Denman Island, (also known by Sla-dai-aich or Taystayic, in the

Comox language The Comox language () is a Coast Salish language historically spoken in the northern Georgia Strait region, spanning the east coast of Vancouver Island and the northern Sunshine Coast and adjoining inlets and islands. More specifically, was tra ...

), is one of the Northern

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia Coast, mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia", the original term used by Geor ...

and part of the

Comox Valley Regional District The Comox Valley Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It was created on February 15, 2008, encompassing the southeastern portions of the former Regional District of Comox-Strathcona, and centred about the Como ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is a member of the

Islands Trust The Islands Trust is a federation of local governments on the islands in the Strait of Georgia, Howe Sound and Haro Strait in British Columbia. It was established by, and is operated under, the ''Islands Trust Act'', enacted by the Government o ...

group of islands and is home to a small community of 1391 year-round residents.

History

Denman Island was first inhabited by Indigenous peoples including the Pentlatch and

Sliammon The Tla'amin First Nation (Comox language: ɬəʔamɛn), formerly Sliammon Indian Band or Sliammon First Nation, is a First Nations self governing nation whose lands and traditional territories are located on the upper Sunshine Coast in southwes ...

as evidenced by middens, gravesites, and oral history. The site most recently occupied by Pentlatch people named the island PUNCHLATT. In 1862 smallpox epidemic severely reduced its population and the survivors moved to join the K'ómoks people in nearby Comox. The Island was seen and mapped by Europeans during the 1791 voyage of the Spanish ship ''

Santa Saturnina ''North West America'' was a British merchant ship that sailed on maritime fur trading ventures in the late 1780s. It was the first non-indigenous vessel built in the Pacific Northwest. In 1789 it was captured at Nootka Sound by Esteban Jos ...

'', under Juan Carrasco and

José María Narváez José María Narváez (1768 – August 4, 1840) was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator notable for his work in the Gulf Islands and Lower Mainland of present-day British Columbia. In 1791, as commander of the schooner '' Santa ...

. It was named by Captain Richards in 1860 for Rear Admiral

Joseph Denman Vice Admiral Joseph Denman (23 June 1810 – 26 November 1874) was a British naval officer, most noted for his actions against the slave trade as a commander of HMS ''Wanderer'' of the West Africa Squadron. Early life Denman was born on 23 Ju ...

who was commander of the Pacific station from 1864 to 1866. The earliest colonial settlers of Denman Island arrived during the 1870s. Some were attracted by the establishment of the Baynes Sound Coal Mine on the Tsable River, across

Baynes Sound Baynes Sound is the channel between Denman Island and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The sound is a narrow western offshoot of the Strait of Georgia that separates Vancouver Island from the mainland of British Columbia. The area is ...

from Denman Island. Mine construction started in 1873 and coal was shipped in 1876. Several large families migrated to Denman Island from Eastern Canada in 1876 including the McFarlane, Piercy and Graham families. After being briefly in production the Baynes Sound mine closed in 1877 and mine surveyor David Pickles moved to Denman Island, preempting a large wetland in the middle of the island.

Denman Island life

Regular ferry service links Denman Island to both

Hornby Island Hornby Island of British Columbia, Canada, is one of the two northernmost Gulf Islands, the other being Denman Island. It is located near Vancouver Island's Comox Valley, A small community of 1,225 residents (as of the 2021 census), Hornby is ...

from Gravelly Bay on the east side of Denman and across

via the

MV Baynes Sound Connector ''Baynes Sound Connector'' is a car ferry owned and operated by B.C. Ferries that runs between Buckley Bay on Vancouver Island and Denman Island. It is the first and only cable ferry in the BC Ferries fleet and replaced the self-propelled in ...

cable ferry to

Buckley Bay Buckley Bay is a geographical location on the east coast of Vancouver Island, located between Union Bay to the north and Fanny Bay to the south. It is the departure point for the BC Ferries crossing of Baynes Sound to Denman Island and on ...

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 ...

on the west side. The Village of Denman consists of one general store and Post Office, two community halls and a museum, the Dora Drinkwater Volunteer Library, a community school, an Anglican church and the Arts Centre. There is also a hardware store, craft store and Abraxas Book Gifts, a book and gift store and coffee shop. Around the corner on Piercy Road is the Denman Island Health Centre. A number of potters, weavers and painters have made Denman Island their home for decades. The island has a land area of . The author Emily St. John Mandel spent most of her childhood on Denman Island, and modeled much of the fictional Delano Island in her novel ''

Station Eleven ''Station Eleven'' is a novel by the Canadian writer Emily St. John Mandel. It takes place in the Great Lakes region before and after a fictional swine flu pandemic, known as the "Georgia Flu", has devastated the world, killing most of the popu ...

'' after it.

Vegetation and soils

The western part of Denman Island is covered by a dense forest dominated by

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the northwest coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern ...

, and

western red cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Cupressaceae, native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Its common name is western redcedar in the U.S. or western red cedar in the UK, and it is also called pacific re ...

on deep loamy glacial till or marine deposits mapped as Royston gravelly loam or Tolmie-Merville complex. Some areas have shallow soils over

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

and are mapped as Haslam shaly loam or Rough Stony-Haslam complex. The eastern part has a loamy sand (Kye-Qualicum complex or Bowser series) on which

arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands a ...

is frequently present near the shore. Poorly drained depressions are mapped as Tolmie loam, Parksville sandy loam, or Arrowsmith peat.

Denman Island Disease

An infectious disease among Pacific oysters was identified in 1960 off Denman Island. The disease causes visible yellow/green pustules on the body and adductor muscles of the oysters therefore reducing marketability of the oysters. It was found that the causative agent of these lesions are associated with microcells, which were later identified as '' Mikrocytos mackini.''

Provincial Parks located on Denman Island

* Sandy Island Marine Provincial Park (off northern tip, accessible on foot at low tide).
Fillongley Provincial Park – B.C. Ministry of Environment SiteBoyle Point Provincial Park – B.C. Ministry of Environment SiteDenman Island Park and Protected Area – B.C. Ministry of Environment Site

Local media

Denman Island has a monthly news and artistic journal called the Flagstone, a weekly news and advertising circular called the Grapevine, and several active online groups on social media.

References

External links

Association of Denman Island Marine StewardsDenman Conservancy AssociationDenman Island BusHornby& Denman Community Health Care Society

Denman Island - - NameDenman Island Residents Association
{{authority control Islands of the Gulf Islands Populated places in the Comox Valley Regional District Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia