History of Victoria This brief history of the City of Victoria was set forth in a resolution by City Council commemorating the centennial of Victoria in 1962, as follows: RESOLUTION OF VICTORIA CITY COUNCIL OF 2nd AUGUST, 1962 BE IT RESOLVED that the Members of this City Council of Victoria, in the County of Victoria, Vancouver Island, Capital City of the Province of British Columbia, Dominion of Canada, having been called into special session on this historic day, do hereby recognize and commemorate this, the 100th Anniversary of the Incorporation of the City under “The Victoria Incorporation Act, 1862”, passed in turn by the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council and assented to by His Excellency James Douglas, Governor, of Vancouver Island and its dependencies, on the 2nd of August, 1862. Many important events down through the years have had a profound effect on Victorias interests and development. The first of these stands as the credit to the great Hudsons Bay Company. Anticipating that under the Oregon Treaty, the being prepared, the 49th parallel would be chosen as the International boundary Line between the United States and Canada, the Company in 1843 moved its Fort from Vancouver on the Columbia River to this, the southern end of Vancouver Island, thus giving this City its beginnings as Fort Victoria just one hundred and nineteen years ago. A second event was the creation by the Imperial Government in 1849 of Vancouver Island as a Crown Colony with Victoria as the Capital, and, uniquely, apart from Labaun in Malay and Hong Kong, the only Free Port in the vast network of British Depots for ocean commerce. Then, Victoria was profoundly affected by the discovery in 1858 of gold in large quantities in the sand bars of the Fraser River, because miners from the goldfields of California and Australia, in fact from all over the world, poured into Victoria which was the only ocean port and outfitting centre for the goldfields of the Cariboo. Next, there was the creation in 1858 of British Columbia as a Crown Colony, and the uniting of the two Crown Colonies in 1866 to form the Crown Colony of British Columbia with Victoria as the seat of Government. Then, five years later, in 1871, the Crown Colony of British Columbia entered the Confederation of Canadian Provinces, with Victoria solidly established as the Capital City, but no longer with the status of a Free Port. Another factor greatly influencing the growth and development of Greater Victoria was the major British Naval Establishment at Esquimalt with its huge expenditures for payrolls, plant and supplies, and its large complement of men, of whom many on retirement made their permanent homes here and influenced relatives and friends to do the same. Although this force was withdrawn in 1905, as shortly afterwards were the Old Country Regiments garrisoning the City, it was succeeded by Canadas own and now very substantial Naval Force which constitutes a prime asset. When, in 1866, the Canadian Pacific Railway reached tidewater at Vancouver, it was a momentous occasion for Canada and particularly our West Coast. However, this seriously affected Victoria because with the opening of the railway where land and water met, much of the commerce, industry and business that Victoria had enjoyed as a vital manufacturing distribution centre of the Coast was attracted to the mainland. The operation for many years of a large sealing fleet out of Victoria brought big returns and business to the port, and its discontinuance in 1894 through International Agreement left a great void still remembered and regretted. Amongst other events of note were the inauguration of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway in 1888 and the street car service in 1890, the opening of our imposing Parliament Buildings in 1898, the reclamation of the James Bay mud flats and construction of the Causeway at the turn of the Century, the opening of the Canadian Pacific Railways celebrated Empress Hotel in 1908, the completion of the Ogden Point breakwater in 1917, the opening of the Ocean Docks in 1920, and the construction of the Dominion Governments $6,000,000.00 dry dock at Thetis Cove, Esquimalt, in 1926. Apart from the two World Wars and the depression of the early 20s and the stock crash of 1929, the last very important item influencing the Citys development comprised Victorias vast local improvement plan conceived by confident far-seeing men, which reached its peak in the year 1914 and laid the splendid foundations for the delightful, highly improved City we have to-day. In 1914 alone there were laid no less than five and one half miles of asphalt paving, nearly six miles of cement sidewalks, and over six miles of sewer pipe. The Citys Sooke Lake waterworks system was a $3,000,000.00 undertaking. Victoria has developed in its own unique way, and its location on Vancouver Island has influenced the character. Although no longer the commercial centre of the Province, Victoria has been enabled to take advantage of its natural beauty and its fine climate to become one of the most charming residential cities of the world and a beautiful. Capital City of which the citizens of Victoria and the Province are justly proud. Equable climate, with an average annual rainfall of only twenty-seven inches, is ideal for all-year-round activities out of doors. In every way Victoria warrants the description given in 1843 by its founder, Sir James Douglas, in these glowing terms: The place itself appears a perfect Eden, in the midst of the dreary wilderness of the northwest coast, and one might be pardoned for supposing it had dropped from the clouds into its present position. Victorians are happy with their beautiful homes and gardens, their churches, schools and university, excellent office and commercial structures, hotels and motels, extensive parks, beaches, lakes and waterways, splendid roads, boulevards and street lighting system, pure water supply, transportation services of all kinds, Parliament Buildings, Observatory, Art Centre, Golf Courses, Crystal Garden, Ice Arenas, Curling Rinks, Theatres, Bowling Alleys, and many other establishments, facilities and attractions too numerous to mention. They are happy, too, that to-day Victoria is a thriving metropolis with a steadily increasing population and many large buildings and other projects under way or contemplated and with the best of prospects for the future. It is noteworthy that this morning there was officially announced Victorias ambitious 1962 permanent Centennial Year Project for a development to be known as Centennial Victoria Square, being a comprehensive scheme for the rehabilitation of the present City hall and the development of a Civic Centre in the area bounded by Douglas Street, Pandora Avenue, Government Street and Fisgard Street. Also worthy of note is the fact that the City Councils endeavours over the last two years to secure from the College of Arms in London, England, an official Coat-of-Arms for Victoria, have been successfully completed, and there remains now only for a formal ceremony to be held for the presentation of the Arms to the City by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Members of Council place on record their appreciation of the valued service rendered during the last one hundred years by the great succession of individuals who as public men and women or private citizens contributed in any way to the welfare and progress of the splendid City which is Victoria to-day. AND, FURTHER, that the Members of this Council humbly acknowledge and express their heartfelt thankfulness to Almighty God for all of these fine people and for His loving-kindness and countless mercies to this glorious place and bounteous land; and sincerely pray that Gods richest blessings ever may be the portion of Victoria and her people, of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Members of The Royal Family, and all the peoples of the British Commonwealth; AND, FURTHER, that a copy of this resolution be inserted in a time capsule and buried in the green at the southwest corner of the City Hall Building.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 02:43:58 +0000
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