The beginning
The following is a copy of the text written by John Simson and Alison Begin for a book previously produced for the island in 1998.
Some people have a desire to know something about history of the people preceding them and to be informed of the history of the land they currently occupy.
The Spaniards were dispatched to the West Coast of British Columbia in 1790 under the command of Francisco Eliza with orders to reoccupy Nootka; a task which took five days and was accomplished on April 10, 1790. After wintering at Nootka, Lieutenant Eliza, in command of the San Carlos, together with Jose Maria Narvaez, in command of the schooner Santa Saturnina, alias Horcasitas, sailed through the Strait of Juan de Fuca to explore inner channels. After spending a short time in Vancouver, Narvaez sailed up the coast and on July 12, 1791 anchored approximately one mile southwest of First Gap or Sandy Island (Riggs Island) and thinking both North and South Thormanby were one island named it Isla de San Ignacio, after the leader of the local Jesuit movement in the area. He explored the area until August 1792 when he had to retreat because of lack of supplies and scurvy. Spain later relinquished her claim to the Northwest coast and transferred territorial rights to Britain.
In 1792, Captain George Vancouver, in command of the H.M.S. Discovery, arrived on the coast and spent three years from 1792 to 1795 exploring and mapping shoreline from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Aleutian Islands. Much of the exploration was done in the Discovery's yawl and on June 16, 1792 Vancouver traveled through Welcome Pass in the yawl and stopped to dig clams and have lunch on South Thormanby Island at Derby Point just inside Tattenham Ledge (commonly known as the 'Reef'). He became the first white man to land on the islands. There was no more serious survey activity in the area until 1856 when British Captain George Richards arrived to further survey the area previously explored and surveyed by Vancouver. In the interim the Sechelt People continued their summer hunting and fishing trips to the islands. It was during Richard's surveying duty in 1860 that he and his officers of the steam sloop HMS Plumper received the 'welcome' news (Welcome Pass) that led to the names that currently remain. Thormanby (Thormanby Island) owned by Mr. J. C. Merry (Merry Island) had won the Derby (Derby Point). The well known race the Blue Ribbon of the English turf, was run on the downs of the market town of Epsom (Epsom Point) in the County of Surrey (Surrey Islands) in England. The races started by the Earl of Derby in 1780, were held annually during the last week in May; commencing on Tuesday, with the Derby stakes run for on Wednesday, the principal day, and the Oaks (Oak Point) being run for on Friday. Buccaneer (Buccaneer Bay), a three-year old contemporary of Thormanby, was unsuccessful in the 1860 Derby but in 1861 won the Royal Hunt cup at Ascot and placed well in several other races. There is no record of Buccaneers performance through Tattenham comer (Tattenham Ledge: - The Reef), a treacherous well known point on the Epsom race course, a half mile from the winning post. Thormanby was also successful in 1861 winning the Ascot Cup.
Also in 1860, Crown land was made available to settlers for the first time in the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, through pre-emption, purchase or military grant. In 1874 the iron-ore mining boom on Texada Island attracted people from all over the coast to 'pre-empt' land on Texada and other adjacent islands; primarily looking for firewood, good drinking water, flat land and sandy beaches. Thormanby was ideal.
The requirements for a 'pre-emption' of land from the Province included paying a certain price per acre and also completing required improvements to the land within a certain time frame. Failure to complete the improvements nullified the land transfer. In 1874, a man by the name of Elliot became the first person to apply for a claim and pre emption on the Thormanby Islands; being unsuccessful as he failed to complete his building. In 1888, Captain James Williams became the first person to successfully pre-empt land on the Thormanby Islands by applying for 195 acres on North Thormanby Island which included Vaucroft Beach. This event and his association with Calvert Simson, the Hastings Mill Store Manager, had significant importance in the development of 'Buccaneer Bay' as we know it today.
Simson's interest in the Thormanby Islands was generated by his association with Captain Williams who was involved in the dogfish oil business. Dogfish oil was used to grease the logs of the skidroads so that felled timber could be dragged to the Hastings Mill. Simson, the Manager of the Hastings Mill Store, purchased large quantities from Captain Williams who purchased oil from the Indians upcoast and transported it to the Mill. While plying the coast, Captain Williams often took on drinking water from the spring in Water Bay. Simson and Williams did a lot of business together, with Simson finally owning a half interest in Captain William's boat 'Egmont'. Captain Williams suggested Simson pre-empt a parcel of land on Thormanby. Simson agreed but as it was difficult for him to leave the busy store, he asked Williams to choose and stake out a parcel and Simson would apply for the pre-emption.
The land that Williams staked out for Simson at Buccaneer Bay was an ideal homestead which included Water Bay with its spring, an alder bottom or flat moist area well suited for a vegetable garden, enough wood for building and fuel, and a fine beach. On December 29, 1890 Simson applied for his pre-emption of 167 acres (DL1018); sight unseen. He hired James McColl, a professional land locator, to make the application to pre-empt, live on the property for the required time it took until it became a Crown Grant and to do the required improvements (which Simson paid for). Then it was transferred to Simson. (167 acres - cost $167).
In the spring of 1891 Simson and Williams took a trip to see Thormanby. Having seen his property for the first time, Simson fell in love with the island and decided to acquire more land including the white sandy beach of Buccaneer Bay (DL1019). (157 acres - cost $157). In the fall of 1891 Simson quit his job and planned to live at Buccaneer Bay where he could do the improvements required to homestead crown land. He wanted to enjoy his 324 acres of land and establish a home in the wilderness. Arriving with a rowboat cargo consisting of a carpenter, tools, building materials and himself, Simson constructed a one-room wood frame cabin that stood immediately behind the present site of the Comwall/McClaren houses, and lived for one year on the 'beach'.. The only other inhabitant of either of the Thormanby Islands was James McColl whose cabin was at Water Bay.
The two cabins were each twelve feet by sixteen feet, wood frame covered with shiplap and board-and-batten. Each cabin had two windows on opposite sides and a door at one end. At the blank wall was a bunk built of planks, with cedar boughs for a mattress, under a piece of heavy canvas. At one side wall was a cookstove, just inside the door way. This arrangement allowed excess heat to escape through the door if necessary. The stove was a cheap sheet metal affair. Alongside it was a kitchen counter made of rough planks. On the opposite side of the cabin was a low bench on which water buckets were kept. In the middle of the room was a wooden table and a bench. Every second day Simson rowed to Water Bay to obtain water from the spring. During the summer months McColl and Simson were joined by bands of Indians (some of whom Calvert knew from the dogfish oil business) gathering food; mainly digging scallops at Vaucroft Beach, (which were then smoked on racks), digging clams and catching salmon.
Calvert Simson returned to Vancouver in September 1892 having homesteaded his pre emption by living on the island for one year and completing the required improvements to the land. His stay on the island had 'proved' his pre-emption on DL1019 while his neighbor McColl had done the same with DL1018. Simson then arranged for the out right purchase of DL1540 (589 acres - cost $589) which encompassed the farm land. He also had Ross Ralph, a Hastings Mill Store acquaintance purchase DL1539 (22 acres - $22). By the end of 1892 Simson had title to 935 acres.
Simson's enthusiasm for Buccaneer increased. In 1897, he persuaded a group of his Vancouver friends to take a two-week vacation there. The group, known as 'The Edwards Party' inaugurated Buccaneer Bay as a summer camping and recreational area. They sailed to Buccaneer in the Comox, were left on Simson's float in the middle of the bay and then camped on a level site close to the beach. Included in the group were Arthur Edwards (later obtained DL2020 - 130 acres - 1902) Alex Grant (later obtained DL2081 - 43.3 acres - 1908 and DL2019 (including Riggs Island - 182.2 acres - 1902), Isobel Grant (later obtained DL2071 - 18.1 acres - 1912).
Following the 'Edwards Party' of 1897 the number of 'campers' coming to Buccaneer expanded. Initially, they pitched tents and Simson began renting sites at $5.00 per year. The tents improved. Soon they had wood bases, walls, shelves and tin stoves.
Simson purchased two more pieces of property from the Province; the first in 1908 being DL2436 (168 acres - cost $168) and the second in 1912 being DL2070 (364 acres- cost $910). The cost had increased to $2.50 per acre!!! DL2070 was initially purchased by Simson's business partner, Thomas Balkwill and transferred. By 1912 his holdings totaled 1,667 acres.
In 1916 Simson started the farm which serviced the campers during July and August each year. It was also the year that Buccaneer's own store opened. The life of both of these ventures was cut short by improved transportation facilities to the island.
Between 1920 and 1930 the 'camping' population at Buccaneer grew. People no longer wanted tents - they were anxious to build houses. The tradition of renting a site and improving the cabins survived after the transfer of the property to Calvert's sons, Joe and Bob in 1949, Calvert's death in 1958 and continued until 1964.
In 1964, Buccaneer Bay Holdings Ltd. was formed as a private company in order to purchase 106 acres of land being DL1539 (22 acres) and portions of DL1018 (39 acres) and DL1019 (45 acres). A group of 'campers' consisting of Ralph Bagshaw, Bill Cornwall, Bill Davidson, Bob Leigh, Jim Macdonald, Oscar Marrion and Bob Smith worked together to purchase the land from Joe and Bob Simson and set up the structure as it exists today. Many of the campers who had built cabins and spent many years at Buccaneer existing on a year-to-year tenure now had more security and further improved their cabins. New cabins were also built.
Despite changes in ownership and legal structure, there remains a treasure of good memories together with a history of Buccaneer that spans up to six generations. It encompasses a great deal of appreciation for the people and property; past and present. The spirit of friendship that has existed at Buccaneer Bay since 'The Edward's Party' in 1897 continues today and the following chapters will allow us all to share some family and cabin history that may well have been hiding in the walls of the tents that 'grew' to be cabins.
John Simson Alison Begin
