Famous Victorians

Some of the most famous Victorians are those who made an impact on the political and cultural landscapes of Victoria, Vancouver Island and British Columbia.

Sir James Douglas | Francis Mawson Rattenbury | Robert Dunsmuir | Emily Carr | Sir Matthew Begbie | John Sebastian Helmcken

Sir James Douglas

The Father of BC, James Douglas will long be remembered for the prominent role he played in sculpting the province of British Columbia out of a remote Hudson's Bay Company fur post on Vancouver Island and establishing what would become the City of Victoria. In May 1819, at the age of 16, Douglas came to Canada from Scotland and signed a six-year contract as an apprentice to the North West Company, which was eventually taken over by the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1830, Douglas was transferred to Fort Vancouver; it was around this time that a boundary dispute occurred between British and American interests in the area where Fort Vancouver was located. The Americans were looking to further expand their territory northward and the British government was concerned that the territory at Fort Vancouver would be lost. Crown Colony was established on Vancouver Island under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company. When the final boundary was drawn at the 49th parallel in 1843, the company created the new trading depot, named Fort Victoria for the new Queen of England. In 1849, James Douglas moved his family to Fort Victoria to assume the position of Chief Agent for the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1851, Douglas became the second governor of Vancouver Island, after Governor Richard Blanshard left the position in little over a year. Just before the Gold Rush of 1858, Douglas moved his family out of Fort Victoria and into a house on property, bought from the Company, just south of James Bay. Douglas' term of office for Vancouver Island ended in 1863, and he retired as Governor for Vancouver Island in 1864. At his retirement, James Douglas was knighted. He died in 1877 and is buried in Victoria’s Ross Bay Cemetery. Soon after Douglas passed away, the province erected a monument to his memory on the grounds of the Birdcages, the old parliament buildings he had built in 1859. Outside the present legislative buildings are two statues in his honour.

Francis Mawson Rattenbury
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Francis Rattenbury (known to his friends as "Ratz") was an architect who helped shape the landscape of Victoria and Western Canada. He designed almost every important building of his time in British Columbia including: the BC Legislature, The Fairmont Empress Hotel, Government House, courthouses in Vancouver, Nanaimo and Nelson and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Rattenbury arrived in Vancouver from Yorkshire, England in 1894, just in time to enter an architectural competition to design the new BC Legislature building. He was only twenty-five years old and had been in the country for only a couple of months, but managed to convince the judges that he was not only experienced enough to do the job, but that he was a well-established Canadian architect. He got the job and spent the next five years going over budget by 100 per cent. He would go over budget on most of the public buildings he designed, but no one seemed to mind, as they were all so spectacular. By 1923, Rattenbury was Western Canada's most sought-after architect and had designed almost the entire Inner Harbour of Victoria. Rattenbury was married for 25 years and had two grown children but, the same year, he met and fell in love with a young woman named Alma Packenham. When his wife refused to grant a divorce, Rattenbury moved Alma in downstairs, while his wife was upstairs. They played the piano and sang songs and soon his first wife admitted defeat. Rattenbury and Alma were married, but Victoria turned its back on the couple and, in 1929, Rattenbury moved Alma and their infant son, John, to England. They rented a house in Bournemouth and, in 1934, hired a local 18-year-old boy to help with the driving and general household chores. Soon the boy, George Stoner, and Alma were having an affair. In the spring of 1935, Rattenbury was murdered as he sat in his living room chair. Both Alma and George were charged with the murder; Alma was found innocent and George was found guilty. Alma committed suicide and George was later released.

Robert Dunsmuir
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Victoria coal baron Robert Dunsmuir was British Columbia's first millionaire. He was born in Scotland and came to Canada in 1850 to work in the coal mining towns of Vancouver Island, first as a miner, then as an oversman. In 1869, reportedly while on a fishing trip to Divers Lake, 44-year-old Robert Dunsmuir found an outcropping of coal which became the source of his fortune. Dunsmuir established coal mines at Wellington and in 1884 built the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E & N) Railway, which is still in operation today, to move his coal. Dunsmuir built an empire on his coal and the huge land grant he received from the Canadian government as payment for building the railway. The agreement not only gave him one-fifth of the Island, but all coal, coal oil, ores, stones, clay, marble, slates, mines and minerals in or under the land. Dunsmuir, however, acquired a reputation for ruthless labour practices, which helped to contribute to the vigorous growth of his wealth and which left thousands of his miners feeling resentful and oppressed. Robert Dunsmuir married Joanna Oliver White (or Joan, as she was known) and they had their first son, James, in July 1851. James Dunsmuir later became Premier of BC and Lieutenant-Governor of BC. Robert Dunsmuir built Craigdarroch Castle for his wife Joan, but died prematurely, on April 12, 1889 at age 64, before he could live in the stately mansion. Joan lived in the castle until her death in 1908. Craigdarroch Castle still stands in Victoria and welcomes visitors.

Carr (known as "Millie" to her family and friends) was born on December 13, 1871. The youngest of five sisters, Emily called herself "Small", although she was older than her brother. When her parents died during her early teens, Emily escaped her oldest sister's strict rule by leaving to study Art in San Francisco. She later studied in Paris and London, where she was hospitalized to relieve stress. After teaching art to children in Vancouver, she returned to Victoria in 1913. To earn money, Emily built the House of All Sorts, focusing for the next twenty years on becoming a landlady and on the breeding of dogs, only taking up painting again in later years. Emily's meeting with Canada’s famous artists, The Group of Seven, influenced her profoundly. Emily also enjoyed living with her sister Alice and taking camping trips during which she painted BC’s forests, First Nations villages and totem poles. At the age of seventy, due to failing health, Emily gave up painting and began writing. She published several books and received the Governor General's award for her book Klee Wyck. Emily Carr spent her last days at a home for the elderly and infirm, in the building which is now known as the James Bay Inn. It is here that Emily Carr died, on March second, 1945. She is buried in the Carr family plot at the Ross Bay Cemetery. Emily Carr was a warm, independent, strong, modest, and extremely creative Canadian woman. She brought Canadian art to a new height, bonded with the First Nations people of British Columbia and warmed hearts with her stories.

Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie
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Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie was British Columbia’s first judge. He spent the first 39 years of his life in Great Britain. He received his first degree from Cambridge University, where he studied Math and the Classics. After Cambridge, Begbie went on to study law and established a successful law practice in London before heading to British Columbia. It was not Begbie’s skill as a lawyer that won him the appointment as British Columbia’s first judge, but his exceptional 6’5” height and athleticism; the judge for the new colony had to be in excellent physical shape to thrive in the BC wilderness. The position also called for someone with courage and enough integrity to resist bribes; both were qualities of Begbie’s character. The new colony was in desperate need of a magistrate to maintain law and order among the American mining population, so when Begbie finally arrived in Victoria, on November 15, 1858, he was greeted with great joy. He was immediately thrown into his duties and travelled all over BC, on horseback and on foot, using his tent as his judicial chamber during the day. Despite his informal surroundings, Begbie always wore his robes and wig while holding court. During his travels, Begbie also made note of the topography, weather, agricultural potential and possible road, town and bridge sites in the areas he visited, providing valuable information to the colonial government. Begbie is known by his famous nickname,The Hanging Judge, for imposing a few death sentences during his reign. When Begbie was not travelling on his court circuit, he lived in Victoria. He was an active participant in the community, becoming the first President of the Victoria Philharmonic Society soon after his arrival. For his outstanding service to the British Crown, Queen Victoria knighted him in 1875. Begbie spent his retirement in Victoria, where he died in 1894.

John Sebastian Helmcken
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