Yorke Island (Canada)

Last updated

Yorke Island coastal fort
at the split of Johnstone Strait and Sunderland Channel between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia,
Typecoastal fort
Site information
Controlled byCanada
Site history
Built1938
In use1938-46

Yorke Island is a small islet located off of the north end of Hardwicke Island in the south end of Johnstone Strait. [1] Located in the Inside Passage, it occupies a choke point at the split of Johnstone Strait and Sunderland Channel which all vessels traveling between the mainland and Vancouver Island have to pass. As Hardwicke Island separates two channels offering passages between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Yorke Island was strategically placed to protect the entrances of what was considered the backdoor access to Vancouver during World War II.

Contents

History

1945 schematic of Canadian military's fixed defence works on Yorke Island Yorke fort.jpg
1945 schematic of Canadian military's fixed defence works on Yorke Island

In 1938 Major Treatt of the Canada War Department, inspected the west coast of Canada and determined suitable locations for coastal defenses. Yorke Island was determined to be a suitable site. The site was equipped with two 4.7" Quick firing guns, later replaced by two 6" Mk7 guns on Mk 2 mounting (transferred from the Stanley Park Battery). Also fitted was a 6 pdr Hotchkiss "examination gun". Anti-aircraft defense was provided by two 40mm Bofors guns at two different sites. In all three 800 million carbon arc searchlights were positioned to maintain a night fighting ability. In addition examination vessels, nicknamed the "Gumboot Navy" due to the use of fishing vessels and their crew, were on station to assist the fort in examining all passing traffic.

World War II era map of Yorke Island, showing Canadian military's infrastructure Yorke Island Map.jpg
World War II era map of Yorke Island, showing Canadian military's infrastructure

Approximately 60 buildings were built to support the garrison. A major challenge with Yorke Island was a lack of drinking water. Water was at first supplied by Union Steam ships while dropping off construction materials. After this was determined to be too inefficient, a scow with a large tank was brought in to fill the 50000 gallon cement water tank via the nearest creek on Hardwicke Island. Filling this tank and its challenges led to the only death on Yorke, Gnr Brunt, when the skiff he and others were on was swamped returning from a maintenance trip to Hardwicke Island. Brunt's leg tangled in the boat tow line and he was lost when it sank. Efforts to recover him were not successful.

Yorke Island was an isolated post which combined with lack of action, the advent of the conscript act, and minimal contact with locals led to some discipline issues, nicknamed "Going Yorkie". Segregation was also a difficulty: some men served on the island at the same time did not meet until reunions were arranged well after the war.

As the threat of attack diminished the garrison was decommissioned and the fort was abandoned by early 1946. [2]

Today

Yorke Today Yorke OCT2011.pdf
Yorke Today

Although the fort is abandoned, Yorke Island itself is now a Conservancy protected under BC Parks. Recent efforts by volunteers and local groups have now allowed for a major cleanup at the fort. Trails have been cut and marked to areas of safe access and interest. Extensive remnants of the bunkers, gun emplacements, and buildings are accessible when one is on the island. Hobbyists with metal detectors are strongly cautioned against using them on the island due to the possibility of live ordinances left over from training purposes during the war. Safely accessing the island is a difficult and sometimes dangerous journey due to dangerous tides and winds. The safest access is in Courtenay Bay due to its protection from extreme flood and tidal action compared to the conditions found on the beach side near to the dock built during the Second World War. Explorers of the Island are strongly cautioned against random landings on the shore of the Island due to the prevalence of still effective barbed wire over most of the perimeter. The dock built during the Second World War was dismantled, meaning Courtenay Bay offers safest access to those requiring anchorage. There are no operators with permits to conduct tours of Yorke Island on shore at this time. Visitors should also be aware that there are no hidden rooms, bunkers, ordinance rooms, or anything other than what can be found out in plain site on the island. Recent visits have shown the use of ground penetrating radar (Suzie Guns) and damage to walls and floors in the main bunker trying to find these rooms as reported in an inaccurate Urban Exploration posting. Research shows the entire fort built on bedrock, with final construction involving over 100,000 cubic feet of concrete.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria, British Columbia</span> Capital city of British Columbia, Canada

Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The city of Victoria is the 7th most densely populated city in Canada with 4,405.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,411/sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Island</span> Southwesternmost Island of Canada

Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is 456 km (283 mi) in length, 100 km (62 mi) in width at its widest point, and 32,100 km2 (12,400 sq mi) in total area, while 31,285 km2 (12,079 sq mi) are of land. The island is the largest by area and the most populous along the west coasts of the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Roberts, Washington</span> Census-designated place in Washington, United States

Point Roberts is a pene-exclave of Washington on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula, south of Vancouver, Canada. The area, which had a population of 1,191 at the 2020 census, is reached by land from the rest of the United States by traveling 25 mi (40 km) through Canada. It is a census-designated place in Whatcom County, Washington, with a post office, and a ZIP Code of 98281. Direct sea and air connections with the rest of the U.S. are available across Boundary Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saysutshun (Newcastle Island Marine) Park</span> Canadian provincial park

Saysutshun Provincial Park, formally known as Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park, is a provincial park located on a small island off the coast of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kʼómoks</span>

The Kʼómoks or Kʼomoks, usually known in English as the Comox, are an indigenous group of Coast Salishan-speaking people in Comox, British Columbia and in Toba Inlet and the Malaspina Peninsula areas of the British Columbia mainland across Georgia Strait. They historically spoke the Komox language (Comox-Sliammon), and were divided in two main dialect and tribal groupings, which are known by academics as Island Comox and Mainland Comox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strait of Georgia</span> Waterway between Vancouver Island and mainland North America

The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington, United States. It is approximately 240 kilometres (150 mi) long and varies in width from 20 to 58 kilometres. Along with the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, it is a constituent part of the Salish Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of British Columbia</span> Historical account of British Columbia

The history of British Columbia covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day British Columbia were inhabited for millennia by a number of First Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island Rail Corridor</span> Railway operation in Vancouver Island

The Island Rail Corridor, previously the Esquimalt & Nanaimo 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. The Island Corridor Foundation owns the former Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway corridor. The railway line is 225 kilometres (140 mi) in length from Victoria to Courtenay, known as the Victoria Subdivision, with a branch line from Parksville to Port Alberni known as the Port Alberni Subdivision at 64 kilometres (40 mi) in length, for a total 289 kilometres (180 mi) of mainline track. In 2006, the Island Corridor Foundation acquired the railway's ownership from the Canadian Pacific Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtenay, British Columbia</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

Courtenay is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest community and only city in the area commonly known as the Comox Valley, and the seat of the Comox Valley Regional District, which replaced the Comox-Strathcona Regional District. Courtenay is 4 km (2.5 mi) west of the town of Comox, 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of the village of Cumberland, 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of the unincorporated settlement of Royston, and 108 km (67 mi) northwest of Nanaimo. Along with Nanaimo and Victoria, it is home to The Canadian Scottish Regiment, a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Stevens (Oregon)</span> Former U.S. military installation in Hammond, Oregon, in use from 1863-1947; now a park

Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was named for a slain Civil War general and former Washington Territory governor, Isaac I. Stevens. The fort was an active military reservation from 1863–1947. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comox-Strathcona Regional District</span>

The Regional District of Comox-Strathcona was a regional district of British Columbia, Canada from 1967 to 2008. On February 15, 2008, the regional district was abolished and replaced by two successor regional districts, Comox Valley and Strathcona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comox Valley</span>

The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fanny Bay, Black Creek, and Merville. The communities of Denman Island and Hornby Island are also considered part of the Comox Valley. The Comox Valley contains the 47th largest metropolitan area in Canada with a population of about 76,000 as of 2022

Cumberland is an incorporated village municipality east of Perseverance Creek, near the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Comox Valley community is west of BC Highway 19 and is by road about 105 kilometres (65 mi) northwest of Nanaimo and 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Courtenay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaspan ULC</span> Canadian ship-builder

Seaspan ULC provides marine-related services to the Pacific Northwest. Within the Group are three shipyards, an intermodal ferry and car float business, and also a tug and barge transportation company that serves both domestic and international markets. Seaspan, is part of the Washington Companies that are owned by Dennis Washington. Kyle Washington, is the Executive Chairman of Seaspan, who has become a Canadian citizen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery Islands</span> Archipelago in the Salish Sea, British Columbia, Canada

The Discovery Islands are a group of islands located at the northern end of the Salish Sea and the eastern end of Johnstone Strait, between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Coast</span> Coastal region of British Columbia, Canada

The British Columbia Coast, popularly referred to as the BC Coast or simply the Coast, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. As the entire western continental coastline of Canada along the Pacific Ocean is in B.C., it is synonymous with being the West Coast of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnstone Strait</span> Waterway between northern Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia, Canada

Johnstone Strait is a 110 km (68 mi) channel along the north east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Opposite the Vancouver Island coast, running north to south, are Hanson Island, West Cracroft Island, the mainland British Columbia Coast, Hardwicke Island, West Thurlow Island and East Thurlow Island. At that point, the strait meets Discovery Passage which connects to Georgia Strait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Harbour (British Columbia)</span> Port in Canada

Victoria Harbour is a harbour, seaport, and seaplane airport in the Canadian city of Victoria, British Columbia. It serves as a cruise ship and ferry destination for tourists and visitors to the city and Vancouver Island. It is both a port of entry and an airport of entry for general aviation. Historically it was a shipbuilding and commercial fishing centre. While the Inner Harbour is fully within the City of Victoria, separating the city's downtown on its east side from the Victoria West neighbourhood, the Upper Harbour serves as the boundary between the City of Victoria and the district municipality of Esquimalt. The inner reaches are also bordered by the district of Saanich and the town of View Royal. Victoria is a federal "public harbour" as defined by Transport Canada. Several port facilities in the harbour are overseen and developed by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, however the harbour master's position is with Transport Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardwicke Island</span> Island in British Columbia, Canada

Hardwicke Island is an island in British Columbia, Canada, measuring approximately 78 square kilometres (30 sq mi).

Debra Sparrow, or θəliχʷəlʷət (Thelliawhatlwit), is a Musqueam weaver, artist and knowledge keeper. She is self-taught in Salish design, weaving, and jewellery making.

References

  1. "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  2. Moogk, Peter N. (1978), Vancouver Defended. A History of the Men and Arms of the Lower Mainland Defences, 1859 - 1949. , Vancouver: Antonson Publishing, ISBN   0-919900-26-7

Coordinates: 50°26′47″N125°58′38″W / 50.44639°N 125.97722°W / 50.44639; -125.97722