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Below are brief descriptions of some of the piorneers into the area after whom many strees and places in Central Saanich were name. If you know the area you will recognize some of their names. DAVID COULTER owned 160 acres on the North side of Wain's Road. He sold to Gooch, who in turn sold this land to Rufus Horth. Coulter was a bachelor. GOOCH was also a bachelor and renowned as a bellsmith and bell ringer. He was an artist with the hand bells and added immensely to early day concert functions and social entertainment. He also taught the young people bell ringing. Living with him were a couple of young Englishmen named Smythe and Spalding. Spalding is credited with introducing the Airedale dog to this vicinity. After Gooch sold to Horth they bought one of the islands. It could have been the one we now know as Gooch Island.

JAMES BRYDEN was a Scotsman and a bachelor. He came to Saanich in the late sixties or early seventies and bought 160 acres of land at Canoe Cove. It embraced most of the area surrounding Canoe Cove. He was a miller by trade and worked for and assisted Henry Brackman to start his mill. JAMES J. DOWNEY and his wife, a Miss Ingram, were born in Limerick, Ireland. They arrived on the Pacific Coast via the Panama Isthmus July, 1858, and settled in North Saanich in 1866. They bought a large farm north of Downey Road, which was named after them. It stretched from there to the waterfront on Saanich Arm. The farm originally belonged to Bishop Hills, who had been renting it for a considerable time, or sold it to a man named G. Thomas. Whether the money derived from the rental, if any, together with the purchase price paid, went into church funds is not known, but there is a possibility that it was deeded to Bishop Hills somewhat after the fashion of the Glebe lands in England. Downey, like the rest of his neighbors, grew hops for a living.

They had a family of eight children. James T., Anne (spinster), Henry, Marianne (Mrs. Dallain) , Sarah (Mrs. Gordon), Belle (Mrs. Davie), Alan, Louisa (Mrs. Warren) H. R. BENNETT, a colored man, first owned a farm now operated by the Federal Government and called the Saanichton Experimental Farm. He sold it to a man named Veitch, who in turn sold it to the Government. It extends from the base of Mt. Newton to the East shore in a gradual slope. Almost at any spot on the farm a lovely view can be obtained of the islands and the Georgia Strait, as well as Mt. Baker and the mountains in the distance. Probably no other farm in Canada operated under Government control has such a favorable position or can grow such a variety of crops either in the agricultural or horticultural line.

CASPAR HERDER had a farm in the early days at the east end of McTavish Road. Most of his family died young but a son Louis, who married a Miss Imrie, was a councilor for the short-lived North Saanich Municipality. GEORGE HIGGS, a bachelor, had a farm of 150 acres near Wain's Farm. He came the same time as Turgoose, possibly helping him with the horses he brought. He also grew hops. He was an adept ploughman and used to be one of the judges at the Saanich Ploughing Matches. WILLIAM RICHARDSON was just a lad when he jumped his ship the "Helvetia" at Victoria in 1863. As a matter of record he was just 15 years and 12 days old.

Whatever he possessed had to be left on the boat of course. Therefore he struck out into the wilds of Saanich without a penny in his pocket. Someone advised him to look for work at William Thomson's farm. Here he got a job and worked for Thomson eleven years. During the years young Richardson was reaching manhood a young girl was also growing up and living and working with the Thomsons. Her name was Mary A. Rabey, who was born in Victoria in 1857. Her parents came to Victoria on the ship "Marquis of Bute." This was the same ship that Bishop Cridge came here in and the Rabeys worked for him. They both died when their children were young. Mrs. Thomson of Bannockburn took Mary (or Polly as she was usually known) while the Lidgates (Granny) took the other child, Henry, who was a mere baby.

Polly and William Richardson were married by Bishop Cridge in 1872. For some years the Richardsons worked for different farmers and at the Shawnigan Mills, then returned to South Saanich and took up land on Buck Hill, which is the hill at the easterly end of Keating 29 Cross Road. They had a family of fourteen children-William John, Elizabeth (Mrs. Parsons) , John Henry, Frederick, Grace (Mrs. Tumilty), Herbert, Fanny M. (Mrs. Wheeler), Charles G., Edward F., Kathleen G. (Mrs. Perdue), Margaret (Mrs. Clarke), Helen Mabel (Mrs. Thompson) , Elsie C. (Mrs. Symons) . They were all a hard-working family. Both the Richardsons lived to a ripe old age, even though old Bill was nearly kicked to death by a horse when in his sixties.

RICHARD JOHNS was a Welshman. He first emigrated to Pennsylvania and worked in the coal mines there. From there he trekked across the plains in company with some of that intrepid group usually referred to in many a story as the 49ers, and their destination, the gold mines of California. He stayed there until 1859 then, leaving his family in Pennsylvania, he struck out for the Cariboo. He worked in the gold claims there for about ten years, soon after which he either went back or sent for his family in Pennsylvania. He then came out to North Saanich and bought a big farm from a man named Booth. It consisted of 500 acres.

It was north of Mills Road and east along this road about half way. The northern boundary of the farm was Johns Road, named after him, and thence it went east to the sea. The easterly part was sold to Roberts later. After Richard Johns died the farm was bought by Mr. Matson, for many years owner of the Daily Colonist. He made it famous for its herd of Jersey cattle. Part of this farm is now the Sidney race track or Sandown Park. Richard Johns also bought 300 acres near Saanichton.

This was on the south side of the Holden Farm (Blink Bonnie) and easterly to the sea. The Masonic Temple and the Derrinberg Farm are on part of it. At his death, or before, it was divided between two of his sons, Richard and Joseph. Richard had the portion north of Newman Road and Joseph the south side. There were five children in the family-Joseph, Richard, James, David and Elizabeth (Mrs. J. James). STEPHEN SANDOVER came to this coast from Plymouth, England, in 1860, via the Panama Isthmus and sailing boat. He also joined in the Cariboo gold rush after operating for a short time a blacksmith shop in Victoria.

On his return he was again engaged in the blacksmith business with a man named Duck. In 18 71 he married Miss Mary Ann Harrison, and in 1874 bought a farm in North Saanich from J. Philip. 30 (Purchase price $6,000.00.) He took a keen interest in farming, especially cattle. To improve his herd he imported purebred stock from the Old Country. He was keenly interested in the Saanich Agricultural Society (Saanich Fair) and was its President for several years. He died in 1918 and was buried in Holy Trinity Cemetery. The farm was located north of the Experimental Farm or the old Bennet or Veitch Farm. The farmhouse still standing with the name "Sandover" on the entrance gate is on the East Saanich Road. The Sandovers had no family. SAMUEL BRETHOUR was the descendant of a family that were driven from Europe by the "Edict of Nantes." Queen Anne of England was helping these victims of religious persecution and arranged transportation for them to her colonies in America. The vessel on which the Brethours were sailing was wrecked on the coast of Ireland.

They settled down in Ireland for a couple of generations then, victims again of political unrest, this time they set their hopes on Canada. They landed at Montreal in 1834 and settled in the County of York, Ontario. In 1884 Samuel Brethour married a Miss John. They farmed in Ontario for 29 years and their thirteen children were born there. In the spring of 1873 they started another migration, this time to Victoria, British Columbia. For a time they shared a house in Victoria with the Sandovers and it was Sandover who persuaded the Brethours to go out to North Saanich and purchase land. He secured about 500 acres. It was situated east of where the airport now is and went to the sea, taking in all the land that Sidney village is now built on, in fact it was the Brethours who started and promoted the site and location of Sidney. Samuel Brethour only lived four years after coming to North Saanich.

At his death the farm was divided among the sons. Apart from having the credit of putting Sidney on the map, the Brethours were among the promoters of the old Victoria and Sidney railway. Julius Brethour was its first President of Directors. At one time the Brethour Brothers formed a company for the purpose of curing and marketing pork products. Henry Brethour, another son, was the first male teacher and the first to teach in a recognized public school in North Saanich. The eldest son, William, went to Kansas. The others, or most of them, stayed in North Saanich. They were John, Julius, Mary (Mrs. Robertson), Henry, James, Wesley, Samuel, Annie (Mrs. Smith), Phillip, Georgina (Mrs. Dr. Paul), Margaret ( died in Ontario) . Many of their descendants are still in the neighborhood.

John Brethour was one of the councillors on the short-lived North Saanich Municipality. THOMAS SKETCH was an Englishman, and prior to coming to North Saanich had been in the navy. He was married twice. His first wife died early. He married again and had a family of five or six children. There were Ernest, Frank, Stephen, Annie and Lizzie. Thomas Sketch and his wife both died while the family were small. The children were adopted by neighbours and some by the St. Ann's Academy. Mrs. Sketch was buried in the Catholic graveyard and Thomas in St. Stephen's cemetery. The Sketch Farm was on the east road near where the Masonic Temple is now. It later was bought by Richard Johns.

EDMUND or PETER SCOTT was a Canadian and according to old reports was one of the greatest workers ever seen in Saanich. It is said he felled more timber and cradled more grain than any other man in the district. He owned a part of the Holden Farm, according to some old records, yet he never appeared on any of the old voters' lists. He left the district and went mining for a time, then back East and got married, returning again to Saanich. There is no record of a family. He was assessed in 18 61 for Sections 3, 2 East. FIELDING SPOTTS and his wife were colored people. They owned a farm of 100 acres which was situated on the East Road about a mile south of Keating Cross Road. They were good living, religious people and highly regarded by their white neighbors.

Spotts was a school trustee for the South Saanich District for a considerable time and was always willing to assist in any community project. They had a large family, including: Charles, James, Fielding, Albert, Wendell, Frederick, Walter Theodore and Julia. They were an athletic family and carried off most of the prizes in the local events. They came to Saanich in the early sixties or late fifties, but they do not appear on any voters' list until 1874, but continue until 1898. 

Some of their descendants are still in Victoria district or on the Island. J. T. Mcllmoyle was born in the village of Cardinal. Ontario, 1840. Attracted by the stories of the Cariboo goldfields, he started for British Columbia in 1862 via the Panama route. He made two trips to the Cariboo and then in partnership with Peter Imrie he came out to North Saanich in 18 6 7, and together they purchased 300 acres of land from Bishop Hills. He married a daughter of Henry Simpson (Mary Ann) and eleven children were born to them. They were: James Henry, Nellie (Mrs. Post), Charles W., Walter Frank, George, Fred T., Emma (Mrs. Thomson), Alma Beatrice (Mrs. Edwards), Bert A. and Robert (twins). J. T. Mcllmoyle was one of the promoters of the Saanich Agricultural Society (Saanich Fair), and held different offices in the Society. He was Churchwarden of Patricia Bay Church, Holy Trinity, for fifteen years and represented Saanich District in the Legislature from 1878 to 1882.

He was also a member of the school board for many years. Apart from these civic duties he was an ardent member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. This was a benevolent as well as a fraternal society. He was Master Workman of the Saanich Lodge No. 89 and represented this district at their Supreme or Grand Lodge. He was also elected Grand Secretary of British Columbia in 1895. The Mcllmoyle and Imrie farm is now also a part of the airport. It was near the old Centre Road and north along the Mills farm to Mills Road. J. T. Mcllmoyle lived to the great age of 92 years. Many of his descendants are still in the district.

JOHN SLUGGETT was born in Thornbury, Devonshire, England, in 1829, as was his wife, Miss Fanny Down, born 1835. Shortly after their wedding in 1854 they emigrated to Canada. Their first home was in Guelph, Ontario. From here they moved to Owen Sound, then to Elderslie, where John Sluggett took up farming. All their children were born in Ontario. Annie (later Mrs. J. W. Thomson), at Guelph, John and George at Owen Sound and Fanny Amelia (Mrs. Pitzer), Robert, Frederick and Rose (Mrs. Harry Tanner), at Elderslie. Hearing glowing reports of the West ·Coast of Canada, John Sluggett again pulled up stakes in 1875 and came to 33 Vancouver Island and to Saanich.

Being favorably impressed with what he saw, he purchased for a start 700 acres from W. G. Smith, a Hudson's Bay man, for $7.50 an acre. He immediately returned East and brought out the entire family. If acquiring land would be a vice, then it would appear that this was the only one John Sluggett indulged in, for he was a very religious man and a strong temperance advocate. In addition to his original purchase he acquired more land and at his death his estate was nearly 1100 acres. It comprised practically all of the area, or at least two-thirds of present day Brentwood and eastward to the East Road. Among his religious activities were helping to establish the Calvary Baptist Church in Victoria, organizing in cooperation with the Methodists a Sunday school and church at Shady Creek.

The Baptist Church at Brentwood was built and named to his memory. He was a good farmer and is credited with operating the first threshing machine (horse powered) in the district. He was an enthusiastic member of the Agricultural Society and served as its President for a time. He was also interested in politics and contested the local riding as a Liberal and it is claimed he was the first Liberal candidate to save his deposit, though defeated. He and George Stelly donated half an acre each for the old West Saanich School, the first public school in that part of Saanich. In addition he was Justice of the Peace for many years and also owned and operated the Sluggett Post Office.

Many of his descendants are living in the district and some are, or have, bought back parts of the estate at a fancy price, that a:nce belonged to their ancestor. He died in 1909 and his wife in 1904. They are both buried in Shady Creek Cemetery. JOHN FURZE was from Devonshire, England, and a marine on H.M.S. Forward. This was the ship that bombarded Kuper Island Indian villages as a punishment to them for the massacre of some whites. He remained with the crew of the Forward for some time while based at Esquimalt. He then took his discharge and worked around Craigflower and then came out to Saanich.

He does not appear to have owned any land, yet he is shown on the voters' list of Saanich in 1877. As a farm laborer and helper he had at some time or other 34 worked for nearly every farmer in the district. It is said of him that he was a thoroughly good-hearted, generous old man. At the age of 85 he was knocked down by a car. The accident killed him. He was buried in the Shady Creek Cemetery, February 2nd, 1915. The funeral was under the auspices of the Orange Lodge of Saanichton. He was a devoted member of this Order. There are no existing records of a wife or family. LOUIS TRUDELLE was a French-Canadian who worked for the H.B.C. at one of their northern posts. His children were born in the North. Two of his daughters became Mrs. Marcotte and Mrs. Papillot. He owned a farm east of the East Road and along what is now Mt. Newton Cross Road. Part of present-day Saanichton is built on a portion of it. He is credited with having planted the first apple trees in the district. He does not appear on any voters' list but he is on the assessment roll of 18 64. He later went to live on San Juan Island after having sold his farm to an American by the name of Sloan. SLOAN, who bought the Trudelle farm, did not live there very long. He either died or left the place before dying. His widow married a Noel Leclaire.

EDWIN JOHN bought the Sloan Farm in 1869, but it was in 1851 that he left his native Wales with his young wife and baby son Robert for the mines in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. They stayed there until 1853, when they left for California by the Nicaragua route to San Francisco. From there they went to the Forest Hill mines, then to Virginia City in Nevada. In 18 64 they decided to try their luck in the Cariboo. By this time they had three children. They embarked on the "S.S. Brother Jonathon" and after a rough trip they made Esquimalt Harbour.

From Victoria they took boats to Yale. From here they made the journey to the Cariboo on foot. They came back to Victoria for the winter. Edwin John went back alone in the spring, but the whole family returned together again in 1865, this time travelling by their own horse and wagon as far as Van Winkle. They sold their horse and wagon here and again set out on foot to Barkerville. They got an addition to the family, "Edwin," at Stout's Gulch in 1866. They returned to Victoria in 1868 and in 1869 they came out to Saanich. Mrs. John died in 1883 and Edwin John in 1910. They are both buried in St. Stephen's cemetery. Their children were Robert F., Elizabeth A. (Mrs. Fell), Bedlington J., Edwin R., Katherine. Their eldest son Robert was a tax collector in Saanich and later a Member of Parliament for the Saanich District.

He was also Warden of the Provincial Jail in Victoria for many years. ON HING was Chinese and is mentioned here not as a resident of the Saanich District but rather as a reminder of the service he rendered to the early pioneers. There was a succession of On Hings but the original had an eye missing. At first he peddled with an old horse and later with a team and wagon. He bought butter, eggs and chicken from the farmers, mostly on a barter basis. He was supposed to have carried a wonderful stock of dress goods, groceries, etc., and when one considers the rough trails and the difficulty of getting to town he must have been most welcome to the ladies of that time. He used to make Wain's place his headquarters when in North Saanich. RICHARD POR TWA Y was an Englishman. He was supposed to have owned the land that Peter Imrie and J. T. Mcllmoyle purchased, but seeing that the last named bought from Bishop Hills, then Partway must have sold to the Reverend gentleman and he in turn to Imrie and Mcllmoyle.

Partway went to the Cariboo and contributed nothing of interest further so far as Saanich is concerned.

GEORGE MENAGH and JAMES MENAGH were brothers from Eastern Canada. Like so many other settlers in Saanich they also had come West primarily to go gold mining. George Menagh bought 80 acres from Samuel Roberts. This piece of land or farm was almost opposite the present-day race track. He was later joined by his son Alec, who married Miss Michell. Alec was a millwright and worked at the Brackman Mill. James Menagh in 1869 bought 160 acres from George (Bishop) Hills. This land forms the southern part of Sidney as it is today. He paid Bishop Hills $640 for this tract of land. In 1873 he sold it to Samuel Brethour. It is believed that he again went back to the mine or back East. OCT A VIUS OMMANEY. it would seem. was the first purchaser of the land that comprises the southern part of Sidney. 36 As far as can be ascertained he never resided on it. It was he who sold to Bishop Hills.

RIGHT REVEREND BISHOP HILLS, Bishop of British Columbia, arrived at Esquimalt in 1860 and walked through the mud to Victoria. He held a service in Christ Church the same day. He was particularly interested in land in North Saanich. Not only did he purchase part of the present Sidney site but also the Mcllmoyle, Downey and Imrie farms and in addition 600 acres which later became the Ardmore Farm also the Downey Farm. Of course he never did any improvement on this land unless through a lessee, and it must be concluded that it was just speculation on behalf of the church or some of it deeded to the church.

WILLIAM HARRISON, born in Cheshire, England, left his native country in the year 1851 and landed in New Orleans, U.S.A. With him were his two brothers, Eli and George. From New Orleans they sailed by river steamer up the Mississippi to Fort Bridger, where they joined up with a caravan party across the plains and mountains to Salt Lake City. This took them six months. They stayed with the Mormons till spring, then headed for California and did some gold mining on the American River. In 1885 they landed at Esquimalt. William went gold mining up the Fraser for a few years. He came back to Victoria and then went out to Saanich and bought a farm of 153 acres. It was on the east of the Holden farm and in those days was named Sunnyside Farm.

Today it is called Wilsona Farm. The old Victoria and Sidney Railway cut through the farm and William and his sons took a contract to supply cord-wood to burn in the engines. William Harrison was married before coming to the Colony. There were five children, Samuel G., Frances Jane, Solomon E., Ben W. and William Henry. The latter is living at the time of writing. Eli Harrison, a brother, carried on business as a painter and stayed in Victoria. He was the grandfather of a recent mayor of the city.

GEORGE HARRISON, a brother of those mentioned in this narrative, shared with them the various journeyings and also arrived in Victoria in 185 8. Here he found a gold mine but not of metal. Victoria had no water supply, so George Harrison started a successful business hauling and selling this most necessary items. In the early seventies he purchased land in Saanich, and in 1876 sold his water business md went out there to live permanently. The farm consisted of 50 acres and was situated almost exactly opposite the present Fair Grounds. The house he built is still in occupation. He was a churchwarden of St. Stephen's Church, in which there is a tablet to his memory. He was also a school trustee for Saanich School for many years. Keenly interested in agriculture it was only natural that he would be a valued member of the Agricultural Society. George Harrison married a Miss Mary Porter, who was born on Burnside Road in 1856. She was one of the early pupils of Craigflower School. They had eleven children, seven girls and four boys. All the boys died at birth or in their infancy. The girls were Alice May, who died at the age of seventeen, Annie Eliza (Mrs. Ferguson), Mary Elizabeth (Mrs. Capt. Byers) , Eva Maud (Mrs. Roberts), Ellen Augusta (Mrs. Nelson), Edith Mabel, Irene Gertrude (Mrs. White). Mrs. Harrison died at the early age of forty-five in 1901, and Mr. Harrison in 1916. They are buried in St. Stephen's cemetery.

GEORGE BROWN and his son George Arthur owned a farm on and about Doe Ridge. This ridge is more or less an extension of Bear Hill. The southern part of Central Saanich Road now runs along its base and then curves over it to the East Road . It was near this location that the Brown farm was situated. George Brown was, or aped the style of, an English squire. Oldtimers say they were bookish and religious. They both appear on the 18 7 5 voters' list and the son is listed until 1898, after which they disappear. The son died in St. Joseph's Hospital, Victoria, B.C. It is not known that he was ever married. XAVIER MARCOTTE left his native Quebec in 1862 with a friend named Pappilon or Pappilot. After the usual weary and difficult crossing of the continent they eventually arrived in Victoria the same year and immediately made preparations to go gold mining up the Fraser. Making it a party of four they secured a canoe and their adventures on the journey is a story in itself. After a couple of trips or so to the goldfields Xavier Marcotte went out to Saanich and bought two sections of land.

Pappilo, as he was generally called, and no one seems to know if he had a first or Christian name, must have been in on the deal at first, as they both appear on the assessment roll in 1864. They both married daughters of Louis Trudelle, after which Pappilo took up a pre-emption on San Juan. Marcotte later purchased more land from an American family and thus increased his farm to 5 60 acres. It is situated on the north side of Mt. Newton Cross Road and 400 acres of it is now the Pickles farm. It stretched north over the No. 1 survey line, so that part of the farm was in North Saanich. The Marcottes had a family of nine children, Ellen, Felix, Celina, Peter (died young), Edward H. still living and farming at Metchosin. Frank, Joe, Clara (Mrs. Rouleau). Celina was married in the States and the family lost track of her. Xavier Marcotte was a big, powerful man and a hard worker. They were devout Catholics and both he and his wife and other members of the family are buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery on the West Road.

HUGH MUNRO and his wife Christine, after their marriage, left Scotland and settled in Ontario, where all their children were born, six girls and two boys. They were Isabelle (Mrs. John Black) , Eliza (Mrs. Charlie Neaves), Catherine (died young), Annie (Mrs. William McDowell), Christina (Mrs. Derrinberg), Alexander, Mary (first Mrs. G. Dawson) then (Mrs. M. Anderson), and William. In 1864 the whole family, with other relatives, returned to Scotland then, after a few months, emigrated to New Zealand, then Australia, where they stayed about five years, then they started wandering again via Honolulu to San Francisco, finally landing in Victoria in June, 18 70. In the fall of that year Hugh Munro bought a farm on James Island and took his family there. Most of Hugh Munro's life up to that time had been taken up with school-teaching. He evidently abandoned his profession as a school-master on James Island, except to tutor his own children. J

OHN IRVING. A letter addressed to this man, then living in England, from J. D. Pemberton, states that 159 acres had been allotted to him about fifteen miles from Victoria. The reason for the odd acreage was due to the fact that it abutted on the sea. There is little information to be gleaned about him and it is doubtful if he ever resided in the district.  There is a Peter Irving on the 1874 voters' list for North Saanich, but whether there is any connection is not known. It is likely he was a naval or seafaring man.

A. C. ANDERSON was a Hudson's Bay man. He came out to North Saanich in or around 1858. He and his son James bought together over 600 acres of land on the south side of Wain's Cross Road, starting from about the middle of it and then westward. James afterward became Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Alex, the elder brother, took over the management of both farms. In addition to these two there were three other sons, Walter, Allan and Arthur, and two girls, Agnes (Mrs. Captain Gordon), and Rose, a spinster. On the 18 5 9 voters' list A. C. Anderson's address was given as Victoria with 20 acres freehold , yet on the 1861 assessment roll Anderson and his son James were assessed for eight sections. On the 1874 voters' list A. C. Anderson still gives his address as Victoria, although his name appears on the North Saanich list, and Alex, his son, is also on the North Saanich list with the address of Rosebank Farm, North Saanich.

JOHN THOMAS HARRISON came to the U.S.A. from Norfolk, England, with his father when just a little boy. He and his sister (Mrs. San dover) came to Saanich in 18 71. He lived with Mr. Turgoose for some years. He later purchased a farm in North Saanich abutting on the East Road and west along the McTavish Road on the south side. He married Rose Thomas, daughter of George Thomas, a Saanich pioneer. They had a family of four children-Neva Pearl (Mrs. Roy Brethour) , Herbert William, Wilfrid Stephen, Edith Fanny Gertrude (Mrs. Joseph Mitchell) . John Thomas Harrison was a councillor on the old North Saanich Municipality.

GEORGE THOMAS came out to Fort Victoria with the H.B.C. on the sailing ship "Tory" in 1851. When rounding the Horn they encountered rough and contrary winds and were driven back and off course to such an extent that it took them six weeks before getting back again to Cape Horn. He was a carpenter for the H.B.C. for five years. He did other work after this around Victoria, including acting as guard on the stage between Esquimalt and Fort Victoria. In 1863 he married Miss Watson of Victoria, then moved out to North Saanich on a farm on the south side of Downey Road. This farm was part of the land acquired by Bishop Hills. It afterward became part of the Downey farm. Both of Thomas' children were born here. They later bought a farm at Tod Inlet, South Saanich. Part of this farm is now the famous Butchart Gardens. George Thomas deeded three acres of land as a school site for Mrs. Stephen Butler and with other neighbors assisted in building a house, one room of which was used as a classroom. After the public school was built on the West Road this classroom was used by Mrs. Butler as a private school for girls. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were devout Anglicans and when in North Saanich used to travel all the way to St. Stephen's Church. In those days that was quite a trip to make. They were instrumental in building St. Mary's Church at Saanichton. Mrs. Thomas canvassed Victoria to collect money for the project. Their children were Fanny Rosa (Mrs. John Thomas Harrison) and Sarah Elizabeth Agnes (Mrs. George Simpson).

DONALD McDONALD was born in Rosshire, Scotland, 1825. He emigrated to Canada in 1852 and settled in Ontario. In 1858, attracted by the tales of the goldfields, he left for British Columbia via the Panama Isthmus. He arrived in Esquimalt in the spring of 1859 and proceeded straight to the gold fields. He tried his luck for several seasons, mostly in the Williams Creek area. He nearly lost his life on one of these trips up the Fraser. He was one of the partners of the Lightning Company who took over and worked the Discovery Claim on Lightning Creek. James Hagan was another of these partners. In 1871 he journeyed back to Scotland to marry the girl he had left behind, a Miss McKenzie of Inverness. In 1872 he came back to Victoria and in the spring of 1873 went out to North Saanich and bought 370 acres of land from John (Dutchy) Smith. This land included the Resthaven Area and the All Bay Sub-Division. McDonald was a community spirited man. He was one of the committee that sponsored and built an Institute Hall. It was called the North Saanich Mechanic's Literary Institute. It really was a social club. It was in this hall that the first school classes were held. He was a trustee of the first public school in North Saanich and he remained in this office till his death.

He was a Justice of the Peace for North Saanich and a director of the North and South Saanich Agricultural Society. The 24th of May picnics were always held at the McDonald farm on Shoal Harbour. On a 41 site donated by McDonald a grist mill was erected and operated by Brackman and Milne, later Brackman-Ker. Donald McDonald died in 18 9 7 and Mrs. McDonald in 1909. They are both buried in Patricia Bay Cemetery. They raised a family of eight children,-Helen (Mrs. Argyle), Margaret ( died young) , Alexander, Anne (died young) , Janet (Mrs. E. Wilkinson), Christina (Mrs. H. Musgrave), Celina (Mrs. Rankin), and Colin. Alex became an M.L.A. for Saanich.