history

Colwood Fire Rescue acting fire Chief Greg Chow stands next to a fire truck used by the department from 1957 to 1977, now restored and displayed in the department’s museum. 2021 marked the department’s 75th anniversary. (Justin Samanski-Langille/News Staff)

‘A department to be proud of’: Colwood Fire Rescue marks 75 years serving community

Acting fire Chief Greg Chow takes Black Press through the department’s history

 

MV Sea Lion, which was built in 1905 and was B.C.'s oldest wooden tugboat, is being scrapped at a shipyard in Nanaimo. (Chris Bush/News Bulletin)

B.C.’s oldest wooden tugboat being scrapped at shipyard in Nanaimo

MV Sea Lion, built in 1905, had a part in 1914 SS Komagata Maru incident

 

Albert Henry Spencer, and Marguerite Sylvie Spencer with their son Ernest and daughter Marguerite. (Photo courtesy of SPS Archives)

Photo negatives help unlock the story of Brentwood Bay family

Saanich Pioneer Society archivist pieces together Spencer family’s story of love and loss

 

The Ross Bay Villa Historic House Museum is hosting the next instalment of its virtual history lectures Thursday at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria’s Ross Bay Villa hosting virtual history lecture Thursday

The Zoom presentation starts at 7:30 p.m. and focuses on the story of two pioneering Victoria women

The Ross Bay Villa Historic House Museum is hosting the next instalment of its virtual history lectures Thursday at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. (Black Press Media file photo)
Camas flowers in full bloom. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)

Garry oaks, camas reveal agricultural impacts of colonialism on Vancouver Island

Lekwungen food expert Cheryl Bryce looks to raise awareness of traditional food systems

  • Sep 25, 2021
Camas flowers in full bloom. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)
George Manning (right), seen here in the pressroom of one of the publications he oversaw, was a legendary figure and mentor in the local community newspaper industry. He passed away last week at age 81. (Facebook/Gail Manning)

Gazette founder leaves a legacy on Greater Victoria, Island journalism

George Manning dies at 81, was key figure in the growth of Black Press on Vancouver Island

George Manning (right), seen here in the pressroom of one of the publications he oversaw, was a legendary figure and mentor in the local community newspaper industry. He passed away last week at age 81. (Facebook/Gail Manning)
Looking up at the ceiling in the interior foyer of 1515 Douglas Street. 1515 Douglas Street is a six-storey class AA LEED Platinum office and retail building located across from Victoria City Hall. Design by D’Ambrosio architecture and urbanism. Don Denton/Black Press Media

Victoria’s architecture steeped in history

Taking a look at some of the prominent names and places in the city’s architectural history

Looking up at the ceiling in the interior foyer of 1515 Douglas Street. 1515 Douglas Street is a six-storey class AA LEED Platinum office and retail building located across from Victoria City Hall. Design by D’Ambrosio architecture and urbanism. Don Denton/Black Press Media
Rodney Hazard is a graphic designer who played a large part in the visual art collaboration at the Royal BC Museum. (Megan Atkins-Baker/News Staff)

Pocket gallery exhibition reclaiming B.C. Black history opens at Royal B.C. Museum

The artful showcase will be open now through to March 2022

Rodney Hazard is a graphic designer who played a large part in the visual art collaboration at the Royal BC Museum. (Megan Atkins-Baker/News Staff)
Vernon summer resident Julie McCann (née Holland) set an unofficial world record Monday, Aug. 9, at Greater Vernon Athletic Park, becoming the fastest woman to run 100 metres on all fours with a clocking of 22.99 seconds. (Christine Castrucow photo)

100 metre dash – on all fours: Vernon woman breaks unofficial Guinness record

Vernon resident Julie McCann sets unofficial Guinness mark as fastest woman to cover 100 metres on all fours

Vernon summer resident Julie McCann (née Holland) set an unofficial world record Monday, Aug. 9, at Greater Vernon Athletic Park, becoming the fastest woman to run 100 metres on all fours with a clocking of 22.99 seconds. (Christine Castrucow photo)
Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum will tap into the complex history and lives of black British Columbians from August 14 to March 1, 2022. (Courtesy of the Royal BC Museum)

RBCM hosting exhibit highlighting Black history, lives in B.C.

Victoria museum opens free display Aug. 14, in partnership with BC Black History Awareness Society

Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum will tap into the complex history and lives of black British Columbians from August 14 to March 1, 2022. (Courtesy of the Royal BC Museum)
Geoff Goodship was contacted earlier this year by a man who had acquired his father’s First World War soldier’s uniform. Submitted photo

Vancouver Island man to be reunited with father’s 104-year-old First World War uniform

Geoff Goodship got a call out of the blue from an amateur historian who had acquired the outfit

Geoff Goodship was contacted earlier this year by a man who had acquired his father’s First World War soldier’s uniform. Submitted photo
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)

Vancouver Island 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)
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)

VIDEO: B.C. 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)
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

Captain James Cook statue splashes into Victoria’s Inner Harbour, after being removed from its upper causeway pedestal on July 1. (@CJusticeVic/Twitter)
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)
Frank Ludwig in the control room. (Photo submitted)

The Day They Closed The Old Mill Down in song

Former member of Trooper captures the essence of small town struggles and triumphs

Frank Ludwig in the control room. (Photo submitted)