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British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary
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Riverview Hospital historical collection

  • Collection
  • 1872-2008

This series consists of a variety of records created by various provincial mental health institutions from 1872 to 2008. Records relate to the administration and operation of Riverview Hospital and related mental health facilities at the Essondale site in Coquitlam, as well as other facilities across the province. These mental health institutions include: Victoria Asylum, New Westminster Provincial Asylum (later Public Hospital for the Insane or Provincial Hospital for the Insane), Home for the Aged Coquitlam (later Valleyview), Home for the Aged Terrace (later Skeenaview), Home for the Aged Vernon (later Dellview), Crease Clinic, Colony Farm, Colquitz, Woodlands School, Tranquille and other medical facilities.

The names and administrative structure of these institutions changed over time. Mental health functions were originally part of the Provincial Secretary’s mandate; they were transferred to Mental Health Services when it was created in 1950.

These government records were collected by the Riverview Historical Society and include a wide variety of subject matter and media. This includes subjects such as: early development of the Essondale lands and Colony Farm; the construction and expansion of the facility; admissions, transfers, and discharges of patients; administration of patient care; administration of therapy programs; patient and staff recreation; staff and nurse training; operation of the audiovisual department; library services; research into new medical and therapeutic practices; research by staff regarding mental health practices at Riverview and further afield; community involvement; volunteer activity; policy development; the redevelopment of the Riverview lands; general administration; and, administration of other services at the site such as postal, food, laundry, banking, transportation and safety services.

The collection has been arranged into the following series based on record types:

GR-3924 - record books
GR-3925 - operational records
GR-3926 - newsletters
GR-3927 - photographs and other graphic material
GR-3928 - films and videos

Classified as 20000-20 in Operational Records Classification System (ORCS) schedule 144007.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Records with regard to neglected children

  • GR-2817
  • Series
  • 1929-1950

The series consists of correspondence of the Superintendent of Neglected Children, the Deputy Superintendent of Neglected Children and the Superintendent of Welfare relating to Doukhobor children. The files contain correspondence, lists of children, case files for some of the children and a 1950 thesis. The bulk of the material relates to the period 1929 1935.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Memorandum with explanatory notes regarding voting regulations

The file consists of a 12 page memorandum created by Special Officer G.H. Ward for the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary in 1941. The memo concerns the B.C. general election held on October 9, 10, 11, 1941 and the B.C. Active Service Vote in the United Kingdom with explanatory notes re active service voting regulations.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Correspondence inward

  • GR-1330
  • Series
  • 1892-1917

This series contains letters inward to the Department of the Provincial Secretary, 1892-1917. During the period covered by GR-1330 (1892-1917) the Provincial Secretary was variously responsible for the departments of Mines, Education and Immigration. Within these departments he was responsible for the Legislative Library and Archives, the Queen's Printer, the Bureau of Statistics, the Civil Service Commission, and various agencies concerned with health and social welfare. The multiplicity of his duties accounts for the range and diversity of the records in GR-1330.

Among the records are correspondence to, and from, the Lieutenant-Governor and the Executive Council, correspondence from Dominion officials concerning colonization and settlement, applications from organizations wishing to register under the Benevolent Societies Act, memoranda of association from businesses seeking to be incorporated under the provincial Companies Act, petitions from community groups requesting schools and improved municipal services, plus letters from private persons applying for appointments in the civil service. Also included are records arising from the administration of the provincial elections, hospitals, and asylums.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Provincial Secretary telegram register

This item is a telegram register volume. The telegrams date from 1877-1878 and appears to include correspondence in and correspondence out. The volume was likely maintained by the Department of the Provincial Secretary, though the creator is unconfirmed. The volume includes telegrams sent by a wide variety of government employees located in the capital and around the province, including positions such as Ministers and Government Agents. The volume records the date, name of sender, name of recipient, location, and the full contents of the telegram.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Regulations and circulars

  • GR-0551
  • Series
  • 1873-1908

This series consists of miscellaneous regulations and circulars emanating principally from the Provincial Secretary's office, 1873-1904, 1908.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Provincial Secretary correspondence on diverse topics

  • GR-1668
  • Series
  • 1872-1934

The series consists of miscellaneous correspondence inward and outward on diverse topics. Most of these records pertain to the 1920s and early 1930s. Included are files dealing with the exclusion of Orientals (1921), the preservation of Craigflower schoolhouse and other historic sites, acquisitions (of paintings and photographs) by the Archives department, removal of Indian totem poles, petitions protesting the dismissal of Judge Helen Gregory MacGill (1929), and the Bedaux Sub-Arctic Expedition (1934). Early files include a memorandum on the benefits of establishing a Treasury Board for the provincial government (1872) and a letter of introduction for John Blair, landscape architect (1896).
Also included is a schedule referred to in order-in-council no. 911, confirmation of reserves, reductions of cut-off's and new reserves, Ditchburn-Clark Commission.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Annotated copy of the Schedule referred to in order-in-council 911/23

  • GR-2039
  • Series
  • 1923

Annotated copy of the Schedule referred to in order-in-council 911/23, regarding confirmation of Indian reserves, new reserves, and the reduction and cut-offs of reserves within various British Columbia Indian Agencies. The Schedule amended the work of the Commission on Indian Lands and Indian Affairs in general in British Columbia, 1913-1916, and is commonly known as the Ditchburn-Clark Report. This copy of the Schedule has been "certified correct" by William E. Ditchburn (for the Dominion government) and John William Clark (representing the provincial government) and is dated 10 May 1923. See also GR-0931.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Provincial Secretary correspondence

  • GR-0528
  • Series
  • 1947

This series consists of Provincial secretary correspondence, 1947. Records consist of subject files arranged alphabetically by file title. Includes subject index on cards.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Provincial secretary correspondence

  • GR-0344
  • Series
  • 1917-1926

This series consists of correspondence inward and outward, and interdepartmental memos of the Provincial Secretary, pertaining to provincial mental health care institutions, mothers' pensions, child welfare, and adoption laws from 1918-1926.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Joint Reserve Commission records received by the Provincial Secretary

The records in this series consist of correspondence and reports inward to the Provincial Secretary from the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (Alexander Caulfield Anderson, Dominion Commissioner, Archibald McKinlay, Provincial Commissioner, and Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, Joint Commissioner). The records include reports; summaries of work; minutes of decision; census of Indian population, livestock and acreage of reserves; and two memoranda dated 1869 by J.W. Trutch regarding disputes about Indian lands in Cowichan district.

Copies of correspondence inward to the Lieutenant Governor from the Commissioners and certain correspondence with Dominion Officials is also included in the record. The records are as originally filed. In most cases, the original Provincial Secretary's file number may be seen on the first document in a file, eg., for file 3 the number is 664/76, representing the 664 document received in the year 1876.

Joint Reserve Commission

Indigent Fund administration files

  • GR-0289
  • Series
  • 1914-1933 [predominant 192-]

The series consists of records created by the Deputy Provincial Secretary between 1914 and 1933 pertaining to the administration of funds for the "aid of the destitute, poor, and sick."

Between 1872 and 1942, an annual vote of funds was included in the estimates of the B.C. legislature. The fund, which was administered by the Office of the Provincial Secretary, originally contained $500. By 1935, this figure had risen to $110,000; but in the fund's final year of existence, 1943, the vote of funds had declined to $40,000.

The Indigent Fund, unlike the Mother's Pension, the Old Age Pension (1927), or the Veterans Assistance plans was not tied to an Act of Parliament, and thus relief was provided to people under a wide range of circumstances, and included many who failed to qualify for assistance under specific federal or provincial schemes. The fund was designed to meet the immediate and shortterm needs of rural B.C. residents (municipalities had their own funds) who through misfortune or bad planning had found themselves without "the necessities of life." The key to the fund, until the early 1930s, when the position of Superintendent of Welfare was created, was the Deputy Provincial Secretary, for it was often at his discretion that assistance was provided. He was aided in his duties by the various Government Agents, who were responsible for handling vouchers, disbursing cheques, and reporting to Victoria any new developments in individual cases. They, in turn, were assisted by Provincial Police constables who usually investigated each case and submitted a report.

The records consist of correspondence inward and outward from the Deputy Provincial Secretary's office; correspondence from Government Agents to the Deputy Provincial Secretary; Provincial Police reports on the condition of Indigents; correspondence from indigents or persons representing them to the Premier, Ministers, and the Deputy Provincial Secretary; and miscellaneous correspondence to and from various government departments and agencies such as Workman's Compensation Board, Department of Immigration, public hospitals, police departments etc.

The files are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the indigent. They are not, however, arranged alphabetically within each folder. There are two alphabetical series, as well as two sets of files titled "miscellaneous". All files have been preserved in their original order.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Election records from Victoria

  • GR-1667
  • Series
  • 1871-1872

This series consists of poll-books, voters' lists, and correspondence relating to two landmark elections in British Columbia: the election of 1871 of representatives to the provincial legislature, and the election of 1872, called to elect provincial members to the Dominion House of Commons - respectively the first provincial election and the first federal election held in B.C. These records document B.C.'s last "open voting" elections (i.e. a secret ballot was not used). Compiled by A.F. Pemberton, Chief Returning Officer for Victoria, the records pertain to Victoria City, Victoria District, Esquimalt and Metchosin.

The election of 1871 was held in various parts of the province between October and December. It was conducted in accordance with the Colonial Election Regulation Act [34 Vic., No. 13, a statute which affirmed the practice of open voting (as opposed to the secret ballot). Thus, the poll books in this collection show the names of electors and the candidates for whom each elector voted. Voter's qualifications were determined by the colonial Qualification and Registration of Voters' Act [34 Vic., No. 156]. To qualify for the franchise, a voter had to be male, a loyal British subject, over twenty-one years of age, literate (at least able to write his name), and a resident in B.C. for no less than six months. In addition, qualified electors had to meet one of the following criteria: occupy premises with an annual rent of $40 or more; own freehold property having an assessed value of at least $250; have a pre-emption claim of 100 acres or more; possess a free-miners' license.

The Dominion election of 1872 was held under the authority of two federal statutes: the Interim Parliamentary Election Act of 1871 [34 Vic., c.20] and the Act to Re-adjust the Representation in the House of Commons, 1872 [35 Vic., c.13]. The first statute made provisions for holding a federal election in B.C.; the second confirmed the number of MPs to be elected from B.C. [6] and established federal electoral boundaries. 2 MPs were elected from the district of Victoria; 1 MP from the district of Vancouver (i.e. Vancouver Island north of Victoria and adjacent to the Gulf Islands); 1 MP for each of the districts of New Westminster, Yale, and Cariboo. Section 5 of the Interim Parliamentary Elections Act declared that the laws already in force in B.C. would apply to the election of 1872. Accordingly, polling for the province's first federal election was carried out under colonial legislation noted above. The Dominion election was also carried out in accordance with B.C.'s Corrupt Practices Prevention Act [34 Vic., No. 158], a colonial statute which stipulated that candidates had to declare all expenses incurred during their campaign. Hence the documents in Box 1, files 6 & 7 of this collection.

The records in GR-1667 relate solely to the Victoria electoral district. For elections to the provincial legislature, the riding included areas within the city's limits. Federally, however, the electoral district of Victoria embraced the City of Victoria and adjacent areas of Saanich (Victoria District), Esquimalt and Metchosin. A.F. Pemberton was the district's chief Returning Officer in both elections. In the provincial election -- held on 16 October 1871 -- Pemberton established the district polling station at the Police Barracks in Bastion Square. In the Dominion election -- held on 2 September 1872 -- he established six polling stations. The polls were open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Three candidates contested the two Victoria seats: Amor DeCosmos, Henry Nathan and Robert Beavan. DeCosmos, and Nathan were elected. The results of the election, and returns from each of the polling stations, were published in the Victoria Daily Colonist (3 Sep 1872).

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Indian lands correspondence and other material

  • GR-0504
  • Series
  • 1861-1877

This series consists of correspondence, petitions, accounts, statements of population, and reports relating to land of Indigenous peoples in British Columbia from the Department of the Provincial Secretary.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Correspondence regarding interpretation of the Superannuation Act

  • GR-0168
  • Series
  • 1920-1922

The series consists of correspondence of the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary with the Civil Service Commissioner from 1920 to 1922 regarding interpretation of the Superannuation Act and representations made by the Provincial Civil Service Association on various matters.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Indigents Fund applications

  • GR-0166
  • Series
  • 1939-1941

The series consists of Application for Relief forms created by the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary between 1939 and 1941. Each form gives applicants' name, age, place of residence, marital status, financial status and number of dependents.

The forms, which are numbered from 600501 to 604500, were evidently a part of a larger registry. Unfortunately, other application forms from the registry have not survived. Contemporary registers and indexes to the application forms have not survived either.

Most of the forms in this series are from August-November 1939, although a few are dated as late as November 1941. The forms are arranged by community, with a very few discrepancies in the order. Application forms from the city of Vancouver are, for the most part, arranged alphabetically by the first initial of the applicants' surname.

An oath of allegiance was required from those applying for financial assistance from the provincial government. Oath of Allegiance forms from the years 1940-1942 are to be found in Box 7 of this collection. There is no discernible order to the Oath forms, although a number of them refer to the Application for Relief forms noted above.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Scrapbook of accounts

  • GR-0165
  • Series
  • 1911-1912

The series consists of a scrapbook created by the Dept. of Provincial Secretary from 1911 to 912. It contains accounts submitted by provincial newspapers for payment of advertisements of government notices.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Provincial Secretary records with regard to protocol

  • GR-0158
  • Series
  • 1964-1974

The series consists of Dept. of the Provincial Secretary general office files, 1964-1974. It contains records with subjects relating to protocol and routine operations of government.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Provincial Secretary correspondence

  • GR-0157
  • Series
  • 1913-1916

The series consists of correspondence, 1913-1916, that was originally a part of the Provincial Secretary's Central Registry. The records include grant applications from charitable organizations (e.g. Salvation Army Rescue and Maternity Home, Vancouver); petitions from various citizens groups and trades organizations (e.g. re: Pacific Great Eastern railway, prohibition, and Weekly Half Holiday Act); plus files on diverse topics such as the Belgian Relief Fund (which was administered by the Provincial Secretary), the Progress Club of Vancouver, the provincial coat-of-arms, prohibition, half-day closing, the Provincial Archives and W.W. Walkem's "Stories of Early British Columbia".

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Ballots and other material

  • GR-0156
  • Series
  • 1945

The series consists of ballots (blank and marked) and general instructions on voting procedures, along with a list of returning officers for the 1945 general election.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Records with regard to Royal visits

  • GR-0155
  • Series
  • 1938-1959

The series consists of records with regard to Royal visits created by the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary between 1939 and 1959. The records include correspondence, circulars, programmes, press releases, menus, etc. concerning the visit to British Columbia by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, 1939. Also includes programmes re: 1958 visit of the Princess Margaret and the visit of H.M. the Queen and Prince Philip in 1959.

The series also contains 2 photographs of paintings and some maps.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Provincial Secretary general office files and indexes

  • GR-0154
  • Series
  • 1951-1962

The series consists of general office files created by the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary between 1951 and 1962 with their card indexes.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Records pertaining to care of indigents and destitute persons

  • GR-0150
  • Series
  • 1911-1925

The series contains records pertaining to the care of indigents and destitute persons created by the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary between 1911 and 1925.

Files consist of applications for relief, supporting documents from police constables and government agents, case files, administrative reports, and general correspondence. Reports on unemployment in specific communities in British Columbia, ca. 1911-1918 are also included.

Records created prior to 1923 were filed numerically and constituted a separate records series within the Provincial Secretary's office. Records created after 1923 were kept alphabetically, by name of applicant. Regrettably, contemporary registers and indices for these records have not survived.

Although it was "the duty of every city and district municipality to make suitable provision for its poor" [Municipal Act, RSBC 1911, c.170 s.526], the Department of the Provincial Secretary was largely responsible for the care of indigents and other destitute people in British Columbia. In fact, prior to the creation of the Department of Health and Welfare in 1946, the Provincial Secretary's office was often the only source of support for deserted wives and children, indigent widows and elderly persons, disabled workers and others in need of public welfare.

The Provincial Secretary administered funds to such groups through charitable accounts, the Workmen's Compensation Board, the Provincial Board of Health, and other agencies. At the local level, relief payments were often distributed by Provincial Police constables or Government Agents.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Correspondence on the naming of British Columbia

  • GR-0003
  • Series
  • Typescript 1971 (originally created 1858)

The series consists of copies of correspondence between Queen Victoria and Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton on the naming of British Columbia, 24 June to 26 July 1858. The copy, made in 1971, was a gift of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, on the centenary of the province, 1871-1971.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Dept. of the Provincial Secretary miscellaneous films and videos

  • GR-3436
  • Series
  • 1925; [ca. 1965]-1977

The series consists of miscellaneous films (some original footage and some composite prints) and videocassettes about British Columbia. It includes films about the BC Pavilion in Osaka (1970), British Columbia House in San Francisco (ca. 1965) as well as the opening of the 1971 BC International Trade fair, a film about lumbering in British Columbia (1925) and Crown Zellerbach lumber activities (1966) and a reel from ca. 1970 about sailing activities.

The series also includes two video copies of BBC films, one about lumbering activities and one about a search and rescue operation.

The photographs and at least some of the films were formerly held by British Columbia House in San Francisco. Some of the films are composite prints; F1984:10/002 appears to be original footage.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Certified copy of juror roll for Vancouver judicial district

  • GR-0863
  • Series
  • 1900

The series consists of certified lists of grand and petit jurors for the judicial district of Vancouver, created in 1900 and sent to the office of the Provincial Secretary. The lists contain the names, addressed and occupations of the jurors as well as their number on the jurors roll.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Correspondence and reports from Department of Provincial Secretary

  • GR-1665
  • Series
  • 1887-1953

This series contains miscellaneous correspondence and reports. These records were originally a part of the Provincial Secretary's central registry but, for reasons unknown, became separated from the department's main files. A wide variety of subjects are addressed in these records.

Many of the records in this unit concern investigations carried out under the authority of the Departmental Inquiries Act and the Public Inquiries Act. Many relate to conditions in public institutions and activities of government employees. Many inquiries relate to hospitals and schools in the province, including Vernon Mental Hospital, Tranquille Sanatorium, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and Provincial Mental Hospital at Essondale. Other inquiries and Commissions include bribery of the Liquor Control Board, the Beban Mine disaster, Royal Commission on Dominion Provincial Relations, Inquiry into the death of John Meredith Sweeney and the state and management of the Quartermaster Stores of the Provincial Police Force.

The records also relate to child welfare programs, including the general management of the Provincial Industrial School for Boys and to the Girls' Industrial School, ca. 1930-1945. Additional documents in this collection relate to subjects such as squatters' claims at the Granville Townsite [Vancouver (1887)], to the Fraser River Flood Relief programme (1894), applications for seed, the Victoria Consolidated Hydraulic Mining Co., government perquisites, legislation, estates, and to proposed sites for the University of British Columbia (1910). "Anti-Oriental" petitions and voting returns of the 1924 beer-by-the-glass plebiscite also included.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Indexes to Orders in Council

  • GR-1955
  • Series
  • 1872-1984

The series consists of volumes of indexes to Orders in Council (OIC) created between 1872 and 1984. The indexes relate to GR-0113 Orders in Council. The oversize volumes were maintained by the Provincial Secretary's office prior to the introduction of an automated indexing system in 1985 and digitization of the records, now available on the BC Laws website: http://www.bclaws.ca/. In most instances, OICs are indexed under the name of the statutes to which they relate. The series also includes ledgers recording documents issued under the Great Seal. The ledgers are arranged by Act name and list the relevant OIC as well as the name and address of the appointee mentioned in the OIC.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

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