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Series consists of judgements created between November 1880 and October 1977 by the Victoria Supreme Court. Orders are the formal expression of the ruling of the court and judgements are the final orders issued in a case. Early records relate to a variety of matters, including adoption and divorce. Records after 1958 primarily relate to financial matters such as damages, costs, payments, bankruptcy recovery, and divorce costs and maintenance. Original textual records up to the end of 1958 appear to have been destroyed after microfilming; retrieve those records using microfilm.

Records are arranged by volume and folio number as assigned by the court registry. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51400-25.

Index to judgments, Jan. 1, 1885 - Nov. 1, 1895. The judgments and the preceding index are found in GR-1590.

Series consists of divorce case files created between 1940 and 1949 by the Victoria Supreme Court registry. Orders have been removed from this series and are filed separately as GR-1587. Typical divorce case files can include petitions, affidavits, summons, correspondence and other records relating to the case.

Records are arranged by case file numbers, which were assigned chronologically by the court registry and include the year a divorce was initiated. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51440-20.

Series consists of decrees nisi, decrees absolute, and divorce orders issued by the Supreme Court of Victoria between 1877 and 1998. Decrees nisi were used inconsistently prior to the 1930s and required a waiting period before a decree absolute could be issued. Between 1968 and 1985, the waiting period was three months. A divorce was not legally in effect without a decree absolute. After 1985, divorce orders automatically came into effect 31 days after the divorce was granted, barring an appeal.

Volumes 1-11 and 19-43 are indexed. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51440-25.

The series consists of copies of British Columbia baptism, marriage and death registers created by churches that conducted the ceremonies. Currently only records (baptisms 1849-1899; marriages 1864-1903) of St. Andrews Cathedral, Victoria , are available.

Churches were required to submit their baptismal registers to the Vital Statistics Division in the 1940s so the registers could be microfilmed. Vital Statistics subsequently created an alphabetical index to the microfilmed registers, and a database was created from the index volumes with supplementary information from the microfilmed registers added to the entries. This information is searchable via the BC Archives Genealogy database. The microfilm copies of the original registers may include some additional information or context that was not included in the database.

Each bound volume was created by one church. Each entry corresponds with one ceremony, but may involve multiple individuals. The entries within each volume are ordered chronologically and may be numbered. Every volume varies in the type and presentation of information included and may not be consistent throughout one volume. All entries include the date of the ceremony, name of individual(s) involved in the ceremony, and the name of the priest who conducted the ceremony.

Baptism register entries may also include name of child, date of birth, place of birth, sex of child, name and surname of father, name and maiden name of mother, residence of parents, profession of parents, religion of parents, name and surname of grandparents, religion of grandparents, and name and surname of godparents.

Marriage register entries may also include name and surname of groom, name and maiden name of bride, age of bride, age of groom, name and surname of their parents, name and surname of witnesses present, religion of named individuals, place of birth, and signatures of parties involved.

Death register entries may also include: death dates, cause of death, age at death, location of internment and information about the funeral ceremony.

Indigenous people are included in the registers (as Indians or Sauvages). Some Indigenous names are included. Many baptisms of Indigenous people were in groups and may only consist of a list of the Christian names the priest gave to the baptized individuals. Tribal or community affiliations may be included.

Some entries include the geographical location that the ceremony took place. This location may vary from the location of the church, as some priests travelled quite widely to conduct ceremonies.

This series contains a bound volume of minutes of meetings of the Victoria School Board, along with receipts of payments made by the Board. The series includes minutes of meetings of school board electors (showing votes cast by individual electors for particular candidates) and contains copies of provincial government circulars relating to education and copies of schools-related bills, by-laws, rules and regulations.

The series consists of naturalization applications and oaths of allegiance issued by the Victoria County Court between 1859 and 1917; 1926. They are arranged numerically by file number from 1 to 4118 and include oaths of allegiance from 1859 to 1865 and applications and oaths from 1871 to 1917; 1926. The files may also include oath of residence and certificates of naturalization.

Series consists of one bench book and minute book for Colony of Vancouver Island Supreme Court of Civil Justice civil cases heard before Chief Justice David Cameron between 18 October 1863 and 9 May 1864.

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.

This series consists of 13 volumes of Victoria Sheriff court records, 1867-1898. Records include executions, process books, account books, auction book and a cash book. Records may relate to the Victoria County Court or Supreme Court.

This series consists of records relating to miners' certificates and permits issued by the Dept. of Lands and Works and the Dept. of Lands at Victoria. Includes Free Miner's Certificates, 1897-1912; Special Miner's Certificates, 1899-1906; Leave of Absence permits, 1895-1906; mining receipts, 1897-1903; Crown Grant fee receipts pursuant to the Mineral Act, 1911-1918.

The series consists of microfilmed copies of the Victoria Court of Appeal order volumes 2-7; 1915 to 1947 and bound order volumes 8-15 for the period 1948 to 1975.

The records consist mainly of orders in response to motions for leave to appeal lower court judgements and sentences, and include both civil and criminal matters. They are bound in folio number order by volume with a nominal index at the front of each volume.

The series consists of a microfilmed copy of the Victoria Court of Appeal orders volume 1, 1910 to 1914. These orders were bound in folio number order from 1 to 318. There is a nominal index at the front of the volume.

This series consist of Vancouver Island Police and Prisons Department charge books. Volumes also contain magistrate's sentence and gaoler's reports. Volumes 6 and 7 are indexes.

This series consists of 7 volumes of Vancouver Island Supreme Court fee books maintained by the Registrar, 1859-1870. The volumes record fees owing to the Supreme Court. Volume 2 also includes the registrar's office diary.

Although the colonies of Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia were united in 1866, the Supreme Court of each Colony remained as two separate Supreme Courts until they were merged in 1870 as the Supreme Court of British Columbia, based in Victoria.

This series consists of record books from the Victoria County Court, 1879-1888. Records include journals, ledgers, and a letterbook of correspondence outward, written by A.F. Pemberton, County Court Judge, Dec. 1879 - Dec. 1880; Edwin Leigh, Registrar, Feb. 1883 - Nov. 1884; and Harvey Combe, Acting Registrar, Jan. 1885 - Nov. 1886.

The series consists of civil orders issued by the Supreme Court in Victoria between 1880 and 2008. Orders dating from 1880 until December 1946 were microfilmed and the originals destroyed. Records after this period are maintained in their original form. Many, but not all, volumes dating up to the late 1970s include nominal indexes. Orders are the formal expression of the ruling of the court. The records relate to a variety of civil matters including adoptions, divorces, and bankruptcies.

The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51400-25.

This series consists of 19 volumes of Victoria Supreme Court daily diaries, 1907, 1910-1912, 1916-1919, 1923-1932, 1934. Volume 1 includes weather reports as well as matters of the court.

This series consists of records created by Road Commissioners from various road districts in the Colony of Vancouver Island, from 1861-1875. This includes the Victoria, Esquimalt, Esquimalt Town, Lake, Saanich, Metchosin, Sooke and Highlands Road Districts.

The records include financial records such as cash books, account books, road tax assessment rolls and ledgers. These track the fines and taxes collected for each district, and the expenses for road construction and maintenance. Some records indicate the individuals who paid for and worked on specific roads in the Victoria area that are still in existence today.

Other records include correspondence and minute books recording the decisions and priorities of the commissioners. These indicate where and how roads were constructed as the colony was growing.

This series consists of architectural proposals and consultants reports on topics connected with the construction of public buildings, urban development, siting, traffic patterns, and design requirements. Reports have been created for the Department of Public Works by various sources, including Arthur Erikson Architects, The Environmental Analysis Group (TEAG), UBC School of Architecture, BCIT, Vancouver City Planning Department, and other various architects and engineers.

The series consists of large format photographic prints known as "Parliamentary portraits", taken between 1991 and 2022. The portraits are generally taken once per Parliament and show the members of the Legislative Assembly in the Legislative Chamber, at the Parliament Buildings in Victoria, B.C. Dates and Parliamentary sessions are noted and some photographs are accompanied by legends, naming each person in the photograph. Each photograph is taken from the entrance to the chamber and typically shows the Premier, the Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker and other members of the Speaker's and Clerk's office in the centre by the Speaker's chair. The MLA's are at their desks, the government members traditionally sit on the Speaker's right and the opposition on the Speaker's left.
The photographs are as follows:
1 col. photograph from session 34-5, 1991
1 col. photograph from session 35-2, ca. 1995
1 col. photograph from session 36-3, July 22, 1998
1 col. photograph from session 36-4, ca. 2000
1 col. photograph + legend from session 37-2, May 8, 2002
1 col. photograph + legend from session 38-1, November 2, 2005
1 col. photograph + legend from session 39-1, 2009
1 col. photograph from session 39-4, 2012
1 b&w photograph + legend from session 40-3, November 19, 2014
1 col. photograph + legend from session 41-40, 2017
1 b&w photograph + legend from session 42-3, October 3, 2022.

This series contains probate files for estates probated in Victoria, ca. 1859-1941. The probate files from 1859 to 1917 are organized more or less alphabetically within date groups or ranges and have been numbered, sequentially, from 1 to 5307. From 1918 onwards, probate files were assigned numbers by year in the order of filing and are more or less in chronological order. The originals of files 1 to 5307 have been retained as well as being microfilmed. Files from 1918 onwards are only available on microfilm.

In addition to the file names provided in the finding aid, an index for this collection is also available on microfilm (see GR-1417, reel B01990). Reel B01990 should be used if a name is not found on the file list, as there are 103 missing files. If a will number is provided, it can be used to locate a copy of the will in GR-1052 or GR-1574.

The series consists of correspondence inward (with responses) to the director, assistant director, curators, and other personnel of the Provincial Museum. The correspondence is with collectors, amateur and professional naturalists, museum officials, and federal and provincial government departments and agencies and was created between 1897 and 1970.

The files include correspondence with the museum's first three directors (called "Curators" prior to 1913): John Fannin (1886-1904), Francis Kermode (1904-1940), and G. Clifford Carl (1940-1969). However, very little of the correspondence generated during Fannin's tenure has survived, while most of the Kermode files date from the post-1918 period.

The series also includes index cards created between 1925 and 1937 which records index details about letters in A-Z, and letters out, A-R.

The series consists of records created by the Superintendent of Provincial Police between 1917 and 1929. The records relate to the Victoria district and "A" division and contain files relating to various acts including the Sheep Protection Act and the Poll Tax Act from 1917 to 1921; vouchers and correspondence re vouchers from 1917 to 1925; and vouchers and miscellaneous letters from 1928 to 1929.

Victoria Supreme Court probate/estate files, 1950-2007. See GR-1417 for index to files 761/1963 to 1606/1981.

NOTE: Microfilming was ongoing for many years so the date ranges for microfilm and originals given above may not be current.

File names are provided for 67/1950 to 760/1963. An index for 1963-1981 is available on microfilm (see GR-1417). This index can be found on Reels B11792 - B11794. If a will number is provided, it can be used to locate a copy of the will in GR-2009.

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).

The record consists of a bound volume guestbook created for the open house at the Parliament buildings in Victoria, B.C. to mark the swearing-in of Premier Mike Harcourt and the executive council on November 5, 1991. Visitors to the event signed the guestbook with their names, addresses and the occasional comment.

These records of the office of the Speaker contain correspondence of the Speaker and his or her staff, Clerk of the House and Sergeant at Arms, and records relating to the routine operations of the house including opening ceremonies, sessional staff, clergy, dining room, school visits, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, as well as decisions of the Speaker. The earliest dates, 1874-1904, refer to a small number of returns to the house.

Letter to P. Walker from B. Blanchard, Sooke, B.C., June 3, 1915 (1/15) asking permission to keep a fawn he has found.

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.