Kanaka Creek is an historic rural residential area located within Maple Ridge,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, along the banks of the creek of the same name just east of the district's main town and commercial core of Haney. Just east is Albion and immediately across the Fraser River is

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

or "Old Fort Langley", upstream from which and opposite Albion is

Fort Langley Fort Langley is a village community in Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of approximately 3,400 people. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company ...

. Kanaka Creek was settled by

Hawaiian native Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

s in the employ of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

, known as

Kanakas Kanakas were workers (a mix of voluntary and involuntary) from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Queensland (Australia) in the 19 ...

, often with local indigenous, usually Kwantlen, wives. Once a thriving community linked closely to the affairs of the fort, like the

rancherie A Rancherie is a First Nations residential area of an Indian reserve in colloquial English throughout the Canadian province of British Columbia. Originating in an adaptation of '' ranchería'', a Californian term for the residential area of a ''ran ...

outside

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...

, Kanaka Creek dwindled somewhat when the fort was located further upstream, although some of the original families stayed on for decades. The area has long since been subdivided and is a suburban neighbourhood now, with Kanaka Creek Road, along the creek's west bank, the main arterial, which like the creek runs generally northeast, finally becoming 232nd Street to connect to the

Dewdney Trunk Road The Dewdney Trunk Road was one of the earliest major roads in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada, originally running from Port Moody to Dewdney, just east of Mission. It exists in three sections today: *an arterial route running roughl ...

. Upstream, to the northeast, is Kanaka Creek Regional Park and street connections to Webster's Corners and 240th Street. Although mostly suburban the neighbourhood retains a greenbelt quality because of the protection of the creek by its park and as a salmon spawning stream, and there are still farms operating in some parts of the area.

References

*{{BCGNIS, 3015, Kanaka Creek (creek) Hudson's Bay Company Neighbourhoods in Maple Ridge, British Columbia Populated places on the Fraser River Lower Mainland Hawaiian diaspora

See also

References