft)

Don your detective hats Greater Victoria — a U.K. man wants your help

Derek Roft is on a mission to find out more about relatives that emigrated to Canada in 1912

Frederick Lee and Eva Lillian Baker lived in Victoria from the 1930s until their passing. Now, their great nephew who lives in Birmingham, U.K. is asking for Victoria residents’ help to learn more. (Courtesy Derek Roft)