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The series consists primarily of textual records of the companies which previously owned and operated the assets purchased by Western Forest Product Ltd. in 1980.

Record types include: correspondence; maps; scrapbooks; accounts and shareholder ledgers and accounts books; cash books; company bylaws; crown grants; financial statements; general ledgers; indenture records; letters patent records; logging estimates; management licenses; memorandum and articles of association; minute books including minutes of directors and shareholders meetings; annual meeting records; annual reports to shareholders; notices of incorporation; pulp leases; pulp licenses; share certificates and receipts; registers and ledgers regarding shareholders; stock books; stock registers; cruise and timber reports, estimates and licenses. The files include a small number of photographs which are integrated with the textual records.

The series is made up of two accessions. The records of accession MS-1996 are predominantly those of Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills Ltd. dating from 1917 to 1923, and include records of Whalen’s predecessor companies. The series consists of records of the following companies (including but not limited to): British Columbia Sulphite Fibre Company Ltd., Colonial Lumber and Paper Mills Ltd., Empire Pulp and Paper Mills Ltd., Canadian Puget Sound Lumber and Timber Company, and Trans-Pacific Lumber Company Ltd.

Accession MS-1996, on its arrival at the archives, included approximately 600 photographs. At that time, the photos were separated from the textual records; these photographs can now be found in the series MS-3216 -- “Predecessor companies photographic records.”

The records of accession 89-1392 predominantly represent the activities of the Alaska Pine Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries: Jones Lake Logging Co. Ltd (incorporated June 17, 1942); Alaska Pine Trading Limited (incorporated March 4, 1946); and Great West Lumber Co. Ltd. The accession also includes records of Universal Lumber & Box Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries: Alaska Pine Sales Ltd. (incorporated February 28, 1946); Empire Machinery Limited (incorporated March 1, 1947); Alaska Pine Purchasing Limited (incorporated January 24, 1947).

Accession 89-1392 also includes records of: Alaska Pine Lumber Toronto Ltd. (incorporated September 9, 1949); Island Logging Company, Limited; Island Wharf & Dock Co. Ltd. (incorporated October 29, 1951); Emory Creek Logging Co. Ltd. (incorporated October 17, 1942); L & M Machinery Co. Ltd. (incorporated December 28, 1949); Marine Transport Limited (incorporated February 27, 1946); Northern Universal Lumber Company; Pioneer Timber Company (incorporated October 3, 1933); Quatsino Logging Ltd. (incorporated June 30, 1960); Southern Enterprises Ltd. (incorporated June 18, 1949); Totem Shingles (1951) Ltd. (incorporated August 1, 1951); Vancouver Island Towing Company Limited (incorporated May 31, 1911); Vancouver Milling and Grain Co. Limited; Shelly Logging Ltd.; Canadian Puget Sound Lumber and Timber Co. Note that this list is not exhaustive.

Note that PR-0109, Vancouver Milling and Grain Company fonds, was donated to BC Archives by Western Forest Products Ltd. and may be of interest as it compliments these records.

The series includes files on the corporate history of British Columbia Pulp and Paper Company Ltd., Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills Ltd. and predecessor companies; it also includes a company history of Rayonier Canada Limited.

The records of accession 89-1392 have been maintained in the order in which they arrived at BC Archives, according to a provided box list.

Original file titles were retained when available.

The fonds consists of records transferred to BC Archives by Western Forest Products Limited, and is divided into two series: MS-3216 - Predecessor companies, photographs, and, MS-1996 - Predecessor companies, textual records. The records were inherited by Western Forest Products Ltd. when it acquired the B.C. holdings of Rayonier Canada Limited in 1980. These inherited records therefore represent the activities of predecessors of Western Forest Products Ltd., including Rayonier Canada (B.C.) Limited, Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills Ltd., British Columbia Pulp and Paper Company Ltd., Alaska Pine Company Limited (later, Alaska Pine and Cellulose Ltd.) and Universal Lumber and Box Company Ltd., formerly Universal Box Company Ltd. The fonds includes the records of many other smaller predecessor companies dating back to the early 20th century. These companies were the early owners and operators of assets such as the pulp mills at Woodfibre and Port Alice, which passed to WFP in 1980.

It can be assumed these records were in the possession of Western Forest Products Ltd., whether used or not, in the period 1980 to 1985. It is also assumed that prior to that, they were in the possession of the immediate predecessor to WFP, Rayonier Canada (B.C). Limited.

BC Archives received two transfers of records at different times. In 1984, James Buttar, President, Western Forest Products Ltd., Vancouver, presented records (accession MS-1996). On its arrival at the archives this accession included photographs; these photographs and the textual records were then separated. Photographs were transferred to Visual Records accession 198403-001. The textual records received the series identification MS-1996.

On 1985-04-25, BC Archives received accession 89-1392, (originally accessioned as 85-041). These were donated by Ray Collins, Manager, Western Forest Products, Lost Lake Seed Orchard, Victoria.

In 2015, rearrangement was done by BC Archives. The textual records of accession MS-1996 and 89-1392 were combined in one series. This was done because of the common nature of the records (these textual materials all were donated by Western Forest Products Ltd., had been inherited by them, and were originally created by the same predecessor companies.

In the other aspect of the archival rearrangement, the nearly 600 photographs which had been separated from accession MS-1996, and had become Visual Records accession 198403-001, were re-integrated into the arrangement at the fonds level. They have not been re-merged with the textual records of MS-1996, but have been added as a new series, “Predecessor companies, photographs,” MS-3216.