Important Dates in Victoria History
1790 On June 30, the native people of Albert Head (now part of Sooke) discovered Spanish explorer Manuel Quimper on their beach, claiming the land in the name of the King of Spain.
1842 The Hudson Bay Company's Chief Factor, James Douglas, made a detailed examination of Sooke, Beecher Bay, Metchosin, Esquimalt and Victoria Harbours and chose Victoria (then known as Camosack) as the site for the Company's new depot.
1843 On March 14, Douglas arrived off Clover Point and, the next day, decided to build a fort at the Inner Harbour. On Sunday, March 19, Father Jean Baptiste Bolduc, the Catholic priest who accompanied Douglas, celebrated the first mass in the area. The fort's construction began on June 4. It was called Fort Camosack and then Fort Albert before it was changed, on June 10, to Fort Victoria.
1846 On June 15, the Oregon Treaty set the boundary with the United States as the 49th parallel to the Georgia Strait, then deflecting south, through the centre of the Strait, to the ocean.
1849 On January 13, the British government granted Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company, with the stipulation that it must establish settlements of colonists on the island within five years. The Imperial Government of the Crown Colony of Vancouver Island was created. Fort Victoria was the capital and James Douglas took command.
1850 On March 11, Richard Blanshard became the Island's first governor.
1852 A townsite was laid out in streets around Fort Victoria and the name was changed to Victoria.
1858 The Gold Rush turned Victoria into an important community through which 25,000 miners and their supplies were funneled to the gold camps.
The BC mainland became a Crown colony.
Victoria's daily newspaper, The British Colonist, was born
1862 Victoria was incorporated as a city, with Tomas Harris as its first Mayor.
Victoria's first gas lights were erected over the front doors of saloons. Soon there were lights on poles at the most important intersections.
1864 The old Fort was finally demolished and the lots were auctioned off.
1865 Esquimalt was selected as the Royal Navy's Pacific Squadron headquarters.
1866 The colonies of BC and Vancouver Island were united under the single name of the Colony of British Columbia, with its capital at New Westminster.
1868 The capital was moved to Victoria.
1871 On July 21, BC entered confederation. Victoria was now the capital of the Province of British Columbia, in the Dominion of Canada.
In December, Emily Carr was born in Carr House, at the north-east corner of Government and Simcoe Streets.
1877 Sir James Douglas, founder of Victoria and the father of British Columbia, died and was buried in Ross Bay Cemetery.
1878 City Hall was completed.
1880 The Victoria and Esquimalt Telephone Company installed telephone poles connecting the line between Victoria and Esquimalt.
1882 The Hudson's Bay Company gave Beacon Hill Park to the City of Victoria.
1886 The Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway from Victoria to Nanaimo was completed.
1887 Victoria's first interchange telephone switchboard was installed.
1898 The Provincial Legislature Buildings were completed.
1901 Her late revered Majesty Queen Victoria died January 22 at Osborne, Isle of Wight.
1903 The Victoria Terminal Railway and Ferry Company began ferry service between Sidney and the mouth of the Fraser River, linked to its rail service between Sidney and Victoria.
1905 The Canadian Pacific Railway began construction of the Empress Hotel.
1910 The British government turned-over the Esquimalt naval base to Canada.
1914 World War I began. The Patricia Bay Airport was constructed as a training site for the Allied Forces. (It continues to operate today as Victoria International Airport).
1932 The first Sidney to Anacortes ferry, the City of Angels, completed its inaugural run.
1945 On March 2, Emily Carr died.
1961 The BC government established the BC Ferry Authority.
1963 Victoria College became the University of Victoria and the new campus was opened.
1994 Victoria hosted the XV Commonwealth Games. |
