Historical Society Events in the Community
Event Calendar for the Coming Year
Historical Society Coming Events
HIstoric Boat Tours
aSummer of 2024 Tour Dates:
Wednesday, July 24;
Tuesday, August 6;
Saturday, August 10;
Monday, August 12;
Saturday, August 24;
Saturday, September 7;
Monday; September 9;
Wednesday;September 11;
Tuesday, September 17;
Saturday, September 21.
Guided Historic Boat Tours of Ucluelet Harbour
Experience a 2-hour guided boat tour of local history sites onboard the Dixie IV. The tour boat circles the shoreline of the harbour while your guide relates stories of the early twentieth century when transportation was by mostly by boat on the harbour, where homes and early industry were located, as always had been for the First Nations.
The boat will slow at many points while the guide tells stories about locations where past people of all three cultural groups once lived and carried out their activities.
From First Nations’ ancient fishing and gathering sites, to developments by the first Europeans to settle here — schools, post office, fishing docks and lumber mill — to details of the thriving success built by the Japanese Canadian community, you’ll hear stories passed down, see photographs illustrating places and events. Learn of local effects of the unjust removal of the Japanese Canadians. Both the negative and positive stories must be told for a full understanding of our history.
Traditional Ucluelet First Nation place names, meanings have been provided by the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government Department of Culture, Language, and Heritage and Heritage for the purposes of this tour.
In spite of the tragic effects of colonization on the First Nations, there were individual friendships between them and some early European settlers. When the Japanese Canadians were pushed out to the coast from the Fraser River area by anti-Asian fishing policy, individual First Nations people are remembered for being supportive to the newcomers. The incoming new communities mostly stuck to themselves, but your guide will show evidence that a surprising degree of integration and cooperation developed, both in times of tragedy, and in times of celebration.
Historical Society Previous Events
BC Heritage week
Thursday, February 19, 2024 at 7 PM
Ucluelet Community Centre George Fraser Room
Guest Speaker:
Annual General Meeting -
AGM Saturday, April 13, 2024, 1:30 p.m
Ucluelet Community Centre Rms. 1 & 2
Guest Speakers:
Phil Hood and David McIntosh
Ucluelet and Area Historical Society Annual General Meeting and Presentation
Every year following our brief annual meeting, an entertaining speaker presents a lecture/slide show on a specific historical topic. This year it’s GRAVEYARD OF THE PACIFIC presented by collector Phil Hood.
We’ve all heard the phrase “graveyard of the Pacific” used to describe our dangerous rocky coast that took the lives of so many seafarers over the centuries. Phil Hood was fascinated by the topic since his youth, the day he happened suddenly on a cliff edge overlooking that rough shoreline. He’s been collecting information and documentation on the coast’s shipwreck history for a lifetime. He’ll illustrate his talk with photos, maps and documents, beginning with the earliest sailing ship tragedies, and continuing up to the strange story of the wreck of a modern freighter in the 1970s, when ship-board technology should have prevented any such event. We hope some local people in attendance may have a family story of their own to share during the question period.
May 11 - 2024 - Mother's Day Plant Sale
10am – 2pm ~ at the UAC Hall –
Every Spring, generous local gardeners donate their excess plants, or even grow extra seedlings just for our fund-raising sale. Volunteers assist with preparation and pricing, and a broad variety of plants are available at reasonable prices. The sale is always set for the Saturday before Mother’s Day, so you might find just the right gift for your gardening mother, or even a house plant.
Annual General Meeting -
AGM Saturday, April 21, 2022, 1:30 p.m
Ucluelet Community Centre Rms. 1 & 2
Guest Speakers:
Paul Kariya
Perspectives on What Happened to Ucluelet’s Japanese-Canadians After Pearl Harbour
Paul Kariya grew up in Ucluelet and spent his formative years on the beach, on the boats and in the community. Fifty years later, he will share his perspectives on what it means to return to the place that has indelibly marked his journey.
While it was the Japanese-Canadians who were removed from Ucluelet and BC’s coast and suffered losses in 1942, other people were affected too. A workshop will be hosted in the Fall of 2022. Paul Kariya will introduce the subject of his upcoming workshop at the UAHS AGM on April 23.
David McIntosh
George Fraser Biography
After a long and successful career teaching at Ucluelet Secondary School, David McIntosh has made good use of his retirement to pursue his love of gardening, and researching iconic Ucluelet horticulturist George Fraser. Come and learn about the early Scottish settler who gifted Ucluelet with rhododendrons, heather, and so much more!
JulY 23 - 24, 2022 - Ukee Days Historical Booth
~ Seaplane Base Road Field
Join us at our booth on Ukee Days to peruse the historic photo displays showing how the locals celebrated summer before Ukee Days came into being. The celebrations transitioned from May Day to Dominion Day, and it was all about having fun and socializing, just as it is at Ukee Days today.
Historical ROUNDTABLE EVENT
October 29th, 2022, 9:30 – 3:30 at the Ucluelet Community Centre.
The Japanese Canadian Internment Effects on Ucluelet – Three Perspectives
Join us October 29th, for an all-day Round-Table Story-Telling event focused on the effects of the Removal of all Japanese Canadians from the West Coast, Ucluelet in particular, in 1942.
This event will be facilitated by Paul Kariya.
Japanese Canadians made up one half the population of the fishing village of Ucluelet, with First Nations and white settlers forming the other. The largest fish buying company was Japanese-owned, used by fishermen of all ethnicities. The interned people lost everything, and the remaining two groups were affected socially, psychologically and economically. Some stories will be hard to hear, but we know there are also stories of friendship and support across social boundaries.
We invite survivors of that time, descendants, and others, to meet at the Ucluelet Community Centre, 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet BC, bringing memories, family stories, and questions. We hope some will bring surviving letters, diaries, photographs or objects from that time. The Society will mount a photo-display.
The day will begin at 9:30 AM with introductions and three brief introductory talks by Ellen Kimoto, daughter of a Japanese Canadian fishing family, Vi Mundy, Ucluelet First Nation elder, and local historian Shirley Martin, of an old white settler family.
First topic will be the Japanese Canadian community that built up between ca 1920 and 1942; after the complimentary lunch is served, we will discuss the actual period of the Internment. Finally we will recall difficulties and successes when Japanese Canadians returned to the coast, and re-integration into the community.
Reserve your place by clicking on Contact directly above, at the top of this page, to send us your name and email address, including any questions you may have. There is no charge for the event.
Anyone without access to email, can mail their name and mailing address to:
Box 397, Ucluelet BC V0R 3A0
The event will also be accessible by Zoom. We particularly hope elders who cannot travel can be assisted in attending virtually. A link will be sent close to the date, to any who reserve for Zoom access.
All will receive confirmation that a place has been reserved
Nov 2023 - Christmas Craft Fair
To be confirmed.
All Day ~ Ucluelet Community Centre
