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British Columbia Tourism Region : Vancouver Island
Description From Owner:
Sansum Narrows
- After William Chalmers Duncan, born 1836 in Sarnia, Ontario. He arrived in Victoria in May 1862, and in August of that year, he was one of the party of 100 settlers that Governor Douglas took to Cowichan Bay.
- After going off on several gold rushes, Duncan settled close to the present city of Duncan. He married in 1876, and his son Kenneth became the first mayor of Duncan.
- Duncan's farm was named Alderlea, and this was the first name of the adjacent settlement.
- In August 1886 the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway was opened. No stop had been scheduled at Alderlea for the inaugural train bearing Sir John A. Macdonald and Robert Dunsmuir.
- However, at Duncan's Crossing, the level crossing nearest to Alderlea, a crowd of 2,000 had assembled around a decorated arch, and the train came to an unplanned halt.
- Children from the local school sang 'Welcome to You All,' and the local farmers petitioned Dunsrnuir, the builder of the railway, for a station here.
- At the last moment, as the train pulled out, 'Old Bob' shouted, 'You will have a station there, boys!' When built, it was called 'Duncan's Station,' which was shortened first to 'Duncan's' and then to 'Duncan.' The City of Duncan was incorporated in 1912
- Quamichan Lake - From the Island Haikornelem name meaning 'humped back.' The shape of the hill behind the Quamichan Indian village reminded the Indians of a humpbacked person.
- Sansum Narrows - After Arthur Sansum, the great fat first lieutenant on HMS Thetis when she was in these waters in 18523. In the latter year, he died at Guaymas, Mexico, of heat apoplexy.
- Waterloo Mountain - Named by W.A. Robertson when he climbed the mountain in 1865 on the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
- A descendant of his scaled it in 1915 on the centenary of the battle, and another descendant made the climb in 1965, establishing a family tradition.
- With permission from G.P.V and Helen B. Akrigg 1997 British Columbia Place Names. UBC Press.
Address of this page: http://bc.ruralroutes.com/Duncan