At the end of the 19th Century, the west coast of Canada was dangerous place for the movement of
vessels. There was little European settlement along the coast north of
Victoria. The only navigational aids for vessel traffic consisted of a
scattering of lighthouses. The Royal Navy had charted some of the coast, but
many dangerous rocks had yet to be discovered. The main shipping route to the
major population center was by the Straight of Juan de Fuca, a bit tricky to
find from seaward and often filled with contrary winds.
Vessels would sail, only to vanish and expected vessels failed to arrive at
port. Often debris found a coastal beach would be the only hint of another
tragedy. The number of lives and material lost was huge.
The 1907 Canadian Dominion Government, in an effort to provide some measure of safety
for mariners, implemented a plan to provide a life saving trail along the south
coast of Vancouver Island, lifeboat stations, and wireless radio stations.
The first five wireless stations, Vancouver, Victoria, Pachena Point and Estevan Point were all
operational by January 1908 while Cape Lazo came on line a few months later.
By the time the decade was out, Triangle Island, Ikeda Head, Dead Tree (Lawn Point) and Digby Island
were added to the list of stations and wireless coverage along the British Columbia coast was complete. (Photo: Lofty Harris at
Estevan Point-1918)
By today's standards, living conditions at the outlying wireless stations
were somewhat grim. Food and materials were delivered every 4 to 6 months.
Household refrigeration was unheard of, so fresh vegetables would be grown and
fresh meat hunted. At Ikeda Wireless the operators carried supplies
over a four mile trail. However families made do and each station became a
community. Operators had to master the new technology of wireless transmitters and receivers.
Even the diesel power plants were a fairly new product.
Users had to grapple with new ideas--tuning equipment,
operating diesel engines, doing field repairs and the like. (Photo: Operators Tee, Bowerman and Berry at Triangle Island-1913
In the early days the living conditions were rough and the wireless
equipment primitive--rough radio! Never the less, this was the cutting edge
technology of its day. The ability to communicate at a distance of hundreds of
miles without intervening wiring was only a dream in
the dozen years previous to this coastal building activity.
In 1911 a young
British Post Office telegrapher signed on with the Dominion Wireless Service in
British Columbia. He had a camera and about
400 of his photos, rescued by his
nephew from the dust bin after his death in 1981, are featured here. By the
time he had retired Jack Bowerman had risen to the position of District
Superintendant of Radio for all of British Columbia and in 1946 had received the
Order of the British Empire for his lifetime's work.
Another trove of photos from the 1930's was loaned to me by the daughter of
Charles Aitkens. Chas spent most of his time as an operator at Estevan Point
before joining the air force at the outbreak of WW2
and his album supplies about 125
photos and other information.
In March of 2009 I was
contacted by Fred Petersen who was holding a number of photos taken by Lofty
Harris, an operator in the 1912 and on era.
These photos are an excellent
source for photos of Ikeda and Dead Tree.
Clarence Thomas,
brother-in-law of Charles Aitkens, via his daughter supplied some
40 photos of his tour of duty in
the 1930's.
The buttons at the top of this page will take you to
the various areas.
As to this site, it serves to give this history a wide audience and an
opportunity to help me identify the people in the photos. Not all the
photos are related to the station equipment. Many are of the people,
buildings and events. I've included them as they do give a sense of times. The
original photos seldom had any notes penciled on them and thus some sleuthing is
being done.
Last changes Aug 20,
2010. Added some news items to the Victoria
Times 1909 August area..
The 1907 Canadian Dominion Government, in an effort to provide some measure of safety
for mariners, implemented a plan to provide a life saving trail along the south
coast of Vancouver Island, lifeboat stations, and wireless radio stations.
The first five wireless stations, Vancouver, Victoria, Pachena Point and Estevan Point were all
operational by January 1908 while Cape Lazo came on line a few months later.
By the time the decade was out, Triangle Island, Ikeda Head, Dead Tree (Lawn Point) and Digby Island
were added to the list of stations and wireless coverage along the British Columbia coast was complete. (Photo: Lofty Harris at
Estevan Point-1918)
operators carried supplies
over a four mile trail. However families made do and each station became a
community. Operators had to master the new technology of wireless transmitters and receivers.
Even the diesel power plants were a fairly new product.
Users had to grapple with new ideas--tuning equipment,
operating diesel engines, doing field repairs and the like. (Photo: Operators Tee, Bowerman and Berry at Triangle Island-1913