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Long before the European explorers arrived, these islands were home to
the Coast Salish, who occupied choice areas in the islands at least 5000
years ago and whose evidence is traced throughout middens, petroglyphs
and relics found at multiple Gulf Island sites. The fine white shell
beaches the islands are famous for are often all that remains of these
First Nations settlements.
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Many of the islands, their waterways, bays and harbours now carry the
names of the Spanish and English explorers who arrived in the 18th
century: Narvaez Bay, Vesuvius Bay and Galiano, Valdes, and Mayne Islands.
The ships that brought later explorers in the 19th century also live on
in their namesakes: Plumper Sound, the Salt Spring town of Ganges,
Satellite and Trincomali Channels, to name a few.
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In the mid 1850s, gold fever catapulted Miners Bay on Mayne Island
into an active port and one of the first Crown colonies. Gold seekers
from Vancouver Island and the United States passed eagerly through Active Pass on
their way to seek Fraser River Gold, thus establishing Miners Bay as
one of the first Southern Gulf Islands settlements. A few years later,
Salt Spring Island was settled by Australians, British and African Americans escaping slavery in the United States. Fruit orchards soon followed, and for many
years the produce from Gulf Islands orchards was highly prized and
profitable. Abandoned orchards can still be found on many of the
islands today.
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Schools opened, other islands were settled, and farming
and trading began in earnest. With the boundary finally settled between
the United States and Canada in 1872, the Gulf Islands were now officially part of Canada
and the San Juan Islands part of the United States. The era of smuggling began. But that's another story. Every Gulf Island, no matter how small, has its
own fascinating and varied tales. |
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