A Brief History

Bamfield, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is one of those unique communities rarely found anywhere else. Aptly named the "Venice of the West Coast" prior to roads, it still applies today because there is still no road link between east and west Bamfield or parts of Port Desire. The west side is enhanced by a boardwalk which follows the inlet along the shore for approximately half a mile. By sea Bamfield is 80 miles (128 km) from Victoria, 30 miles (48 km) from Port Alberni and 17 miles (27 km) from Ucluelet. By road 51 miles (82 km) from Port Alberni, 95 miles (152 km) from Duncan via Youboo.

Originally settled by the Huu ay aht First Nation who have roots and archeological sites all over Barkley Sound. One of these is the National Historic site Kiix?in.

Exploration and fur trading in the late 1780's by captain Barkley and captain Meares leaves a legacy of place names in our area.

In 1859, Eddy Banfield, government agent was the first white settler in Barkley Sound and was responsible for the naming of Bamfield. Interestingly "Banfield's Creek" became Bamfield and Eddy Banfield's missplelling of "Barkley" to "Barclay" in documents, remains today in "Barclay Land District". Banfield was also responsible for charting Barkley Sound.

Due to numerous shipwrecks the west coast of Vancouver Island became known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific". There was no communication system between lighthouse keepers and the outside world. In 1889, a telegraph line of galvanized wire was strung tree to tree from Victoria to Cape Beale to enable lightkeepers to communicate, linesmen maintained the line and the trail and were often on the trail for weeks staying in cabins built by them out of driftwood. In 1899, the line was extended from Cape Beale to Bamfield, thence along the Alberni Canal to Port Alberni strung the same way. However it was vulnerable in storms by falling trees. In December 1906, with the lines down, Minnie Paterson (Lightkeeper's wife) hiked in slippers over a five mile tortuous trail from Cape Beale to Bamfield to alert the Canadian Government Steamer "Quadra" that a disabled Barque, "Coloma" was heading for disaster on the rocks. This was almost a year later after the "Valencia" went on the rocks near Pachena Bay in January 1906, with many lives lost. With trail improvements from Port Renfrew to Bamfield it became the West Coast Lifesaving Trail in 1908 and is now the well known West Coast Trail.

After a public outcry following the wreck of the "Valencia" in 1906 three lifesaving stations were established, one at Clo-oose, one at Pachena Bay near Bamfield, and one at Ucluelet.

In 1907, a new lifesaving station was built in Bamfield and the Pachena Bay station was relocated. The lifeboat had the name "Banfield" until it was changed to "Bamfield" in the 1960's.

A strategic link for an around the world communications system was stablished by the Pacific Cable Board in the early 1900's. Bamfield was chosen to be the terminus of the undersea cable linking with Fanning Island in the mid-Pacific. It remained the terminus until 1958. Being a relay station and not generating revenue it was costly to run and was relocated to Port Alberni.

A consortium of five western universities bought the Cable Station property in the early 1970's and established a Marine Biological Station on the site. In 1977 past and present staff of the Pacific Cable Board, renamed Teleglobe Canada, gathered to dedicate a bilingual historic plaque and monument. The memorial consists of a central column with the plaque mounted, surrounded by submarine cable in a sphere representing the longitudes of the world.

From the 1780's to the present day Bamfield has afforded safe anchorage for fur traders, commercial salmon, halibut, cod, crab, shrimp and prawn fishermen and a base for the relatively new aquaculture ventures like oyster, clam, scallop and finfish farming.

Sailing has always been a part of Bamfield's history from seal hunting in the late 1880's to sailing for pleasure to explore Barkley Sound or as a stopover for various sailboat races. Motor pleasure boats whether sportsfishing or cruising enjoy the area. The miles of wilderness beaches attract canoeists and kayakers. Canoes were the transportation for the Huu ay aht First Nation for their various homesites in the sound.

This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of history and we encourage you to read "Barkley Sound, A history of the Pacific Rim National Park Area" and "Bamfield Years: Recollections" both written by R. Bruce Scott. Please visit the Bamfield Community Library for more information on Bamfield materials.

Come and experience Bamfield with its culture and history, its recreational opportunities, and lifelong learning initiatives. To quote Kerry McPhedran "Why a trip to Bamfield, Pop. 300? You might as well visit France and ask why see Paris. Bamfield is a tiny, perfect capsule of British Columbia's west coast that should be a required pilgrimage." (Beautiful British Columbia Magazine, Spring 1999)

A Brief History

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