Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives - Blog

What I Do At The Museum

9/5/2024

Hi everyone! Now that I have worked at the museum for a few months, it would be fun to share what I do as a summer student. When I first got the job, I didn’t realize how many little jobs were a part of my position. It was fun to do something new almost every day, but for this blog post, I will show you what I do on average!

Generic photo of me pointing

One of my most important jobs is uploading things to the museum’s digital archive, Past Perfect. When an item is donated to the museum, it must first be approved by the Acquisition Committee; once approved and given an ID number, the item or item is given to a staff member (Me!) to be uploaded to Past Perfect. After being uploaded, the artifact is displayed or stored for safekeeping.

Working hard on PastPerfect (totally not posing for a pic)

Another big job is filling out research requests. When someone has a question about the history of the Coast, they can come in and fill out a research request form or email and call with their question. After that, we take the request, search the museum’s archives for information on the request, and send a report back to the person. Research requests can range from super specific questions like where the name of Davis Bay came from to more general requests about things like the Howe Sound Cannery.

Look at that messy desk!

One of the not-so-fun jobs at the museum is the end-of-the-day cleaning, specifically the bathrooms. However, it is an important job that has to be done (plus they are paying me to do it). The bathrooms are cleaned daily, and the whole museum is vacuumed, mopped, dusted, and swept at the end of the day on Sunday so it’s ready for guests on Tuesday.

Im being held at artifact point off camera

My most important job at the museum is greeting guests, which is also my favourite part of the job. It is so much fun to meet with and talk to people form around the world who are visiting the museum.

I have also written a few blog post for the museum website.

Here I am hard at work on this blog

Gavin

Destroyers Repurposed: Sunshine Coasts Artificial Reefs

7/26/2024

Former HMCS Annapolis moments before sinking, picture from the Coast reporter April 6, 2015

With the recent announcement of the 15 new River-class destroyers for the Royal Canadian Navy, I decided to look back on what happened to the Navy’s old ships. It turns out that a surprising amount have been turned into artificial reefs! An artificial reef is a manmade structure that may mimic some features of a natural reef. With two on the Coast and another 7 artificial reefs of varying ships and one plane spread out around BC.

Artificial Reef Society Of BC website

For this blog post I will be looking at the two artificial reefs on the Coast. The former HMCS Chaudière and HMCS Annapolis. These two ships were sunk by the Artificial Reef Society of BC (ARSBC). The ARSBC started in 1989 is a non-profit society and charity, with the goal of creating artificial reefs in BC and around the world by using decommissioned ships.The ships are stripped of all potentially harmful components and sunk. The sunken hulls of the ship create a habitat for marine life and an economic boost through tourism and diving. Since 1991 the ARSBC has sunk 8 ships and one Boeing 737.

HMCS Chaudière

The first destroyer escort sunk by the society was the former HMCS Chaudière, a Restigouche-class destroyer escort commissioned into the Navy in 1959. The Chaudière was the second ship of its class, and would be assigned to the fifth Canadian escort squadron. She would be part of training with the US Navy off Nova Scotia and was then sent to be part of operation magic lantern, a NATO naval exercise off Gibraltar. After that, the Chaudière was sent to Esquimalt in 1967 where she was passed on for the Improved Restigouche Escorts (IRE), an upgrade to the vessel. Due to financial constraints, the Chaudière was used as a training ship until 1974 when she was decommissioned and used for parts for the other ships in her class. That’s the reason the front of her bow is missing, as it was used to repair HMCS Kootenay in 1989. In 1991 she was sold for $1 to the ARSBC and sunk in the Sechelt Inlet in 1992.

Photo of the Chaudière sinking from the Coast News January 4, 1993 issue

The other ship on the Coast is the former HMCS Annapolis, an Annapolis-class destroyer. The two Annapolis-class ships were originally going to be ships 5 and 6 of the Makenzie-class, but were converted to the helicopter destroyer specifications like the refitted Saint Laurent-class. The Annapolis was commissioned into the Navy in 1964 and would serve in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets throughout her career. In 1970, she would participate in celebrations for Manitoba’s Centennial Anniversary. Later on, she would become flagship of Standing Naval Forces Atlantic and for the next ten years, participating in NATO exercises in the Caribbean and European waters. The ship would then under go the DELEX refit in 1985 and would return in 1987 where she would provide escort for the Royal Yacht Her Majesty Yacht (HMY) Britannia. In 1994, she would participate in Operation Forward Action, a United Nations operation off of Haiti. The Annapolis would be put into reserve in Esquimalt until she was sold in 1998 to the ARSBC and was sunk off Gambier island in 2015.

HMCS Annapolis underway with sea king helicopter

Former HMCS Annapolis sinking, picture from the Coast Reporter April 6, 2015

Although both sinkings were successful, they weren’t without controversy. There was a large debate about the environmental impact of sinking a 111.6m warship in the Sechelt inlet and off of Gambier island, as there was concern about toxic materials in ships leaking out. Even with the controversy about there sinking both would be approved by Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, and other governmental bodies.

After the Annapolis was sunk, a study was launched to study the fish and other marine life in the area. The Annapolis Biodiversity Index Study (ABIS) ran from 2015 to 2021 and used a team of divers to consistently check on the local marine life that had made the Annapolis their home. The study found that around 179 different species lived on the sunken ship. You can read the report here and more information on the ARSBC website here.

Gavin

Summer fun!

7/11/2024

Sunshine Coast News August 5, 1985

There have been multiple different celebrations/festivals and events over the years like the Gibsons Regatta which, we have a blog post on already!

The Gibsons Regatta also known as the Howe Sound Regatta started in 1929 and would rotate between Hopkins Landing, Gibsons Landing and Granthams Landing, continuing until just after the end of World War II. The Regatta would last a couple days as people came together to enjoy summer games, including canoe tilting, balloon race, costume parade, and my personal favorite: the canoe pillow fight. There were also many more fun games, activities, and a spirit of friendly community competition.

Canoe pillow fight, regatta, Gibsons Landing. SCMA #4595

The next long-lasting event was the Sea Cavalcade which started in 1969 and would continue without pause until 2018, its fiftieth anniversary. Sea Cavalcade would happen over the course of three days And include many different events, as observed below, such as...

Sea Cavalcade schedule from Sunshine Coast News issue from August 20, 1969

The most spectacular part of Sea Cavalcade was the Boat Blow-up where a boat was blown up in the Gibsons harbour, although it did not always go smoothly. The 1979 Boat explosio created a shockwave that destroyed windows in multiple homes and injured one resident. Despite this accident, Sea Cavalcade and the Boat Blow-up tradition continued on for years to come.

Article from Sunshine Coast News August 7, 1979

For many, many years, Sea Cav was run by a dedicated group of community volunteers led by Gibsons' beloved Conchita Harding.

With Sea Cavalcade ending in 2018, new ideas surfaced on what to replace it with. In 2019 there was the Lantern Festival; but plans were put on hold by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that the pandemic is behind us, there have been talks of starting something new with Oceans Fest, which is planned for the summer of 2025. We will have to wait and see how that goes as we look to the future of Gibsons summer celebrations!

In the meantime, you can venture further up the Coast to celebrate Creek Daze in Roberts Creek, syiyaya Days in Sechelt, the Halfmoon Bay Fair, April Tools in Pender Harbour, and if you're feeling adventurous you could head out to the Powell River logger sports.

The canoe tilting competition at the West Howe Sound Regatta at the Gibsons wharf. SCMA #2297

Gavin

New Summer Student!

6/11/2024

Hi there! My name is Gavin Croteau. I am the new Museum Assistant for the summer! This is my first time working in a museum, and I am incredibly excited to be working here and learning more about the rich history of the Sunshine Coast. I was born and raised on the Sunshine Coast, a beautiful place to call home, with miles of beaches and forests to explore. I went to Chatelech Secondary School and am currently studying history at the University of Victoria. I have always been passionate about history, and I am thrilled to spend my summer immersed in the Coast’s past while discovering a potential career in museum studies.
I am most excited to learn aspects of working behind the scenes in a museum. I am really looking forward to cataloging artifacts, conducting research for upcoming exhibitions, and maintaining the museum’s archives. I love diving into historical documents and objects, piecing together the stories they tell about our community's past. Each artifact holds a unique narrative, and it’s incredibly fulfilling to help bring those stories to light.

In the Museum's Archives I found this amazing picture of the Sechelt waterfront and Union steamship. Having walked along the waterfront many times over the years it's incredible to see how its change from 1947.

SCMA Photo Number 189
A view of the Wharf at Sechelt with ferry and passengers, Photographed from steps of the Union Steamship Company resort hotel

Gavin

Gibson’s Landing, Gibson’s, or Gibsons?

5/18/2024

SCMA Photo #2093: The sign painted by Kathleen Godwin on the wharf at lower Gibsons in the 1920s.

What’s in a name?
The Skwxwú7mesh village sites of Ch’kw’elhp and Schenk are located near present-day Gibsons. Squamish stone artifacts dated upwards of 10,000 years before present represent a continuous occupation in the area, the southwest portion of their traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory. Examples of these belongings are featured in our collaborative exhibit: Kwekwinmut, Pieces of the Past. You can also see a map of the Squamish Nation territory with the Skwxwú7mesh Snichim (Squamish language) place names.

When George Gibson pre-empted the area in 1886, he was the first European settler to do so. While many settler place names are often in honour of a person, according to Frank Wyngaert, “George Gibson, Sr. had referred to his particular location as ‘Howe Sound’.” (West Howe Sound Story pg.6) and the name change to Gibson's Landing was for a more practical reason. Since George Gibson was the first Post Master and had built the wharf, where the mail was collected, correspondence was addressed to reflect that.

“If at that time one were mailing a letter to any of the recent pre-emptors, it would be addressed thus:

Mr. John Doe,
Gibson’s Landing,
Howe Sound, B.C.

The inclusion of the names ‘Howe Sound’ were still being used by many as late as the 1920’s.” (West Howe Sound Story pg 7)

A900: 1899-1900 issue of the British Columbia Directory. George Gibson is listed as the postmaster, but the area is still called Howe Sound.

While Gibson’s Landing, Gibson’s, and Gibsons were often used interchangeably in the early to mid 1900s, the name and spelling Gibsons was approved on July 3, 1947. The Geographic Board of Canada approved this change after a letter was written to them from the Gibsons Board of Trade. The Board of Trade had announced their intentions in the newspaper previously.

According to The Gibson's Landing Story by Les Peterson, it was "in 1947 [that] local businessmen petitioned the Postal Department, and succeeded in having the name of the Post Office address shortened from Gibson's Landing to Gibsons."

It was thought that the name "Gibson’s Landing" did not reflect the growth of Gibsons in the time since the first Post Office. At this time, it was the landing itself that seemed unnecessary. While some of the newspaper coverage mentioned that it was a nostalgic name, there was no documentation of push back against the name change from Gibson’s Landing to Gibsons. In fact, it was suggested that other local names such as Hopkins Landing should also be shortened. Even after the change was registered with the government, the Gibson’s Landing name appeared in print for some time. Including the apostrophe is an ongoing issue we still see today!

UFO Sightings on the Sunshine Coast

8/27/2023

UFOs are a fascinating phenomenon that has interested people for many years and is still relevant today. A UFO is an unidentified flying object or unidentified areal phenomenon that can not be immediately identified or explained. Upon investigation, most UFOs are known objects of an atmospheric phenomenon, while few remain unexplained. UFO sightings have been reported from all over the world. Residences of the Sunshine Coast have reported UFO sightings on a number of occasions. The first newspaper report of UFOs on the Coast is from July 18th, 1947, in the Coast News. Prior to this reported sighting, other unidentified flying objects had likely been observed; however, our newspaper record only started in 1945.

This first sighting occurred at 3:30 p.m. in Kleindale on Wednesday, July 9 and was witnessed by four men: Ronald Heed, Pete Klein, Henry Harris, and Rudy Hudon. The men report seeing a flying saucer or disc. The saucer was very high, travelling very fast and heading north. It was described as being silver-white. The second sighting reported in the Coast News was on February 6, 1948, when Mr. and Mrs. Veal of Wilson Creek reported seeing two round silvery objects travelling at a fast rate toward the city (Vancouver).

There are no reported sightings recorded in the Coast newspapers in the 1950s.

The 1960s and 70s saw an increase in UFO reports. The first of these reports occurred on August 10, 1965, at 10:30 p.m., when Egmont resident John Dunlop reported seeing a UFO. It was described as a bright spherical object. It travelled silently and at high speed, moving toward Porpoise Bay in a southeast direction. The next day, there were reported sightings in Vancouver of a bright object with an orange-coloured tail travelling over the city in a South-Easterly direction. On August 31, 1967, the Coast News reported that Mrs. Ewart McMynn and Mrs. L. G. Comrie of Roberts Creek both saw the same glowing, fluorescent object about 18 feet over the Strait of Georgia headed from Salmon Rock towards the Roberts Creek area. One described it as semi-circular.

1968 sees the first and only reports of undersea UFOs. The reports discuss the theory that undersea UFOs were responsible for sinking two tugboats, the “Gulf Master” and the “Black Fir.” The theory came about because of the report of extensive UFO activity above the water in the area, both before and after the sinking of the two tugboats. This theory was not seen as plausible by the authorities at the time.

The Peninsula Times June 12, 1968

1977, in particular, saw an increase in UFO reports. The first of these reports occurred when Gibsons resident E. R. East reported seeing a UFO at 7:30 on the evening of April 5. The UFO was described as a large, softly glowing white light; it was then described as thick through the middle and tapering at each end, with a bright reddish light on the trailing end. The UFO moved through the air from the direction of Keats Island. It then drifted slowly towards the north above the apparent shoreline.

A Coast News article from April 26, 1977, discusses how above Keats Island is the most common place for the type of UFO sighting that takes the form of a bright orange light following the Vancouver airport flight pattern and either remains motionless above the island or disappears suddenly This article also discusses three other sightings the first happed in 1975 when an unexplainable light was seen of end of Grantham’s Wharf, the light was observed through a pair of binoculars for several minutes before it disappeared. The second sighting was by Roberts Creek resident Ms. Laplante, who reported seeing a strange light in the sky out over the water while sitting on the beach at night; she described it as a long, thin light that sat motionless for a while and then shot off over the trees at an incredible speed. The third sighting was by the article's author, Ian Corrance, who, while working for B.C. Ferries, Ian and three co-workers saw what looked like the running lights of a plane above Mount Elphinstone; the lights did not move from when they first saw them to when they were hidden by Mount Elphinstone, which was about twenty-five minutes.

Photo #298 of Keats Island

The following reported sighting was in 1977, when at least eleven people in two locations saw a UFO above Trail Islands on Friday, September 23, between 6:30 and 7:15 p.m. The witness in Davis Bay described seeing a grey disc-shaped object that would turn on an edge and appear to be thin; then, it would turn again and become circular. The object hovered above the islands for about 15 minutes, then dipped below the trees; when it reappeared, the witness watched it until it blended into the dusk. The witnesses in Selma Park describe seeing a grey shape similar to an inverted saucer, with a hump in the centre; around the edges, it appeared to be lighter, although the witnesses could not see any evidence of lighting. The article mentions that the police are interested in any other sightings there may have been and would appreciate any further information.

Coast News, October 4, 1977

The last reported sighting was in 1977 when someone reported seeing a large orange ball over Porpoise Bay at 11:15 p.m. in late October; the witness watched it until it faded into the darkness. The incident was reported to the RCMP, who reported several reports of a distress flare at that time. The Vancouver police were alerted to the incident.

A Coast News article from March 7, 1978, discusses the theory that the UFO sightings over Halkett Point on Gambier Island, usually reported from around the Granthams area, are train lights from Squamish.

The only newspaper report from the 1980s is a Coast News article from September 15, 1981, when three Halfmoon Bay residents reported seeing a bright orange object fly across the sky and disappear behind Thormanby Island at 11:30 p.m. on a Friday. There were also reports of bright lights in the sky that were discovered to be flares set off during naval operations off Vancouver Island.

There are no reported sightings recorded in the Coast newspapers in the 1990s.

The most recent sighting recorded in the Coast newspaper was from the Coast Reporter July 16, 2020. The sighting happened on July 13 at 10:30 p.m. when Kristina Stoyko and some friends were sitting on Armors Beach in Gibsons when they saw three large glowing lights hovering in a triangle over Keats Island, two of the lights were white flashing and the one on top of the triangle red flashing light. The objects appeared to be still before taking off and flying over Gibsons. The group filmed the objects on their phones. Theories to explain this incident include everything from helicopters to drone users experimenting with light displays and the previously mentioned train lights from Squamish.

These are just the sightings that were reported in the newspapers. If I missed any sightings, share them in the comment section below!

- Enya

Collaborate with us!

7/2/2023

photo #1797 of Charles Bedford and his shell collection.

We are looking to collaborate with the community to create a new exhibit in one of our cabinets upstairs! Any community members with ideas for exhibits relevant to the Sunshine Coast are welcome to submit a proposal. The exhibit can be historical or contemporary, and doesn’t necessarily need to include objects! We are particularly interested in including anything related to under-represented histories, or stories not yet explored in our current exhibits.

Proposals can be filled out online through our social media or on our website, and physical copies of the form will be available here at the museum. If any applicants have questions about the proposal forms feel free to email me at [email protected]!

The exhibit will be installed in late August, and run for about four months. The museum will cover costs related to printing the text panels of the exhibit, and an honourarium will be paid to the co-curator for their time. The time commitment for the co-curator will be about six hours, which will include time spent coming into the museum to work on the text panels and design the exhibit, as well as correspondence with me over the course of the exhibit development period. The last day to submit exhibit proposals is July 21st, 2023!

To submit your idea to us online, click here!
Lucy

Lucy's back at the Museum!

6/7/2023

Photo #106 from the archive

Hello! Having finished my second year at the University of British Columbia, I’m back to working at the museum for the summer! This past school year I had the amazing opportunity to work at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum as the mount making assistant, where I got to make homes for natural history specimens such as crabs, birds, insects and a raccoon skeleton. This job gave me some great museum mount-making experience that I’d love to apply here at the SCMA. I’m so excited to have returned to the coast, and to get back into rehousing, researching, and greeting visitors. I’m looking forward to getting back into local history, I’ve missed how much learning and research I get to do at this job! I hope this summer brings many more mystery objects to be identified, bottles to be labelled and golden eagles to be located!

Lucy

A Collection of Collections: The History of our Museum

12/17/2022

In 2022 the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives celebrated our 20th anniversary, but many will remember the museums that came before – one was even in the same location on 716 Winn Road. The first of these local museums formed in the basement of Lester Peterson as his collection of local treasures started to fill up the lower part of his house.

Photo #1756 of Lester Peterson

Coast News Aug 19, 1964

Peterson arrived on the Sunshine Coast as a young boy in 1923 and grew up to become an English teacher and local historian. His interest in history led him to write several books and a substantial amount of newspaper columns and articles, which were digitized between 2012 and 2014 as one of the SCMA’s projects. Peterson was an avid collector and many of his friends and community connections gave him artifacts and related their own stories to him. Eventually, this collection outgrew the Abbs Road house that Peterson shared with his family.

In 1965 the Elphinstone Pioneer Museum Society, which included Les Peterson, was formed and were quick to get the museum a more suitable home. The first “permanent” home for the museum was in yet another basement, this time located in what was then the new Municipal Hall building on South Fletcher. Once situated, the museum was able to offer memberships for a large sum of $1 per member! Other collections came to join Peterson’s, including Don Cruikshank’s pipes, Charles Smith’s weapons, Charles Bedford’s shells, and our beloved butterfly cabinet was donated by an anonymous community member.

Photo #1797 of Charles Bedford's shell collection

The Elphinstone Pioneer Museum moved in 1974 when a new building was constructed at the south end of Holland Park specifically for the museum. The museum was able to add an archive and library to its collection with the extra space and even went on the expanded again with an addition of a second storey. But it didn’t stop growing there!

Photo #5133 interior view of the Sunshine Coast Maritime Museum in Molly's Lane.

Sunshine Coast Maritime History Society formed in 1986 to construct of full-size replica of Captain George Vancouver’s sloop, the Discovery, for the 200th anniversary of its voyage of exploration. While this project did not come to fruition, the SCMHS was able to open a new museum dedicated to maritime history in 1991. This Molly’s Lane museum was called the Sunshine Coast Maritime Museum and was open from 1991 to 2002 when it amalgamated with the Elphinstone Pioneer Museum. This merger happened 20 years ago to form the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives as we know it.

The two museums before amalgamation, as featured in The Sunshine Coast: A Place to Be

After 20 years of the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives, we would like to thank the innumerable people who have helped the museum through the years. Our volunteers, board members, staff, and, of course, our visitors have all been an incredible source of support! Our community of heritage societies and museums on the Sunshine Coast is a tight-knit group and we look forward to our museum's future work alongside the Sechelt Archives, tems swiya Museum, Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society, the Egmont Heritage Centre, and the many other groups that make the Coast what it is.

Last Day at the Museum

9/3/2022

The summer is almost over and it’s almost time for me to head back to school! I’ve had such a great summer here at the museum. It’s been fun to learn more about local history, and to gain skills related to museum work. Pulling artifacts from storage and figuring out what they were was always a treat. Getting to do research about artifacts and the history of the Sunshine Coast was so interesting, I feel like I learned so much this summer. It’s been so neat to have the opportunity to explore both the exhibit spaces and the behind-the-scenes parts of the museum.

Thank you to Allie, Enya, and Matthew for making this such as fun and interesting job, and teaching me so much about working in a museum. I couldn’t have asked for a better summer experience, and I’m so excited to go back to school having learned so much. Working here and getting to meet so many different visitors has been really enjoyable, and it’s always neat to hear what kinds of questions people have about the Coast. Also, thank you to Chef Barry for always dropping off his delicious treats!

I’m so appreciative for the opportunity to work at the museum, it was truly a great experience! I hope everyone has a great fall!

Lucy Wolchock-Brown