Fonds PR-0052 - Helen Woods fonds

Helen Kate Woods was born in Ireland in January 1854. Her parents and some siblings emigrated to Vancouver Island in 1861. Kate and her sister, Emily, remained behind in the care of two aunts until 1865. Once in Victoria, she attended Angela College, the Anglican girls’ school, where she and her sister won prizes for sketching and watercolours. Emily would go on to be a teacher and professional artist, particularly of wildflowers. Kate became an amateur watercolourist, her most prolific period between 1879 and 1881, before her marriage. Her work was also included in the Island Arts and Craft Exhibition of 1913.

Kate is best known for the detailed journal she wrote and the evocative pencil sketches she drew during a 26-day trip in 1880 with her brother, Edward, to the remote mission at Ankihtlast, on the Skeena River near Kispiox, where her sister Alice and her family lived. They travelled first by sea, then, in the company of Nisga’a guides, on foot in boots, snowshoes or moccasins, in canoes and sleighs up the River Nass, overland through deep snow, across traditional grease trails, frozen lakes and periodic thaws that constantly tested them. She meticulously described their daily treks, the scenery and the people, as well as her own increasing awareness of the Indigenous cultures she encountered.

While at the mission, Kate also contributed sketches to the short-lived handwritten newspaper, the Hazelton Queek. After 18 months, she returned to Victoria where, in 1882, she married John Alexander Andrew and bore five children between 1884 and 1891. The last was born after John’s death from cholera. Although he left a comfortable estate, his family experienced financial troubles and Kate sold their home, rented family accommodation and took a job teaching art. She later moved to Vancouver. She died in 1937.