Museum

THE SHELLY FAMILY: Fred Shelly, wife Gertrude and children circa 1922. Shelly established Shelly Farm and raised funds for the Parksville Community Park.

PQBeat: Talking history with Parksville Museum president Mary Ellen Campbell

A look back at some of the city’s interesting people and tales

 

Britanny Vis, executive director of the Maritime Museum of BC, at their new location on Douglas Street. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

Maritime Museum of BC opening to public at new downtown Victoria location

The space – currently featuring an exhibit on the SS Valencia shipwreck – can be rented for events

 

Textile work from Articulation Textile Group members to be presented at the Sidney Museum's Connected Heritage exhibit. (Courtesy Sidney Museum)

Icelandic art exhibit, a year in the making, comes to refurbished Sidney Museum

Connected Heritage brought the Articulation Textile Group as far as Manitoba for their research

 

Museum program director Wendy Johnson, left, and Vancouver Regional Library children’s librarian Nathalie Jones with two panels of the museum’s latest story walk installment, The Golden Glow. (Kiernan Green - Sooke News Mirror)

Regional library launches fourth story walk at Sooke Regional Museum

Walking through The Golden Glow by Benjamin Flouw is fun for all ages, says librarian

Museum program director Wendy Johnson, left, and Vancouver Regional Library children’s librarian Nathalie Jones with two panels of the museum’s latest story walk installment, The Golden Glow. (Kiernan Green - Sooke News Mirror)
Originally set to be unveiled in 2020, a monument honouring the only B.C. pilot and the last Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross will be unveiled Sunday (Aug. 8) in North Saanich. (Courtesy BC Aviation Museum)

Aviation museum in North Saanich unveils monument to B.C. pilot killed in Second World War

In 1989 the Japanese dedicated a memorial that overlooked the bay where ‘Hammy’ Gray’s remains lie

Originally set to be unveiled in 2020, a monument honouring the only B.C. pilot and the last Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross will be unveiled Sunday (Aug. 8) in North Saanich. (Courtesy BC Aviation Museum)
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

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)
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

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)
The Maritime Museum of BC moves into a nearby space on Douglas Street behind the Empress Hotel this month. SS Valencia: ‘A Theatre of Horror’ continues at the museum to Sept. 2 in the new space. (Courtesy of Maritime Museum of BC)

Maritime Museum of BC moves around corner to Victoria storefront

Expanded space allows more options for exhibits, public programming

The Maritime Museum of BC moves into a nearby space on Douglas Street behind the Empress Hotel this month. SS Valencia: ‘A Theatre of Horror’ continues at the museum to Sept. 2 in the new space. (Courtesy of Maritime Museum of BC)
The long-awaited CP-121 Tracker aircraft arrives by barge in Patricia Bay July 5 before making its final trek to the B.C. Aviation Museum in North Saanich. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

PHOTOS: Historic Cold War warrior lands at North Saanich museum

Discovery Channel films part of historic plane’s dramatic move to B.C. Aviation Museum

The long-awaited CP-121 Tracker aircraft arrives by barge in Patricia Bay July 5 before making its final trek to the B.C. Aviation Museum in North Saanich. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
Sidney Museum and Archives, located in Sidney’s historic post office, has closed for three months over the summer. (Black Press Media File)

Sidney Museum and Archives’ three-month renovation closure starts June 1

Facility has five months to reach donation goal of $25,000; nearly $15,00 raised so far

Sidney Museum and Archives, located in Sidney’s historic post office, has closed for three months over the summer. (Black Press Media File)
Jordan Johns, Nanaimo Museum exhibit technician, checks over a display of a 1950s-era wedding gown originally sold by the Jean Burns clothing store that was formerly located at the corner of Commercial Street and Terminal Avenue in downtown Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

Nanaimo Museum opens vault to reveal some of city’s lesser-known history

Artifacts in new exhibit tell rarely told stories from Nanaimo’s past with fresh perspectives

Jordan Johns, Nanaimo Museum exhibit technician, checks over a display of a 1950s-era wedding gown originally sold by the Jean Burns clothing store that was formerly located at the corner of Commercial Street and Terminal Avenue in downtown Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)
Point Ellice House has undergone renovations and will open with a new exhibit. (Facebook/ Point Ellice House Museum & Gardens)

Victoria’s Point Ellice heritage gardens and exhibit space set to reopen

The historic house will remain closed to the public due to public health measures

Point Ellice House has undergone renovations and will open with a new exhibit. (Facebook/ Point Ellice House Museum & Gardens)
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)
Logging Camp Nine on Great Central Lake overlooks a large forest fire across the lake in this historical photo from May 1943. Camp Nine was bustling, with residences for logging camp staff, a rail line and rail cars visible. This is one of 24,000 photos contained in the Alberni Valley Museum’s digital archives, available for public viewing at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN12220 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

Fires and lumber: remembering the Great Central Lake sawmill

A peek at when Vancouver Island lake was known for acres of trees and massive forest fires

Logging Camp Nine on Great Central Lake overlooks a large forest fire across the lake in this historical photo from May 1943. Camp Nine was bustling, with residences for logging camp staff, a rail line and rail cars visible. This is one of 24,000 photos contained in the Alberni Valley Museum’s digital archives, available for public viewing at https://portalberni.pastperfectonline.com. (PHOTO PN12220 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)
“A Theatre of Horrors”, the story of SS Valencia shipwreck, is on display at the Maritime Museum of B.C. until Sept. 2. (Black Press Media file photo)

‘A Theatre of Horrors:’ Victoria museum tells story of notorious Island shipwreck

Exhibit on the SS Valencia runs at Maritime Museum March 12 to Sept. 2

“A Theatre of Horrors”, the story of SS Valencia shipwreck, is on display at the Maritime Museum of B.C. until Sept. 2. (Black Press Media file photo)
Sparx Skate Sharpening in the North Island Mall. (Tyson Whitney - North Island Gazette)

VIDEO: North Island hockey shrine opens at Port Hardy skate shop

Dylan Dirom put the memorial together to help grow the game locally and give back to the community.

Sparx Skate Sharpening in the North Island Mall. (Tyson Whitney - North Island Gazette)
A leather firefighter helmet from the Alberni Fire Department, circa 1950, has been ‘adopted’ by the Port Alberni Professional Firefighters’ Association as part of a unique program at the Alberni Valley Museum. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Port Alberni firefighters adopt a piece of their heritage from AV Museum

Historic helmet is part of a new Adopt an Artefact program

A leather firefighter helmet from the Alberni Fire Department, circa 1950, has been ‘adopted’ by the Port Alberni Professional Firefighters’ Association as part of a unique program at the Alberni Valley Museum. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
People line up to watch the Assembly Wharf burn on Port Alberni’s waterfront, Aug. 28, 1947. The entire block went up in flames within half an hour. (PHOTO PN04369 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)

Quinn: Fire changes the face of a city, not its determination

Port Alberni has survived some big blazes

People line up to watch the Assembly Wharf burn on Port Alberni’s waterfront, Aug. 28, 1947. The entire block went up in flames within half an hour. (PHOTO PN04369 COURTESY ALBERNI VALLEY MUSEUM)
The Maritime Museum of British Columbia’s Float the Boat fundraiser campaign is underway. The goal is to raise $25,000 in donations to help with the cost of running virtual programs and onsite operations. (Courtesy Maritime Museum of B.C.)

Maritime Museum of B.C. looks to Float the Boat in Victoria

Fundraiser proceeds will support multitude of virtual programs and onsite operations

  • Feb 2, 2021
The Maritime Museum of British Columbia’s Float the Boat fundraiser campaign is underway. The goal is to raise $25,000 in donations to help with the cost of running virtual programs and onsite operations. (Courtesy Maritime Museum of B.C.)
Staff and volunteers at the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea were disappointed by the theft of an educational porpoise skull likely taken on Jan. 8. (Courtesy of Tina Kelly)

Well-loved porpoise skull stolen from Sidney aquarium

Skull had been used for youth and visitor education and outreach for years

Staff and volunteers at the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea were disappointed by the theft of an educational porpoise skull likely taken on Jan. 8. (Courtesy of Tina Kelly)