Victoria

(Vancouver Island)

Vancouver Island is an island in the same way that the South Island is an island: it is surrounded by water. But it is about 500km north to south and maybe 100km across, so distances are still substantial, even if not as vast as mainland Canada.

Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is situated here, the seat of the Legislative Assembly (the Parliament). The Parliament buildings are not unlike our own at first look, and inside have been beautifully restored relatively recently. They have even incorporated a stained-glass window that lay in the basement undiscovered for 62 years, between restorations! There are murals of mining, fishing, agriculture and probably something else. At present they are re-doing some murals which date from an earlier era and which depict the First Nations people in ways that are deemed to be not as it really was.

But for First Nations people, the Royal British Columbia Museum is the place to go. The first display takes you through the civilisation that existed prior to the coming of the white man, with amazing masks, fishing and hunting tools, fabrics and furs, building materials, methods of housebuilding for both winter and summer locations, food storage and much more besides. Absolutely fascinating for me was their method of making square packing cases, out of cedar, with very few joints. This involved carving out corners, steaming the wood and folding it round to make a square box (no top or bottom yet though). They also used steam to make birch bark into really fancy baskets, too. All very interesting.

The next section showed the influence on the culture of the arrival of the ‘pale-face’. Apart from smallpox, which was devastating to the native population, there were other spin-offs, for example the use of steel for blades for tools. They used their own tools but replaced their traditional blades with steel, which was much more robust. Totem poles also had a growth spurt, as the native people became richer by selling fish, furs et al. A totem pole has to be ‘supported’ by things of value to be meaningful, and with people growing wealthier, tools becoming sharper and carving becoming quicker, there was a big rise in the number of totem poles created. Some of the carving also reflected objects or people which had hitherto not existed. There are a number of totem poles in the display area. Again, all very interesting.

You can see a bird mask at http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/First_People_Gall/default.aspx

(There are some other interesting links on the Royal BC Museum site if you feel like exploring.)

On this floor history also progressed through the 20^th century, with a hall containing 20^th century objects, rather like Te Papa, an old street, (like Christchurch museum and Shanghai, among others), and a salmon cannery, a waterwheel and the captain’s quarters of a ship of discovery.

No photos were allowed in the First Nations section but you will find a few of the dioramas found in the Living Land exhibits on the next floor down. Ecological issues are also broached here, as they were in the Vancouver Aquarium.

Outside the museum are more totem poles and First Nations meeting houses, an original house on its actual site, and an old schoolroom which was shifted there more recently.

My hotel (kindly arranged at a discount price – thanks David!) was along the waterfront, with great views and a walking path along the waterfront all the way to the city centre. Past hotels, apartment complexes, another ferry terminal (from Port Angeles), a marina. I even passed a boat with an NZ flag, registered in Auckland. The Empress Hotel, opened in 1905, dominates that end of the waterfront and is worth the look inside for the grandeur of the era. The city centre has restaurants and retail, quite enough to keep one occupied for longer than a day.

The trip from Vancouver by public transport takes about 4 hours. Bus from Central Station to the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen, boat through the sounds to Swartz Bay and bus to Victoria. The boat trip is not unlike the trip from Wellington to Picton without Cook Strait, ie all the good bits and not the rough patch. Beautiful views all the way. To capture it on film you need a better lens than mine but you will get some idea anyway from the photos. The photos look repetitive – and I have culled lots – but it really is a big area. We saw seals too, but on a photograph they would look like nothing but a swirl of water.

Photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/101628277989220379025/Victoria