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RECORDED: [location unknown], [1962?] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Achille Stevens talks about his emigration from England to British Columbia in 1907; meeting Sir Wilfred Laurier on the journey; his train trip across Canada; first impressions of Canada; early employment in Cumberland and Victoria; his work as an agent for British manufacturers; establishment of Acme Press in 1909; boom days of Victoria, 1910 to 1912, and the Fairfield Chinese gardens. TRACK 2: Mr. Stevens recalls his impressions of Victoria in 1907; the Inner Harbour; Victoria Chemical Company (C.I.L.); boulevard plantings; trips to England; first jobs in British Columbia; Pender Island; relations between Victoria and Vancouver; his retirement; government work; and the Fifth Regiment with Colonel Currie.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Myrdal talks about his coming to Canada in 1876 from Iceland; his early memories in Iceland; the family's journey to Scotland; emigration; memories of Manitoba; North Dakota in 1880; the; family's move to BC in 1887. TRACK 2: Mr. Myrdal talks about the family's arrival in British Columbia; his father, Sigurd Myrdal, was a lay minister; the family's life in Victoria; Oliver Johnson; ;the depression of 1893; George Messer; an 1894 trip to Point Roberts; settling in Point Roberts; roads; post office; squatters; early settlers; the government military reserve.

CALL NUMBER: T4374:0001 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1989-02-06 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Christian Sivertz (father) and his background in Iceland; emigration to America; settling in Winnipeg, 1883, and life and work there; move west to Victoria, 1890; impressions; work on the B.C;. Electric railway. TRACK 2: Icelandic community in Victoria; grocery store enterprise; farming in Point Roberts; return to Victoria; joins post office; political activity; unionization of letter car;riers; trade-union activity and its effect on the family.;

CALL NUMBER: T4374:0002 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1989-03-09 SUMMARY: TRACK 2: Life in the Sivertz household, Victoria, early 1900s; social life -- the Victoria Icelandic community and its culture; organization of the household; school days in Victoria; trade union acti;vities of Christian Sivertz; James Watters; formation of B.C. Federation of Labour, 1910; Christian Sivertz as BCFL president; political activities of Christian Sivertz and views on a labour party; at;titude to J.S. Woodsworth and the CCF. [TRACK 2: blank.];

SUMMARY: "Between Ourselves" was a weekly series of hour-long radio programs that presented Canada to Canadians. It featured aspects of Canadian life in docudramas, plays, music, and interviews, originating from different regions of Canada. The series ran from 1966 to 1979. This episode, "Oak Street", recounts the settlement of the Jewish people in British Columbia. Accounts of early Jewish settlers of Victoria, Vancouver, and Barkerville are featured, and the origins of synagogues in Victoria and Vancouver are described. Present-day activities of the Jewish community, and the role of women, are also discussed.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-03-29 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Dr. Douglas Hunter talks about his family coming to Victoria in 1884, and his grandfather, John Robson, who was editor of the "British Columbian", "Colonist", and "Victoria Colonist", and later Premier. Dr. Hunter discusses his grandfather's life and character; his conflict with Judge Begbie; the island-versus-mainland rivalry; Richard McBride as premier; W.J. Bowser; Colonel Prior; Joe; Martin; and Thomas McInnes. TRACK 2: Dr. Hunter discusses elections in Victoria; early Victoria; the Legislative buildings; the Empress Hotel; ferries; changes in Victoria; confederation debates; s;ports; Lester Patrick; the James Bay Athletic Association, and the future of Victoria.

PERIOD COVERED: ;1912;-;1920 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1962-03-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: In an interview with Imbert Orchard, Mrs. Eva Gillan speaks about her arrival in Victoria from England in 1912, and her first impressions. She is a well known singer under her maiden name, Eva Hart, and talks about the Empress Hotel, music and entertainment. She discusses the "Englishness" of Victoria; tourism; prominent families; the Pemberton family; the Pooley family; the Dunsmuir family; the Barnard family; local Indians; the Chinese; Esquimalt; Vancouver and the real estate boom. Grace L. Shaw continues the interview (for a radio program on the history of theatre in Canada). Mrs. Gillan talks about her musical career; theatrical life in Victoria in 1912; Reginald Hincks; the opening of the Royal Theatre; and various performances. Grace Shaw's interview with Mrs. Gillan is continued on tape T1301:0001. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1966-02-01 SUMMARY: Mr. Frank Mellor remembers the Kootenay region in the 1890s. He came to Victoria from Manchester in 1893. He discusses his brother J.W. Mellor. He offers his impressions of Victoria in 1893; California in 1895; arriving in the Kootenays in 1896 as a painter; one job at Rossland; Rossland in the 1890s; the people; "Spud" Murphy; Mrs. Allen and the Allen house; the Bob Fitzsimmons versus Jim Albert fight in 1897; Father Pat; more people; George and Frank Mellor's store; more about Father Pat and Rossland from 1896 to 1901. TRACK 2: He continues with more on Jack Kirkup; magistrates; the International Hotel; the red light district; "Nigger Thompson's"; the street layout; winter sports; Trail; the spirit and atmosphere of the 1890s; Nelson; prospecting on the Columbia; Spokane; miscellaneous ramblings; travel and Father Pat.

CALL NUMBER: T0645:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Fred Foster begins with some anecdotes about the Foster family near Clinton. Then he goes back to his school days in 1881 in Victoria, and discusses Judge Matthew Begbie, including descr;iptions of the man and his character; a description of Begbie's house; the school on Belcher Avenue; his impressions of Victoria in those days, including the schools; an anecdote about a drunk man who; drove an ox team; a procedure for breaking camp at night while traveling on a pack train; his recollections of the packer Jean Caux (known as Cataline); a packer named Tate near Clinton; a story abou;t how Foster's father used to buy gold from the Chinese around the Fraser River, and the process of extracting the quicksilver from the gold; and the differences in gold between various creeks in the Cariboo. TRACK 2: Mr. Foster continues with details about his time in Atlin around 1902, and an anecdote about a dead body in a cabin; more anecdotes about his time in Atlin; running a farm in Clint;on, and eventually coming to Barkerville in 1906; a description of Barkerville at that time; an anecdote about spending New Years eve at Clinton around 1900; his time working on a steamship near Prince George; his experiences in Hazelton as a prospector just before WWI; what Hazelton was like at that time, including the Boyd family; the story of how his mother came to Canada in 1881 [?]; and the l;oss of the Skeena River steamer "Mount Royal".

CALL NUMBER: T0645:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Foster continues with details on how water for use the ships came from a spring at Royal Roads; a discussion of Hatley Park; his memories of Victoria as he first knew it; and characters a;round Victoria. [TRACK 2: blank.]

The item consists of an audio interview with Gwendolyn Elwood recorded in Victoria, B.C. on August 3, 1983.

Tape summary:
Track 1: Gwendolyn Elwood was born Gwendolyn Wood in England in 1907. She came to Canada at age 4 1/2. She describes the home she lived in on Vancouver Street and outlines her mother's responsibilities in running the household. Family diet and eating habits, shopping routines, etc. She talks about her school days at Girls' Central and Beacon Hill School.

Track 2: Gwendolyn attended Victoria High and then took a business course from Miss McMillan. She worked in a lawyer's office and then for T.S. McPherson. She married in 1936 and set up her own home in Victoria. In 1939 she and her husband moved to Halifax for five years. Raised the family on her own when her children were 6 and 9 years old. Discusses the difference between her mother and herself in terms of raising a family.

CALL NUMBER: T3710:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Hong Low : Chinese at work in British Columbia : poultry business PERIOD COVERED: 1903-1930 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-06-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Low describes background: born 1903; married in China, 1923; father's immigration to Canada. Father's work in Canada: farming, chopping wood, poultry wholesale business. Discusses: government "clamp-down" on illegal immigrants -- raids and spot checks; purchasing of documents such as birth certificates for citizenship; immigration procedures; description of trip to Canada on the Blue Funnel Line -- living and social conditions on board. Discusses early life in Canada: learning English at night school after work; first impression of Victoria; did not predict permanent residence in Canada and had planned to return to China after Sino-Japan War. Immigration process: graft by Chinese interpreters; description of Immigration Building in Victoria. Again describes living conditions aboard ship: most shipmates were young men, late teens to early twenties. TRACK 2: Discusses: poll and road tax, and the collection of it from the Chinese; refers to Lee Dye Son and Co. and other wholesale market gardeners in Victoria area; business expansion of the poultry wholesale by him and his father. He came to Canada after 1923 and made first trip back to China after four years in Canada. Work experience included: picking strawberries in Saanich (description of living on the farm during the season and the farm labour contract system); harvesting cauliflower for $1 a day. Discusses system of transporting poultry from farm to city with help by a milkman named (Joe) Casey. Describes typical work day buying chicken. He had to pay $60 for peddler's license while merchants with shops paid less. CALL NUMBER: T3710:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Hong Low : Chinese at work in British Columbia : poultry business PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1965 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-06-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Explains the butchering of chicken by hand before mechanized assembly line process. Talks about employee/employer relations during Christmas and New Year gift giving. Japanese-Canadian poultry farmers on Salt Spring Island. Buying pigs wholesale and keeping holding pens on a farm on McKenzie and Douglas. Expansion of his poultry business, moving to a new location, the closing of the business, and retirement. Description of the restaurants in Chinatown, the Cantonese opera and the Chinese Theatre in Victoria. System of importing/buying girls from China by merchants for restaurant work. TRACK 2: Discusses various aspects of life in Victoria for a Chinese immigrant: gambling in Chinatown; socialization amongst localities (villages); dialect; kinsmen; certain localities occupy certain industries in Victoria, i.e.. Pun Yi locality in laundry business, Sun-wei locality looks after funeral arrangements and sending back of bones to China. Personal views of Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association's money management of the Association and their charge of $2 exit fee. Talks of the functions of the Lung Kong Association (family); Chinese-Christian churches in Victoria; Chinese temples in Victoria. Discusses opium dens in Victoria in the 1920s; deportation of Chinese using opium. Description of the streets in Chinatown: vegetable peddlers from the Toy San district; anti-Chinese feelings amongst the white people; sewing machine shops in Chinatown; labour contracts and labour contract office for fish canneries. Discusses families with children in Victoria. (End of interview.)

CALL NUMBER: T3721:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): James Chan : Chinese at work in B.C. : restaurants PERIOD COVERED: 1894-1925 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-07-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Describes background: born 1894 in China; father came to Canada and worked in laundries; he came to Canada 1910-11 on the Empress of Japan; went to public and Chinese school when first arrived in Victoria; talks of marriage proposals by Chinese Canadian-born women in Victoria; talks of first job as a houseboy in a boarding house. Tells of the 21 day journey of the Empress ship to Canada: living conditions; ship companions; description of boat. Talks of Immigration Building in Victoria. Talks of first impressions of Victoria and the arrangement made by his father to receive him. Description of the Chinese quarters around Victoria and the location of various shops and restaurants, ca. 1910. TRACK 2: Talks of the various personalities in Chinatown around 1910. Talks of going to school after work to learn English. Refers to the cutting of his pigtail before the Chinese revolution, 1911, in China and giving the hair to his mother. Refers to the "Rock Bay incident" where Chinese students were segregated from white students. Description of his living quarters, i.e. living in the "fong" with 20 people on the floor and toilet. Using the baths at the barber shop.

CALL NUMBER: T3721:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): James Chan : Chinese at work in B.C. : restaurants PERIOD COVERED: 1915-1970 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-07-30 SUMMARY: Discusses people in the "fong" mostly Lee's, and thus related to his mother. Discusses the factionalism of some Chinese societies, i.e. Chinese Freemasons and the Dartcoon Club, Chan Association and the Toy San Association. Different businesses in Victoria were controlled by certain last names, i.e.. Laundries by Wong's and Mar's; lumbering by Hoi Ping District Chinese. Talks of the big fire and explosion of gas tanks in Victoria. Only four Chinese, between 1910-20, had cars: Lee Mong Kew, Tim Kee, Lim Bang & (?). Talks of labour contract offices in town and personal referral systems for jobs. Discusses the various jobs he had as a cook in restaurants. Anecdote of rivalry between him and the cook "Quan" when he worked in a private residence. Talks of competition and pettiness of some personalities in the restaurant business, and gives a series of examples. Compares wages of restaurant cooks and other occupations Chinese were in. Unionism and Chinese in restaurants: Chinese were closed from the union in the early days. First paid vacation by a restaurant was 1935. Talks of evolution of the mechanization and improvement of equipment in the restaurants. Talks of improvements made after WW II in equipment and working conditions. Working at Work Point Barracks as a cook for the armed forces in the 1960s.

CALL NUMBER: T3721:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): James Chan : Chinese at work in B.C. : restaurants PERIOD COVERED: 1911-1940 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-07-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Helped train relations and other Chans in the restaurant business. Opened and owned a restaurant, but went broke during Depression. Compares the differences between white owned and Chinese owned restaurants. Worked 7 days a week, and 12 hours a day. Chinese New Year: cooks who worked in private residences demanded 4-5 days off from their employers. Talks of Christianity and his views on religion. Refers to poll tax and road tax collected at work. Talks of the difficulty of educated Chinese who could not get work as professionals before 1949 in Canada. Description of William Head Quarantine Station when the Chinese labour force from China were quarantined en route to France. Worked on the CPR Princess line as cook in 1919. Having clothes tailor-made by Chinese tailors in Victoria. Description of the events/celebrations in Victoria after the August 1911 Revolution in China, and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. Vivid description of Dr. Sun Yet Sun during his tour of Victoria, refers to his speech at the Chinese Theatre and Sun's faux pas about "wanting to be king", after the revolution of the Manchus. TRACK 2: Refers to the visit of Kang Yu Wei [Kang Youwei] and his talk at the Empire Reform Association. Speaks of the incident of the murder of a man of Manchu descent after the 1911 Revolution in Victoria Chinatown.

CALL NUMBER: T3721:0004 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): James Chan : Chinese at work in B.C. : restaurants PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1952 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-08-13 SUMMARY: Mr. Chan discusses: attending Sunday School at Chinese Mission; Chinese Theatre in Victoria (description of the building and the travelling opera company); description of Chinese women in Victoria and especially references to their dress. Incident of the "Variety" theatre house which would not allow Chinese patrons. Chinese using Chinese dry goods shops as private "banks". Talks of the restaurants; which went broke and employees taking a cut in pay during the Depression. The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association organized a "soup kitchen" for the Chinese during the Depression. Many Chinese returned to China during the Depression to visit and "wait it out". Apply for family to immigrate to Canada in 1950. Describes difficulty in applying for immigration status because he stayed in China for more than one year during his last visit. Speaks of his friend who learned to fly planes in order to return to China to help the KMT to fight against the Communists. Speaks of the conscription of Chinese-Canadians during WW II. Fundraiser in Victoria by KMT for the internal war in China. Refers to the "swindling and graft" by some members of the Chan Family Association. Information about his family: children and 2 wives. Talks of the after-hours restaurants he ate at after his shift cooking for others.

CALL NUMBER: T3721:0005 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): James Chan : Chinese at work in B.C. : restaurants PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1980 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-08-13 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Discusses: gambling in Victoria Chinatown; obtaining work permits at Manpower and Immigration for friends; the difficulty in getting dishwashers in restaurants during WW II. Chinese immigrants borrowing and paying high interest for $500 head tax. Chinese cemetery and the sending of bones back to China. Illegal entry of the Chinese into Canada. Comparison of the Chinese community in Victoria at present and in the past. Settling disputes of Chinese within the Chinese community by family and clan associations. Anecdote of an open fist fight between Kuomingtang Association and the Chinese Freemasons in Victoria. Story of the murder in daylight of a Chinese by a Chinese in Chinatown. TRACK 2: Chinese New Year's celebrations in Victoria's Chinatown. Ching Ming--describes the spring Chinese ceremony of commemorating the dead. His wish for the opportunity for more education. Description of various shops in Chinatown area. Talks of Tim Kee and Lim Bang, two prominent Chinese residents in Victoria. Description of Chinese laundries in Victoria. Chinese working in the fish canneries. Chinese women not encouraged to go to school in Victoria. The disintegration of Chinatown at present. Predicts the future of the New Horizon's Club in the Toy San Association building. (End of interview).

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Koo Shee Chan : Chinese pioneer woman PERIOD COVERED: 1888-1980 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-06-19 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Discusses background: immigrated to Canada as a "picture" bride in 1911; voyage on the Empress of India (CPR ships); recalls voyage, shipmates, living conditions on board; her wedding in Victoria; her late husband and his restaurant; having 12 children all born in Victoria. Talks of life as a housewife in Victoria and raising her children there. Speaks of her female contemporaries in Victoria and especially her female friends at the Christian Chinese Church. Talks of Chinese women being "hidden" at home and not going into Chinatown to shop alone. TRACK 2: Talks of her work and involvement with the Chinese Presbyterian Church. Briefly mentions the indentured waitresses in restaurants in Chinatown and the intervention by the Oriental Girls' Mission. Donation of clothes by the church for China. Talks of her Caucasian friends in the church. Speaks of how women did not leave home for fear of being branded 'not good'. Idea that Christian women only met on Sundays at church. Women were kept busy inside their homes with their children and some women did sewing for tailor shops on consignment. The segregation of Chinese and white people in different churches was due to the language barrier. The church sent contribution to China during the Sino-Japan war, not to aid in the war effort but to help the destitute. Speaks of her health and poor eyesight that plagued her throughout her life. Talks of her 12 children. (End of interview).

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-03-30 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Matilda Alexander recalls that her mother came from Puerto Rico, Spain, and her father was from Kingston, Jamaica; she talks about her early schooling; early Victoria in 1870s and 1880s; Jul;y 1 and May 24 parades; the coloured boys' band; the Gorge; the Japanese Gardens; black residents of Victoria; Mason's Lodge; Oddfellows; Genesis of Light; Saltspring islanders; family homes built by ;her carpenter father; her family; memories of Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie; Willis Bond; the Caledonian picnic ground; sailors; May 24 celebrations on the Gorge; Indians; the chain gang; the Young American Bus and the July 1 picnics with black families in Victoria at Hedley Park, possibly Hatley Park; the Alexander family. TRACK 2: Mrs. Alexander discusses Old Man Alexander, her father-in-law; Dun;can McTavish; the smallpox epidemic; her own children; the Alexander family; family occasions; the skating accident at Humber's Lake; the social hall on Quadra Street, possibly Patfoot Hall; entertainment; attitudes of whites towards blacks; Johnson Street residents; black residents originally from the U.S.; and her husband's jobs.

This series contains naturalization records which include correspondence, certificates, lists of naturalizations and Oaths of Residence from the Victoria Court Registry. File 2 shows numbers of naturalizations from many British Columbia Court registries, 1893-1899.

CALL NUMBER: T3715:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Rev. Yee Jing Chow : Chinese Christian missionary PERIOD COVERED: 1899-1980 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-06-27 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Discusses background: born in Hoiping, Kwantang, China on Aug.12, 1899; immigrated to Vancouver, B.C. 1912 to teach Chinese; early education; father immigrated to Ashcroft, B.C.; no contact with father; immigration would not exempt him from $500 head tax without his teacher's certificate; the Christian mission was able to obtain a refund. Stayed in Vancouver and worked for the mission teaching Chinese and playing the piano for almost 2 years. Dr. Osterhout head of mission: asked him to work in Nelson. Stayed in Nelson and travelled for the mission around the area, Rossland and Grand Forks. Tells of the many types of occupations the Chinese did in area (i.e., laundries, building the road, chopping wood). Travelled on paddlewheel boat on the Okanagan lakes. Talks of the good Chinese/white relations in the area and the kindness of the Chinese people who received him in every town. The United Church in Vancouver sponsor his return to China for four years to study theology. Returns to Vancouver in 1924 with wife and daughter to work in missions in interior of province. Talks of his work in the missions and the small towns. TRACK 2: Discusses the Depression: the Chinese mission; was not directly involved with the soup kitchens, so he helped in the Salvation Army storefronts. Tells a story of a Chinese man who donates to the church though he could not afford to. Relates Chinese social life and celebrations in B.C. interior towns: opium, Chinese women, meeting place. Moved to Victoria in 1946: description of Chinese United Church in Victoria; talks of woman missionary Miss Peters and her dedicated work in the church. Daily routines for the past 22 years of retirement. Refers to his present home which is the original building of the Oriental Girls' Home. CALL NUMBER: T3715:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Rev. Yee Jing Chow : Chinese Christian missionary PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1960 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-07-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Son born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Work as a missionary in Moose Jaw for 10 years and then moved to Kamloops, B.C. In Moose Jaw, he ministered the whole area up to Winnipeg. When he arrived in Victoria, the Oriental Girls' Home was already disbanded and the Home was administered by white folks (with Chinese aid). When first arrived in Canada, Rev. Chow learned to play the piano, and sang and preached outside in Vancouver streets. Some Chinese men in Victoria went back to China to fight the Japanese in WW II, but never saw action and returned to Canada. In Vancouver, Rev. Chow taught Chinese to about 10 students; taught some English to students at night school. He taught English by first learning and then re-teaching. Talks of the many shops in Vancouver Chinatown. Talks of his missionary work in the Vancouver district including Steveston farms and fish canneries. Speaks of a large Chinese farm whose owner was a Christian and welcomed him to visit. Description of that farm house. The roads that were supposed to connect many small towns in the interior were not completed so he quite often walked through trails to reach these towns. In Nelson there were only about four Chinese families and he taught the children there. TRACK 2: Describes the hand laundry delivery system. Performing marriage ceremonies. Talks of his children. Speaks of the rescue work of the Oriental Girls' Mission. Talks of his work in Moose Jaw, Sask. Speaks of his work and the function of the Chinese United Church in Victoria and how it helped the Chinese people. CALL NUMBER: T3715:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Rev. Yee Jing Chow : Chinese Christian missionary PERIOD COVERED: 1950-1978 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-07-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Rev. Chow discusses: Sunday church picnics in Victoria; his children and grandchildren; future aspirations of reviving the Chinese mission; talks of the disbanding of the Chinese United Church and the selling of the property in Chinatown in Victoria. Description of the church and the mission school and living quarters. Speaks of the Chinese school teacher who taught at the school and his recent death. Speaks of Miss Peters, missionary woman who dedicated her life to help the Chinese in Victoria. (End of interview)

RECORDED: Sidney (B.C.), 1973-03-31 SUMMARY: Over afternoon tea, Elizabeth Gould interviews her mother, Mrs. Grace Bosher, and her aunts Mrs. Patty Mitchell and Mrs. Ruth Anstey. These three sisters (nee Simister) recall how their family -- Mr. and Mrs. J.F. Simister, with five daughters and one son -- emigrated from England to Vancouver Island in 1911-1912. They also discuss their early impressions of Victoria and Sidney, and their early years there.

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-03-29 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. McLellan recounts her father's arrival in Victoria in 1862 from France; their farm on Cadboro Bay Road, the current site of Oak Bay High School; childhood memories of the family farm; s;chool; weather; the Uplands farm; slaughterhouse at Uplands; Chinese ranches in Oak Bay and recollections of Victoria at the turn of the century. Mr. Casanave [her brother] continues with his recollections of Victoria; St. Louis College; residential areas; the end of the pre-war boom; the Patrick Arena; other French settlers and the Deloume family. TRACK 2: Mrs. McLellan talks about the Uplands; subdivision of 1910; tourism in Victoria; development of housing and residential areas; visiting Indians from Discovery Island; summer camping at Oak Bay beaches; and incidents from her father's employment as cook for the Driard Hotel and during the gold rush.

CALL NUMBER: T1291:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-03-29 & 31 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Walter Engelhardt talks about May 24 celebrations in Victoria; the sham battle at Queen Victoria's Jubilee 1887; the Point Ellice Bridge disaster in 1896; regattas and incidents involving the Royal Navy; building the Parliament Buildings. TRACK 2: Mr. Engelhardt speaks about the Bird Cages and Birdcage Walk; mud flats and the building of the Empress Hotel; the condition of the streets; butcher shops and grocery stores; the smallpox epidemic; the garbage dump in the mud flats; the Pendray Soap Works; the Songhees Indian reserve; stories about Herman the Magician; the Victoria Theatre and the Pantages Theatre.

CALL NUMBER: T1291:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-03-29 & 31 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Engelhardt continues with his recollections about the Victoria Theatre; performances of the play "Uncle Tom's Cabin"; theatre life in Victoria; prostitutes; Victoria's families; the Macdonald family; the Dunsmuirs; the Pembertons; the Pearse estate; the Hudson's Bay Company's land policy in British Columbia; subdivision of the Crease estate; the land boom of 1910 to 1912; a Hugo Ross anecdote; Dunsmuir Castle. TRACK 2: Mr. Engelhardt talks about his recollections about the sham battle of the May 24; his job at the City of Victoria collecting water rates; arrival of his mother and grandfather, Captain John Mount Thain, in Victoria in 1862; his father's arrival in 1862, and work as a steamship agent; his father's origins in Austria; Walter Engelhardt's experiences at the canneries at the mouth of the Skeena in 1892; Cunningham; Victoria businessmen; stores in Victoria; Chinese opium manufacturing and trade 1880 to 1890.

CALL NUMBER: T1291:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1962-03-29 & 31 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Englehardt recalls the Klondike gold rush; Victoria as a "wide-open town"; his work in the assay office; effects of the "wide-open" policy on Victoria; the "gay nineties" in Victoria; Victoria's boom from 1900 to 1915; wealthy retired people in Victoria; comments about Vancouver and the CPR. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1969-05-16 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Captain Gregory describes how he came to BC from Bristol with his parents; he discusses his father's life; a three-hour trip to Victoria by buggy; his impressions of Victoria, including stories about what the city was like; a railway trip to Montreal before getting on a cattle boat to get back to Bristol in 1889; and his impressions of England as behind the times in terms of technology compared to Canada. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1691:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): William Watson Anderson : Department of Finance, 1913-1952 (part 1) PERIOD COVERED: 1891-1952 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1978 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Born in Scotland in 1891. Family background. Father in the newspaper business in Scotland. Stories of Anderson's boyhood in Scotland. Schooling. Immigration to Canada in 1908. Stories of the trip. First impressions of Canada. Family purchased property in Victoria shortly after arrival. Anderson's first jobs as a clerk. Anecdote about prisoners from the provincial jail. Comments on Victoria and Sidney Railway. TRACK 2: Worked for B. Wilson and Co., ice dealers. Selling ice in the Rockland area. Worked for Victoria Truck and Dray. Becomes an accountant, c. 1910. Joined the Department of Finance, 1913. Comments on the patronage hirings in the civil service. Patronage worse under Liberals than Conservatives. Anderson as secretary to the Deputy Minister of Finance, W.J. Goeppel. Comments about J.V. Fisher, later Deputy Minister. CALL NUMBER: T1691:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): William Watson Anderson : Department of Finance, 1913-1952 (part 2) PERIOD COVERED: 1913-1956 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1978 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Continuation of the story about J.V. Fisher. Working conditions within the public service. Tentative steps towards a public service union. Anderson in the Canadian Armed Forces during World War I. Anderson's war work as an air mechanic and bookkeeper. Bookkeeping innovations introduced by Anderson. Anderson went to work in the Sales Tax section, 1949. Brief comments on the Bennett government. TRACK 2: Anderson a member of the Canadian Legion and Masonic Order. Anderson peripherally involved in the "Police Scandal", 1942, which involved Premier John Hart. Anderson testified before an investigating committee. Anderson's family. (End of interview)