Cowichan Bay History
The last time I was in the Cowichan Bay area, I was playing high school rugby. Since I’m spending so much time here this week I thought it would be neat to share some of the history of this area.
The Cowichan Valley is between Victoria and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. You can get here by taking a ferry, or plane to either and driving over. The resort where we’re currently also has a heli-pad in case you’d want to explore in rockstar fashion.
Aside from their prime rugby talent, Cowichan is also world-famous for their sweaters made by the Cowichan band of the Coast Salish First Nation.
The town of Duncan is pretty much the hub of the Cowichan valley. It was the last stop south on a trail from Nanaimo after which people would take a boat over to Victoria [source]. In 1886 when the railway was completed between Nanaimo and Esquilmalt, a Mr Duncan was asked to if they could put a stop on his farmland. The site of this farm and stop are now a part of downtown Duncan. [source]
Quick facts:
From salmon fishing, hiking, resorts and B&Bs to fertile farmlands and a strong agricultural past, this area is definitely worth exploring. I’ll be heading out to a cidery today along with a few wineries and then stopping in with a cheese maker. The whole idea of a Tourism BC trip is so that they can introduce us to people and places in the hopes that we’ll tell their stories. I’m looking forward to all that is in store.
I recently toured the South East portion of Vancouver Island with Tourism BC. You can read all of my posts from the trip under the tag: ‘Cowichan‘.
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For those traveling the Island, I highly recommend taking the train from Victoria to Courtenay. It slowly meanders its way through the Cowichan Valley – including over trestles – and the views are stunning. Fortunately, it’s an especially beautiful trip in the Fall with turning leaves and whatnot, so take Rebecca’s word for it and see it for yourself.
Sounds like a nice, sweet & beautiful place to visit. I like the name ‘Cowichan’ – sounds like a Christian name in Kerala (Southern India).
@Roshan Ir really is lovely. Cowichan is actually a First Nations name meaning “the warm land” although there are other more specific translations, which are similar
[...] I also stumbled across the maritime centre that I linked to in my history post. [...]