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Archival description
Victoria (B.C.) Beacon Hill Park (Victoria, B.C.)--History
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Duncan McTavish interview

CALL NUMBER: T1292:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-03 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Duncan McTavish, a grandson of Dr. J.S. Helmcken, talks about the history of View Royal; the Helmcken family property in the area; Rosebank; growing up on Vancouver Island; the McTavish family; early Victoria; Dr. Helmcken's arrival in Victoria and his early visit to Fort Rupert; the building of Helmcken House; Beacon Hill Park; the Caledonia grounds; Christmas and New Year at Helmcken H;ouse; Lady Douglas and the Work family. TRACK 2: Mr. McTavish continues with a discussion of the children and grandchildren of Dr. J.S. Helmcken; the John Work family; the Tolmie family; the Crease ;family; the Judge Drake family; the J.D. Pemberton family; Senator Macdonald's family; Dr. Davie's family; Dave Todd; John Weiler; W.J. Pendray; W. & J. Wilson; the Spencers; other Victoria families; ;Victoria as a tourist centre; garden tours; the John Tod house; relations between Victoria and Vancouver; the Point Ellice Bridge disaster.

CALL NUMBER: T1292:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-11 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Taped on location at Helmcken House, Mr. McTavish talks about the house and its contents, including pictures and furniture. He discusses the construction of Helmcken House; the Douglas fami;ly; Christmas dinner parties; the Helmcken family; Dr. Helmcken's daily activities; his medical practice; his garden and New Year's Eve. TRACK 2: Mr. McTavish continues with a description of the are a around the Helmcken and Douglas houses; life at Helmcken house; and Dr. J.S. Helmcken's character.

George Mowat interview

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-05 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: George "Rebel" Mowat, a veteran tour guide, discusses the origins of Butchart Gardens; Mr. and Mrs. R.P. Butchart; Mr.Butchart's cement business; the variety of flowers; incidents in the gardens; the Butchart's house and the garden tours. TRACK 2: Mr. Mowat continues with his discussion about other Victoria gardens; the visit of the King of Siam; a review of the history of Victoria; Victoria schools and homes; growing up in Victoria; Beacon Hill Park; tourists and the changing Victoria.

Jim Ryan fonds

  • PR-2163
  • Fonds
  • 1908-1995

The fonds consists of photographs and other records from 1908 to ca. 1995, created or collected by Jim Ryan in the course of his career as a photographer. There are approximately 105,738 photographs, mostly black and white and colour negatives, but also including prints, slides and glass slides. The fonds also includes textual records consisting of news stories, copies of Ryan's publications, a few letters and other such material. The majority of the photographs were taken in the Victoria area and include images of the harbour, the city, buildings, events and parks. There are many photographs of British Columbia politicians, notably W.A.C. Bennett, as well as distinguished visitors, federal and local politicians. There are also photographs of local characters, children and ordinary people. Although most of the photographs were taken in the Victoria area, there are occasional images taken in other areas of Vancouver Island as well as some of Ryan's travel photographs. Some of the earliest material relates to World War I and may be Ryan family photographs or items that Ryan collected out of interest.

The fonds also includes motion picture film material, including completed films, production elements, news stories shot for television, and selected reels of footage.

Ryan, Jim, 1920-1998

Ainslie Helmcken and Cecilia Bullen interview : [Orchard & Haworth, 1970?]

CALL NUMBER: T0294:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], [1970?] SUMMARY: These tapes comprise an interview with Ainslie Helmcken and his sister Cecilia Bullen, recorded by Imbert Orchard and Peter Haworth in preparation for writing the script of a CBC radio documentary entitled "The Old Doctor". TRACK 1: Ainslie Helmcken and Cecilia Bullen talk about their memories of the Helmcken family; their grandfather, Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken; their father, Dr. Jim Helmcken; th;eir family home at the corner of Langley and Fort Streets in Victoria and other turn-of-the-century recollections. TRACK 2: Mr. Helmcken and Mrs. Bullen continue with their recollections of their fa;mily and their grandfather. They recall various incidents from the later life of Dr. J.S. Helmcken, including stories and recollections of his home life, personality and political views.

CALL NUMBER: T0294:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], [1970?] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Helmcken and Mrs. Bullen continue with their recollections about their grandfather, his charactor, interests, and personal attributes, and the locaton of his medical office in Bastion Square; they also mention their grandfather's association with the George Richards family, the McTavish family, Mrs. Higgins, Bishop MacDonald, Roderick Finlayson and the Work family. TRACK 2: This tape concludes the interview of Ainslie Helmcken and Cecilia Helmcken Bullen and their discussion about Dr. J.S. Helmcken. They speak about their grandfather's early education; his philosophy, his early; radical views, his travels, his interest in Beacon Hill Park and other developments in Victoria; his relationship with the Bishop Cridge family; and the Indian residents of Victoria.

Joseph Clearihue interview

RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1962-05-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: The Honourable Mr. Justice Joseph B. Clearihue recounts the 1859 arrival in British Columbia of his father, Joseph Clearihue; his businesses; early days in Victoria; teachers; Arthur Currie; May 24 celebrations; streetcars; Cattle Point slaughter house; Indians. He talks about the Chinese residents; Chinese New Year; funerals; vegetable sellers; selling fish; Todd's Cannery; opium; Chinese workers and workers returning to China in bonded cars through Canada. He recalls horse racing at Beacon Hill Park; outstanding teachers; George Jay; Mr. and Mrs. Henry Esson Young; Agnes Deans Cameron; Victoria following World War I; and Shelbourne Street. TRACK 2: Joseph Clearihue speaks about the boom days prior to World War I; land development; the Uplands residential district; industries in Victoria; the origins of the University of Victoria; Victoria College; speculation as to the growth; future and qualities of this university, and its relationship to the University of British Columbia.

Beacon Hill Park : interviews, 1982

The item consists of 10 videotaped interviews about the history of Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. Interviewees are Herb Warren (tape 01 & 06), Al Smith and Bert Cox (02), Ainslie Helmcken (03-05), Al Smith (07), Bert Cox and Dick Green (08), Louise Iverson (09), and Louise Iverson and Sam Gardner (10).

Gus A. Maves fonds

  • PR-2188
  • Fonds
  • [ca. 1920-1944]

The fonds consists of photographs created by Gus A. Maves in his commercial business between ca. 1920 and 1944. At this time Maves, and his wife Margaret, lived in Oak Bay, near Victoria. Maves created most of the negatives using 8 x 10 nitrate film and these were numbered and entered into his index books by number and by subject. He also created two separately numbered negatives series for negative sizes 4 x 5 and 5 x 7. Many of these negatives were copies of the 8 x 10 negatives and were used to create postcards and other commercial products. A selection of copy negatives masked and titled for printing cards, calendars and other commercial products exist within the fonds. Maves created photographic prints and proofs from most of his negatives and arranged many of them in either number or subject order in four albums. These albums, which often include the negative number and caption under the print, may have been used as order or sample books for his commercial business. There are also a considerable number of loose photographs with many duplicates including some glass plate negatives, lantern slides, transparencies, prints and artworks hand coloured by Margaret Maves. The main subject of the photographs are landscapes, particularly Butchart Gardens, Beacon Hill Park, Oak Bay Golf Club and mountain and ocean scenic shots; still life photos of fruit, vegetables and flowers, agricultural and industrial photographs and interior and exterior photographs of homes. Most of the photographs were taken in the Greater Victoria and Vancouver Island area but there are also some photographs taken in the Okanagan. The fonds also includes textual records including three indexes to the 8 x 10 negatives (two arranged by number and one by subject), an order book, publications featuring artwork by Gus and Margaret Maves, miscellaneous advertising signs, two wood printing frames, a stand for darkroom work and a “No parking” stand with coloured transparency of still life with fruit.

Maves, Gus A.

Kate Ford interview

RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1962-03-29 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Ford talks about her father, Charles E. Redfern, and his arrival and life in Victoria; early days in Victoria; the family house along the harbour; May 24 regattas; Beacon Hill Park; shops; Indians; sports; miners from the Cariboo and the Klondike gold rushes; schooling; her father, Mayor Redfern; World War I and Victoria yesterday and today. TRACK 2: Mrs. Ford discusses clothing in 1900; city elections; Victoria today and yesterday; St. John's Church; the Point Ellice Bridge disaster; the mud flats; Pendray's Soap Works; Indians and "Snooks".