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This series contains water licences issued for Victoria Water District, 1909-1912, by W.S. Drewry, Chief Water Commissioner, pursuant to the Water Act, 1909. The records include water notices and approval of plans. This volume was also used by the Board of Investigation to make water rights determinations, ca. 1913-1914.

GR-1372 is an artificial series, created by the Provincial Archives of British Columbia in the 1920s and 1930s from records of the governments of the Colony of Vancouver Island (1849-1866), the Colony of British Columbia (1858-1866) and the United Colony of British Columbia (1866-1871). The records, consisting of correspondence inward to and among officials and departments, were originally organized more or less chronologically as records of the department or agency to which they were sent, e.g. Colonial Secretary, Attorney-General, Commissioner of Land and Works, etc. Letters when received were logged into a register and assigned sequential numbers with the last two numbers of the year appended, creating the file number, e.g. 105/62. Some of these registers still exist, e.g. GR-0625. The correspondence was often accompanied by enclosures such as reports, sketches and maps which were considered part of the file.

Sometime during the 1920s and 1930s, Archives staff undertook to re-organize these records into a single alphabetical series organized primarily by the name of the originating office or sender (road tolls and petitions are notable exceptions). Formerly separate records were intermingled and the original order was lost. The records were indexed using new file numbers assigned for that purpose. These are the F numbers written in red crayon on the records. Starting with the number 1, each folder of records in the new alphabetical sequence was assigned a number as well as the individual files (items) within that folder, e.g. F33/1.

It appears that later insertions into the alpha sequence, after the initial assignment of numbers, were dealt with by using letters (e.g. F85a, F85b), or a number in parentheses (e.g. F79(1), F80a(1)). When an F file required more than one folder, either letters were added to subsequent folders, (e.g. F102, F102a, F102b) or numbers in parentheses were used (e.g. F142b(1), F142b(2)). The F numbers on the documents, however, were not affected by the change in numbering as they formed one continuous sequence (e.g. F102, files 1-9; F102a, files 10-22; F102b, files 23-30b).

Some of the correspondence was transcribed by Archives staff. These typed transcripts are either in the file folders together with the originals or in a separate file folder following the file folder with the originals. Most of the transcripts were not microfilmed and consequently do not appear on the microfilm reels. The records were microfilmed 1978-1980.

See attached finding aid for more information about the history, contents, and indexing of this collection.

This series consists of a requisition book from the Colony of Vancouver Island Police and Prisons Department.

This series consists of transcripts of evidence of the Commission on Claims of Settlers in the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Belt, 1900.

This series consist of Acts of the Legislature of the Colony of Vancouver Island. Original manuscript copies signed by Governor Kennedy, 1965.

This series contains files from the Public Information and Education Division. The records consist of correspondence of the Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources on controversial matters including: multiple use in the Nitinat Triangle (1972) and Fry Creek (1972-1973) areas, and the Eden Fire (1973-1975). This series also contains the report of the Committee for Ranger District Organization (1976) which was appointed as a result of the Eden Fire controversy.

This series contains the agenda of discussion topics at the Vancouver Forest District Ranger Meeting held February 21-25, 1949.

This series contains records of the Vancouver Island Board of Education and its successor, the British Columbia Board of Education. Records include minutes of Board meetings, letterbook of correspondence outward, account book of text books and other school supplies, and a notebook regarding Vancouver Island schools and visits to them by Superintendent of Education. The letterbook of correspondence and notebook of school visits in handwritten by Alfred Waddington.

Estates in bankruptcy, 1861-1866. Prepared in March, 1866, as "A return of Estates in Bankruptcy as required for the Legislative Assembly by Resolution dated Nov. 30, 1866". This volume is indexed and gives the names of estates, dates, and details regarding proceedings involving the estates, 1 vol.

Series consists of one bench book for Colony of Vancouver Island Supreme Court of Civil Justice chancery cases heard by Chief Justice David Cameron between January 1863 and August 1865.

Series consists of one bench book for Colony of Vancouver Island Supreme Court of Civil Justice civil and criminal cases heard by Judge David Cameron at Fort Victoria from November 1853 to January 1856 and one criminal case at Nanaimo in May 1854. It also includes civil cases heard at Victoria in the Inferior Court of Civil Justice in 1856. The volume additionally served as a criminal record book for 1853, a cause book for 1856, and a Registrar's record book for 1853. It opens with a notation that Judge Cameron's commission was read and that he took his seat on 6 October 1853. The Registrar also notes that he received the court seal from Judge Cameron.

The series consists of Provincial Police Inspector's files created between ca. 1918 and 1923. The files are numbered from 50 to 106 and are subject files containing letters addressed to the Superintendent, Inspector and Chief Constable. The correspondence relates to the Victoria Police District.

The series contains records relating to mining leases (3 vols.). Volumes 1 and 2 are entitled Records of Mining, Leases and are registers of leases issued. They are arranged by Mining District. Included are entries for lease number, date and description of the lease, name of lessee, lot and locality of the lease, annual rental and other fees, expenditure requirements, date of assignment and assignee, letter reference numbers and cancellation information. Volume 3 is a record book of applications for mining leases recorded at Victoria, B.C., for the Stikine and Liard Mining Divisions of Cassiar District and Victoria District.

The series consists of records created by the British Columbia Provincial Police Force between 1858 and ca. 1933.
The records include correspondence and other material regarding financial matters such as budgets, estimates, vouchers issued, revenue returns, bills, statements and receipts. The records also include correspondence and lists regarding stores, uniforms, equipment and supplies; vehicle reports and some colonial era records relating to Victoria and Vancouver Island police, prison, fire department and prisons.

This series consists of an Alberni Land District lot register for lots 1-291 on Vancouver Island. The earliest entries are from 1872 and the volume was superseded by 1947 (i.e. no further entries were made after 1947). The register lists lots in numerical order and records the alienation of land from the Crown (by purchase, pre-emption, lease etc.). Information may include the name of the purchaser, dates and numbers of certificates issued (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments, and reference numbers to correspondence files and field books. A summary of the auction sale of subdivided lots from the Eastern portion of District Lot 1, is shown on pp. 86-90. The volume contains an alphabetical index of names.

This series consists of a Comiaken Land District land register for Range 1, Section 1 to Range 3, Section 19 on Vancouver Island. The volume date 1859-1885.

The register is arranged numerically by Range and Section and records the alienation of land from the Crown (by purchase, pre-emption, etc.). Information may include the name of the purchaser, dates and numbers of certificates issued (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments and reference numbers to correspondence and field books. The volume includes an alphabetical name index.

This series consists of a Comox Land District land register for Sections 1-113 and lots 1251 on Vancouver Island. Earliest entries are from 1862 and the volume was superseded in 1933 (i.e. no further entries were made after 1933). The land is listed numerically within the sections or lots and records the alienation of land from the Crown (by purchase, pre-emption, lease, etc.). Information may include the name of the purchaser, dates and number of certificates issued (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments, and reference numbers to correspondence files and field books. The volume contains an alphabetical name index.

This series consists of a Cowichan Land District land register, Sections I- 21 (including Saturna Island) on Vancouver Island. The earliest entries date from 1872 and the register was superseded in 1929 (i.e. no further entries were made after 1929). The register lists the sections in numerical order and record the alienation of land from the Crown (by purchase, pre-emption, lease, etc.). Information may include the name of the purchaser, dates and numbers of certificates issue (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments, and reference numbers to correspondence files and field books. The volume contains an alphabetical name index.

This series consists of Vancouver Forest District operational records, 1912-1979. The series has been arranged into 11 sub-series: timber sale sketches; special use permit sketches; park use permit letter and sketches for Mount Seymour; scaling and royalty records including timber leases, timer licenses, fee ledgers, records of accounts, crown grants, and other material; statistical graphs; logging inspection legers for various ranger districts; pole and piling return from Anton Pole and Lumber Co.; payroll accounts of Fraser River Repair Station; a variety of disbursement ledgers; scaling and royalty deposit accounts; and general accounts under section 113 of the Forest Act.

Timber sale sketches contain X and A files, in three colour spirit duplication. These show tenure boundaries, physical features, some contour lines and cultural features such as roads and railways and are in file number order. Special use permit and park use permit sketches are similar to the timber sale sketches.

This series contains records of the Government Agent from Cumberland relating to coal and petroleum prospecting licences for lands covered by water opposite the foreshore of Denman Island, Comox harbour, and for other lands in the Sayward and Coast Land Districts. The records consist of correspondence, notices, and plans. These records were filed in a transfer case with the Dept. of Lands on which was noted "Documents from Government Agent, Cumberland, December 18, 1939, to be destroyed under Public Documents Disposal Act. To be retained in this box pending decision of Deputy Minister of Lands."

This series consists of the records of the Commission of Inquiry Into Certain Claims Respecting Lands Situated Within the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Land Belt, 1916. This commission was also known as Settlers' Rights Commission. Commission records include correspondence, claims submitted by settlers to the Commission and other miscellaneous records. No report has been found.

The series consists of a letter book created by the Collector of Customs in the Vancouver Island Customs Dept. between 1858 and 1871 and the Canada Customs Department between 1871 and 1876. It contains copies of correspondence outward from the Customs Houses in Victoria and New Westminster. There is an index to the volume.
The Collector of Customs was based as follows:
A.C. Anderson, Victoria, July 1858 - April 1859
W. Hamley, Victoria, April 1859 - June 1859
W. Hamley, Queensborough, New Westminster, June 1859 - December 1868
W. Hamley, Victoria, January 1869 - June 1876

Series consists of silviculture opening records created by the South Vancouver Island district and its predecessor the Port Alberni Forest district from 1943-2008. The ministry defines silviculture as “the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis.” These files document the historical silviculture treatment work that has been undertaken on specific areas of land that are referred to as openings.

The files may contain a wide variety of record formats including textual records, photographs and maps. The textual records include computer printouts, photocopies, cards, reports and correspondence. Pre-1980 documents are usually photocopies but there are also many original documents from those years.

Most files are quite small. They usually consist of a map of the area and a computer printout titled the History of Crop Establishment and Tending. These computer printouts are dated from 1986 or 1990. They provide a history of crop establishment and tending and provide information regarding prescriptions, site preparations, reforestation and stand tending.

There are also larger files that contain a variety of other documents. These include prescription documents (which provide the management plan for the area), stand tending cards and reports (that show what forest treatments were taken), traverse sheets (that provide location information), pruning examination cards and printouts, planting reports, final harvesting reports, site preparation reports. Pre-1970 documents usually consist of copies of logging inspection reports.

The files are arranged numerically by a classification number. The first part of that number corresponds with the National Topographic System location codes and the second part of the number consists of a sequential number applied to each file.

Ministries responsible for the creation of this series, and the dates of the responsibility, are:

Dept. of Lands 1943-1945
Dept. of Lands and Forests 1945-1962
Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources 1962-1975
Dept. of Forests 1975-1976
Ministry of Forests 1976-1986
Ministry of Forests and Lands 1986-1988
Ministry of Forests 1988-2005
Ministry of Forests and Range 2005-2010

Classified as 18750-20 in the Forests Operational Records Classification System (ORCS).

This series consist of voters lists and poll books for the Vancouver Island House of Assembly elections, 1860-1866. Includes electoral districts of Nanaimo (1865), Esquimalt (1865), Victoria District and Victoria Town (1865, 1866) and Sooke (1866).

This series consists of a variety of resource inventories and land use plans. The records were created by the South Island Forest District and its predecessor the Port Alberni Forest District from 1975-2007.

Many of the records are recreation resource inventories. These relate to the identification of opportunities from the Provincial Forest recreation resource, to ensure that recreation values are considered in resource management decisions.

Other records include land use planning studies, protected area studies, landscape inventories integrated resource management and recreation plans, as well as questionnaires and consultation with user groups. Records regard land across the South Island Forest District, including TFL 25, TFL 44, TFL 46 and other areas near Clayoquot Sound and Barkley Sound.

These records have been classified as 16350-20 in the Forestry Operational Classification System (ORCS). However, some records may have been misclassified.

This series consists of a variety of operational records created by the Campbell River Forest District, a division of the Vancouver Forest Region, from 1990-2001. This includes land and resource management records, range tenures, and procedure files.

The series includes the following types of records:

Records relating to Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMP) consider all resource values within a given area of land. This area of land can consist of a TSA, a forest district, or other areas as designated. Each plan is prepared by an Interagency Planning Team in consultation with the public. These plans can be further subdivided into resource units and resource management zones. The participants in the planning process may build scenarios that include a set of resource management objectives and strategies both for the entire planning area and for each of the smaller units it contains. This primary includes the development, monitoring and review and amendment of plans for specific areas, and input from the public. The series includes terms of reference for the establishment of LRMPs.

Records relating to Local Resource Use Plans (LRUPs) to resolve resource use conflicts in specific areas at the local level. Includes records relating to data concerning a specific area - usually a watershed or other distinct resource management unit.

Utilization records regard the guidelines followed by the Ministry of Forests concerning the harvesting of timber
and the resulting affects on fish habitat. Includes guidelines, audits of licensees to ensure compliance with
guidelines, action/assessment plans.

The series also includes one district inventory program file and a range tenure file. There are also procedures related to engineering, road damage, forest service roads, district program planning, nurseries silviculture obligations and silviculture treatments.

The ministries responsible for creating these records, and the years that they were responsible, are:
Ministry of Forests (1988-2005)

The records were classified as 12380-25, 12440-20, 12600-20, 15700-20, 19910-20, plus several procedure files ending in the secondary "-02" in the Forest Operational Records Classification System (ORCS).

This series consists of a variety of records related to the Colony of Vancouver Island Treasury from 1853-1866. The majority of the records are various receipts, expenditures, estimates and financial statements of accounts. Accounts relate to a wide variety of government expenses, particularly those of the Land Office and transactions with the Hudson's Bay Company.

Other records include: a 1859 return of officers submitted to the Legislative Assembly detailing all employees of the colony, including their names, title, salary and remarks; an 1860 index of letters outwards including the date and subject; and a copy of the 1866 budget act with associated schedules.

This series consists of records related to the construction and maintenance of the Leech River ditch, flume and dam, also known as the Leach ditch from 1866-1867. The majority of the records are correspondence to and from BW Pearse, Acting Surveyor General for the Colony of Vancouver Island. Other records include contracts, reports, and financial records.

This series consists of copies of two documents. The first is a holograph draft and typescript of paper by Alan J. Campbell, B.C.L.S., entitled "Photo-topographical control for vertical aerial photographs as used by British Columbia topographical surveys." The second is a copy of letter, 1932, from Campbell to the Surveyor General concerning photo-topographical surveys on Vancouver island [published in Sessional Papers, 1932, vol. 2, pp. 26-27].

This series consists of certificates of improvement nos. 1-276, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Missing certificates are listed.

Certificates from before 1868 are created by the Colony of Vancouver Island Office of the Surveyor General.
Certificate from 1869-1871 are created by the Colony of British Columbia Department of Lands and Works. Certificates created after 1871 are created by the Province of British Columbia Department of Lands and Works.