Events Timeline

Lək̓ʷəŋən Territory

For thousands of years the south end of Vancouver Island was divided into six territories each belonging to a prominent family and their extended families, namely the Teechamitsa, Whyomilth, Kosampsom, Swengwhung, Chilcowitch and Chekonein. Children, parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents lived communally in large, elaborate, cedar longhouses surrounded by totems, carvings and art. The neighbouring homes were occupied by more distant relations. In addition to permanent villages they also constructed defensive forts, seasonal villages and temporary camps along the coastline from Sidney to Beecher Bay and throughout Puget Sound where they harvested flora and fauna where and when plentiful.

1670

A generation of men and women were desperate for the waterproof skins of the beaver, which had been hunted to near extinction in Europe.
When trading with the Cree, voyageurs Groseilliers and Radisson discovered a “great store of beaver” west of France’s imperial claims.
English King Charles II granted a Royal Charter to “the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson Bay” a corporation that would eventually come to be known as the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC).
King Charles II granted a new name for the region: Rupert’s Land, in honour of his cousin, Prince Rupert, who served as the HBC’s first royal governor.
European traders waited for Lekwungen trappers and their middlemen to bring them furs, which the Lekwungen exchanged for goods that were becoming increasingly important to their community.
A Lekwungen woman was valuable to the European fur trader not only as a bed partner but also for her survival skills. Such a woman, because of the opportunities available to her in her own society, greatly assisted her new husband. She was valued as an interpreter, negotiator, trader, hunter and guide, and was knowledgeable in food and clothing production.

1781

A smallpox epidemic decimated the Lekwungen population after contact with the Spanish expedition of de Heceta and Quadra.

1796

When a smallpox vaccine became available the HBC began a vaccination campaign of HBC employees and traders.

1840

The Battle of Maple Bay: As a result of ongoing raids by the Lewiltok of northern Vancouver Island (who had a habit of enslaving women and children), the Salish Tribes aligned and attacked en mass in a major battle in Maple Bay. Although occasional raids from the northern Haida did occur, widespread indigenous war had come to an end.

1842

American and others disregarded the HBC’s exclusive rights to the territory arriving with heavily armed vessels to conduct trade. Their actions prompted the HBC to dismantle the northern Fort McLaughlin and move its inhabitants and armaments south to the new site in Victoria Harbour. James Douglas was ordered by the HBC to oversee the construction.

1843

Hudson Bay Company (HBC) erected Fort Victoria in lək̓ʷəŋən territory.
The Fort was built from cedar ‘pickets’ of 22ft. by 36in provided by the Lekwungen who traded 40 pickets for 2 HBC blankets. Blankets were a traditional measure of wealth in the Lekwungen culture, and were often distributed as gifts at a potlatch.
In March Jean Baptiste Bolduc visited the village in Cadboro Bay and counted 525 inhabitants.
The Lekwungen erected homes below the Fort along the banks of the harbour.
William Henry McNeil arrived in Victoria as the Captain of the Hudson’s Bay Company vessel the ’Beaver.’ By 1851 he owned 264 acres of arable land.
Charles Ross and family arrived. Charles was the Chief Trader for the HBC but sadly passed away the following year. His wife Isabella moved to the US upon his death. She would be back.

1844

Roderick Finlayson took charge of Fort Victoria after Chief Trader Ross died.
The small number of people in the Fort were surrounded by many more Lekwungen people. In the book The Resettlement of British Columbia, by Cole Harris, he reports: “Inside, military discipline was maintained. Officers were trained to utilize a variety of dominance techniques to manipulate aboriginal peoples, keep employees obedient and safe and to maximize profits. Gun salutes and demonstrations, the use of trumpets, flags and drums were part of a “theatre of power.” In order to “make Indians behave” and to “train” them, traders maintained a level of fear--considered the basis of respect--by threats, shows of force and use of weapons. “People must be made to be afraid of the traders, to witness the spectacle of power and know that, if they did certain things, they would become victims.” (Harris, p. 56)
Lekwungen Village caught fire which threatened the Fort. Finlayson demanded they move to the other side of the harbour to which they responded “No, this land is ours.” After much debate the Lekwungen finally agreed if the Fort provided the manpower to move them.

1845

It is estimated that approximately 9,000 Lekwungen on Vancouver Island shared the land with about forty white men and a small number of cattle and horses. The HBC had 120 acres of land near the Fort under cultivation.

1846

Indigenous and HBC labourers begin clearing and cultivating land at what would become known the North Dairy Farm for use as a cattle range and farm. Naturalist Berthold Seeman reported that about 160 acres are cultivated with oats, wheat, potatoes, turnips, carrots and other vegetables, and every day more land is converted into fields.

1848

To maintain their dominance the British saw the need to make Vancouver Island a Crown Colony with an appointed Governor.

1849

In order to prevent American expansion northward, Vancouver Island was declared a Crown colony on 13 January 1849 and was leased to the HBC for 10 years.
The conditions of the lease included the HBC having to pay the Crown seven shillings a year ($62.00 / year today) and Douglas had until January 1854 to get the colony up and running.
A 10 mile property buffer around the Fort was reserved for HBC.
Settlers refused to buy at $1.00 per acre ($41.00 today) outside of the 10 mile buffer as it was felt too distant from the Fort.
To comply with the charter the HBC persuaded their officers to purchase land for $5 per acre ($204.00 today).
James Douglas moved his family to Victoria.
Fort Victoria became the HBC’s main Pacific depot on the northern coast where gold rush prospectors could buy tax free provisions. Many trades were transacted in gold at $11.00 per ounce. (about $450.00 in 2025 dollars)
John Tod arrived in Victoria and 2 years later became Deputy Governor of Vancouver Island. He bought 100 acres in Oak Bay where his 1851 house remains today.
John Work’s family arrived. At the time of his dearth he had become the largest landowner on Vancouver Island with over 1,800 acres.

1850

The British government selected barrister Richard Blanshard to be governor.
Douglas told a friend that "I am thinking of making a purchase of land on Vancouver's Island, more as a speculation than with any serious intentions of settling,” but then later that year he bought a 300-acre estate, which he named Fairfield, and began building a house in James Bay.
John Helmcken arrives in Victoria. John was a respected doctor and by all accounts a fantastic human being. His original home in Thunderbird Park is currently a museum open to the public.
“Douglas treaties” — really bills of sale — with the Chekonein and Chilcowitch fammilies, owners of respectively, the east and south coasts of what is now Oak Bay and Beacon Hill, were drawn up on April 30, 1850.
In the definitive essay “The Fort Victoria Treaties” (BC Studies 3:1969, 52), Wilson Duff contended that European assumptions about the exclusive nature of ownership led Douglas into “ethnographic absurdities in the treaties” …For example, the Chekonein were designated as the owners of Cadboro Bay, and therefore, the Chilcowitch, who used it for the same purposes and to the same degree, could not be considered its owners too. Conversely, since the Chilcowitch were designated as the owners of McNeill Bay, the Chekonein, whose earlier home had likewise been there, could not be recognized as its owners too.
14 Treaties are signed with “chiefs and people” of the Lekwungen tribes.
The British possessed the entire region and the Lekwungen had lost their ancestral territory forever.

1851

Governor Blanchard resigned after one year in Victoria and departed Vancouver Island in August 1851.
Douglas becomes Governor of Vancouver Island.
The HBC sent labourers from England to work the colony’s farmland. Most having heard of the Californian gold rush deserted for the gold fields upon landing.
Joseph Despard Pemberton arrives to become the Hudson’s Bay Company’s colonial engineer and surveyor for Vancouver Island.
Downtown lots currently sell for $50.00 each ($1,500.00 in 2025 dollars).
There were 1,000 cattle and 2,000 sheep in the region. There were also an unknown number of pigs ranging over the Lekwungen’s prime camas fields destroying the crops.
Pemberton granted town and country lots to veteran Hudson's Bay Company labourers for remaining faithful to their contracts enabling them to own land ranging from 20 to 50 acres depending on their position. Most contracts expired in 1856 and 1857

1852

The HBC was having trouble attracting settlers which effected their ability to form a colony, (a condition of their lease). The population of white people was no more than 200 while 700 Lekwungen called Victoria home. The discovery of coal in Nanaimo Harbour fulfilled the Company’s obligation by recruiting emigrants, especially miners and their families from the old country.

1853

Pemberton surveyed and reserved for the HBC, Section 32 (North Dairy Farm, around 723 acres).
“The lives of the Songhees people changed even more in the fall of 1853, when about 3,000 First Nations visitors from the north began arriving in their territory to work and trade at the Fort.” The Haida, Stikine, Cowichan and Fort Simpson visitors vastly outnumbered the local Lekwungen people.

1854

Profits from the fur trade had dropped, it was clear the future was not in fur but in real estate.
In an effort to make the $1/acre property outside of the city more attractive, Douglas and Pemberton adjusted the price so purchasers only paid for arable land, rock and swampland were deducted from the purchase price.
Isabella Ross returns to Victoria and becomes not only the first woman landowner but the first woman of indigenous ancestry to own property.
White Population in Victoria was about 386 (232 in Fort Victoria with 154 on farms around the Fort).

1855

In the Beacon Hill Park area of James Bay and Fairfield, over 200 acres were cultivated.
Pemberton purchased 533 acres known as Gonzales Farm for £196.
Pemberton's assistant, Benjamin William Pearse paid £95 for his 190 acres in Victoria District. Pearse later admitted, candidly, that "It was Sir James Douglas who made us rich by insisting upon our taking up land”.

1856

On July 22, 1856, seven representatives were elected to the new House of Assembly of Vancouver Island from those men owning 300 acres or more. The prerequisite to vote was ownership of 20 acres or more. Those elected were: Edward Edwards Langford, Joseph Despard Pemberton, and James Yates for Victoria District; Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken and Thomas James Skinner for Esquimalt District; John Muir for Sooke District; and Dr. John Frederick Kennedy for Nanaimo District.
A landowners class was born.
The election of Mr. Langford was contested and he was removed on August 26, 1856, as he did not meet the necessary property requirement of ownership of a minimum 300 acres of land.
There were times when bills couldn’t be passed as members were attending property auctions.

1857

Alexander Grant Dallas, (Dallas Beach, Dallas Road) was sent by the HBC to Victoria to investigate a potential conflict of interest with James Douglas, who juggled loyalties between the colonies and the Hudson’s Bay Company.

1858

The Fraser River gold rush drastically changed Victoria’s fortunes.
James Douglas becomes governor of British Columbia.
George Blenkinsop retired in Victoria near what is now Blenkinsop Lake in Saanich.
Douglas established Beacon Hill Park but the Hudson’s Bay Company claimed most of the acreage belonged to the Company and began selling lots before the land titles were resolved.
Governor James Douglas invited nearly 800 free Blacks of San Francisco for a new life on Vancouver Island at a time when Victoria’s white population was about 500. One of them, Mifflin Gibbs became the first black person to hold public office in British Columbia, serving as a Victoria City councilor from 1866 to 1869.
Kwong Lee & Company managed by brothers Loo Chuck Fan and Loo Chew Fan became one of the leading companies involved in Chinese immigration when they brought 300 Chinese men and 50 tons of merchandise to supply the gold rush into Victoria at the cost of $3,500 (about $135,000 today dollars).
On March 9, Dallas married Douglas's daughter Jane.
After Douglas became governor he chose to ignore the direction to cease acting for the company.

1859

Douglas made Victoria a free port (tax free) ensuring that it became the main supply center for the Fraser River gold rush. Land which could hardly be given away in 1857 suddenly became valuable.
The Bishop was given power to hold property on behalf of the church.
William Fraser Tolmie arrives in Victoria. A man for his times he was a doctor, scientist, fur trader and politician. He retired from the HBC to his Cloverdale Farm where he built a large stone house and where he lived until his death in 1886.
The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) owned 3,084 acres of land in the Victoria area.
Dallas argued for the HBC’s claim over land in Victoria and instructed Douglas to transfer authority of the HBC to Dallas which understandably annoyed his father-in-law Douglas.
On April 28, the Victoria Gazette reported that approximately 2,835 First Nations people lived around Victoria.
The Fraser River gold rush increased Victoria's white population from about 400 to around 5,000.

1860

Skilled labourers were needed to build the roads needed for a stable society. All the heavy labour was done by the Lekwungen and Kanakas (Hawaiians) , the latter being expert axemen. They settled in what was called Kanaka Row (now Humboldt Street) but as the white population increased and pressures became greater on these people they elected to move out of town to a small farm in a picturesque bay west of Saxe Point.
Douglas subdivided Fairfield Farm into small lots of 5 acres and up.
The population was about 608 with 25,000 transient residents on their way to the gold rush.

1861

John Work dies as the largest private land owner on Vancouver Island owning over 1,800 acres.
Dallas attempted to sell the last waterfront land in Victoria's business area despite Douglas's desire to build government offices in that space.
The Beacon Hill Horse Track was constructed around the hill following the path of today's Circle Drive and Dallas Road. It was in use for 40 years before moving to Willows Park.

1862

The City of Victoria is incorporated (excluding Beacon Hill Park).
Victoria was a shack-town of 2,500 permanent residents rapidly increasing during the second gold rush to about 6,000.
The number of men on their way to find their fortunes spawned an abundance of saloons and hotels.
The Colonist papaer reports: 'A corner lot on Store Street which was bought for $700.00 in June sold in October for $3,050.00.'
Crown recognizes the HBC’s title to Section 32, or North Dairy Farm.
Visiting Commander R. C. Mayne, R.N., F.R.G.S., wrote that “The value of land was raised immensely … All the available Government lands had been snapped up by far-seeing speculators … Lots in Victoria and Esquimalt, that a few months ago had gone begging at their upset price of 1 pound an acre, sold now for 100 pounds an acre, and soon for more.”
A smallpox epidemic was controlled somewhat by quarantine and vaccinations given by Dr. John Helmcken. Despite his efforts 2/3 of Indigenous peoples succumbed to the virus making further treaty negotiations with the Lekwungen a moot endevour.
In 1862, taxes under the Trade License Ordinance assessed Kwong Lee & Co. at £6500, second only to the Hudson’s Bay Company, while Tai Soong & Co. and Yan Woo Sang & Co. were assessed at over £2000 each, all 3 Chinese businesses contributed a significant amount to the city coffers at a time when Victoria’s three hundred Chinese people accounted for about 6 percent of the city’s total population.

1863

Controlling interest in the Hudson’s Bay Company was sold ending the fur trade and shifting the Company’s focus to real estate speculation.
Queen Victoria knighted James Douglas making him forever known as Sir James Douglas.

1864

Section 32 is subdivided and HBC sells 255 acres
James Douglas retires
Fort Victoria is demolished
Benjamin Pearse, surveyor general of the colony took the HBC to court over land claims.

1865

The opium trade was regulated requiring sellers to buy a license for $100.00.
Dallas defended himself and Mr. Finlayson from accusations of a public park infringement that had occurred in 1862.

1866

The Colony merged with the mainland on November 19 becoming the Colony of British Columbia.
The population of Victoria fell from 8,000 to 3500.

1868

The Rupert’s Land Act, an agreement to transfer the region from the HBC to Canada passed.

1871

British Columbia joins Canada

1872

Upon his retirement in 1872 Finlayson owned 658 acres.

1876

The Lekwungen population in Victoria fell from 700 in 1850 to approximately 182 inhabitants.

1877

Douglas died in Victoria of a heart attack.

1882

Beacon Hill Park was turned over to the city.

1885

In an effort to stem the flow of Chinese immigrants our Government imposed a ‘head tax’ of $50 to be paid upon their arrival.
From a public meeting held in Victoria March 6: “The Chinese are a menace to the morality of this Christian country are antagonistic to the interests of the country as a whole and that their competition as slaves in the labor market is detrimental to the welfare of the working people of Canada.” MP McBride added, “If the Almighty had intended the people of the Orient and of Canada to live together he would not have put the Pacific between them.”

1889

North Dairy Farm is further subdivided. HBC sells 459 acres to W. Brown and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company (an HBC subsidiary). The land continued to be subdivided and sold between 1891 and 1946.
The Anglican Synod of the Diocese of British Columbia is empowered to acquire, hold, and sell property.

1891

Pemberton sold fourteen of his acres, purchased at $1 per acre, for $900 an acre.

1893

The Victoria Golf Club was established becoming the second oldest 18 hole golf course in North America.

1894

Opium license fees climbed to $500.00 causing outrage among the sellers and worry among the users.
It is estimated that 40 to 50 percent of the Chinese in Victoria smoked opium. The opium dens also served non-Chinese customers but usage statistics are not to be found. Suffice it to say there was far more opium being smoked as only coal and fur exceeded opium exports in dollar volume.

1895

In a meeting with the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, Joe Etienne stated, “Our fathers made arrangements with the Government to lease and dispose of some of our lands and always told us we had money in the bank.” When the elders spoke of ‘leasing’, the Government was thinking of ‘sale.’

1900

Victoria's real estate market was thriving, and land speculation had become an established practice. Raw land was sold for an average of $1,000 per acre, (about $37,500 in 2025 dollars) while a three-bedroom bungalow would have cost around $1,200 (about $45,100 in 2025 dollars)
The average income of a middle-class family was around $500 per year (about $19,000 in 2025 dollars) Calculating the house cost of $1,200 and a yearly income of $500, it would take 4 years of total household income to equal the cost of a modest family home.
The Chinese head tax climbed to $100.00

1903

The Chinese head tax climbed to $500.00
On top of the head tax, Chinese Canadians could not practice law or medicine, could not vote in elections, could not hold public office, own Crown land or be employed on public works, were not allowed to swim in pools with white people, and had to be segregated in movie theaters.

1908

Opium sales are outlawed in Canada.

1911

The Lekwungen people agreed to move from Vic West to Esquimalt.

1923

The Chinese head tax was removed in 1923 when the federal government passed legislation that prevented almost all Chinese immigration to Canada.

1950

The real estate market was still booming and land speculation remained a common practice. Raw land in Victoria sold for an average of $5,000 per acre, (about $65,500 in 2025 dollars) while a three-bedroom bungalow would have cost around $10,000 (about $131,000 in today’s dollars). The average income of a middle-class family was around $4,000 per year (about $52,500 in 2025 dollars).
Calculating the average house cost of $10,000 and a yearly income of $4,000, it would take 5 years of total household income to equal the cost of 3 bedroom house.

2000

Victoria's real estate market was still thriving, but land speculation had become less common as the city had largely run out of undeveloped land. Raw land in Victoria at this time sold for an average of $100,000 per acre, while a three-bedroom bungalow would have cost around $300,000. The average income of a middle-class family was around $60,000 per year.
Calculating the house cost of $300,000 and a yearly income of $60,200, it would take 5 years of total household income to equal the average cost of 3 bedroom house.

2024

Greater Victoria population was 402,000
The median sale price for single-family homes was $1,150,000.00
The average salary in Victoria, British Columbia was $54,500 per year, and the average household income was $86,400.
It would take about 13 years of total household income to purchase a family home.

2024 Lekwungen territory:

According to information from the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, the Songhees Nation has a population of about 700 on approximately 138.10 hectares of reserve land.
The Esquimalt Nation currently has 43 houses for approximately 171 members, over 11 acres of reserve land on a land base of approximately 44 acres on their reserve.