Cowichan Bay () is a bay and community located on the east coast of southern

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

near

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake ...

, in

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, for ...

. The mouth of the

Cowichan River The Cowichan River is a Canadian Heritage River on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. Its headwater is Cowichan Lake. The river flows east over Skutz Falls and through Marie Canyon towards its mouth at Cowichan Bay. The river's ...

is near Cowichan Bay. Mount Tzouhalem and its hiking trails and ecological reserve stands to the north. The bay is known for its

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

and scenic value. The area's main industries are fishing and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. The area is served by the nearby coast-spanning

Island Highway The Island Highway is actually a series of highways that follows much of the eastern coastline of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. While the Island Highway has no officially designated starting point, it is understood to begin at ...

and

Island Rail Corridor The Island Rail Corridor, previously the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N Railway), is a railway operation on Vancouver Island and is the only remaining railway on Vancouver Island after the closure of the Englewood Railway in November 2017. ...

First Nation history

For many thousands of years Cowichan Bay was home to First Nations people who harvested the wealth of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...

and

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environ ...

found in its many coves,

tidal flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

and swiftly flowing rivers. A rare steatite

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

bowl was discovered on Cowichan Bay in the late nineteenth century. One of only about 50 so far found and estimated to originate from the Marpole Culture (400 BC-400 AD), it is now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

's collection.

European settlement

Cowichan Bay was the gateway for European settlement of the Cowichan and Chemainus valleys from the early 1860s. A steamer service from Victoria was the major link for goods and people before the coming of the railway. Bypassed by the Esquimalt and Nanaimo line and later by the

, Cowichan Bay nevertheless was a thriving little community, based on sport and commercial salmon fishing, and log and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

exports. From the early 1900s Cowichan Bay attracted sportsmen from all over the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

for superb salmon fishing in the Bay and the Cowichan and Koksilah rivers. It was, for a time, the Salmon Capital of the World offering not just fishing, but fine sailing waters, an annual regatta and, next to Wimbledon, the oldest grass tennis courts in the world.

Tourism

The village of Cowichan Bay is a tourist attraction in the summer because of its cozy fishing-village feel. The community began a transformation in 2004 when Jonathan Knight opened True Grain Bread, a European inspired bakery at the centre of the seaside village. His organic breads and pretzels and a focus on local and sustainable business practices quickly made a name for the bakery and the community. His success spawned other businesses to open in the bay; Radway Studios, an organic clothing store; Hilary's Cheese, a local-made cheese shop; The Udder Guys, an old-style homemade ice-cream parlour; The Masthead, an upscale restaurant that serves delicious local foods; The Mud Room Clayworks, a pottery shop run by a local artisan; as well as many other eateries and knick-knack shops. Cowichan Bay offers visitors a chance to see their impressive wildlife through kayak tours and rentals and whalewatching tours. Depending on the time of year it is not uncommon to see bald eagles, seals, herons or other wildlife in the area.

South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club

South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1887. It is one of the oldest lawn tennis clubs in the world and the oldest lawn tennis club in Canada.

Economy

A noted deepwater port where tankers and container ships can still be seen at anchor regularly, Cowichan Bay has been plagued by derelicts abandoned at anchor and left to rot — most notably the fuel-filled ''Dominion'', which dragged anchor during a winter storm before being towed away for scrap after a 5-year period, and the replica ''Beaver'', which replaced her, towed in by the same tug that removed the derelict ''Dominion''. Cowichan Bay's former economic base is declining, but being replaced with more recreational water activities, a revived interest in boatbuilding, an appreciation for the history and ecology of the Bay, and tourism.

Local politics

Cowichan Bay services are provided by the

Cowichan Valley Regional District The Cowichan Valley Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia is on the southern part of Vancouver Island, bordered by the Nanaimo and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional Districts to the north and northwest, ...

, with fire protection provided by the Cowichan Bay Improvement District which operates Cowichan Bay Fire Rescue. In 2009, Cowichan Bay became Canada and North America's first Cittaslow community.

Notable residents

James Dunsmuir James Dunsmuir (July 8, 1851 – June 6, 1920) was a Canadian industrialist and politician in British Columbia. He served as the 14th premier of British Columbia from 1900 to 1902 and the eighth lieutenant governor of British Columbia from ...

- Former Premier and Lieutenant-Governor of BC * Robert William Service - Poet and writer of the Yukon Gold Rush, he worked in several farms of Cowichan Bay from June 1896 to November 1897 and then from October 1898 until October 1, 1903 in the Corfield Farm. A

memorial bench A memorial bench, memorial seat or death bench is a piece of outdoor furniture which commemorates a dead person. Such benches are typically made of wood, but can also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials such as plastics. Typically mem ...

has been erected in the Robert Service Wayside Park and a plaque has been embedded up the seat where it can be read few lines of a poem of Robert Service entitled "Heart o' the North" excerpt from "Rhymes of a Rolling Stone". * Arthur Vickers - Artist, story teller.

References

External links

The History E-Book on Cowichan BayCowichan Bay Fire Rescue WebsiteCowichan Bay Improvement AssociationCowichan Valley Regional District
{{Authority control Ports and harbours of British Columbia Populated places in the Cowichan Valley Regional District Designated places in British Columbia Populated places on the British Columbia Coast