Princess Louisa Inlet - History

History

In June 1792 George Vancouver, charting the BC Coast in a search for the Northwest Passage, explored Jervis Inlet to its end and apparently found the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet but did not enter as the tide was ebbing through Malibu Rapids at the time. In 1860 Captain George Richards surveyed and mapped Jervis and Princess Louisa Inlets naming it and surrounding features. In the same year Commander Richard Charles Mayne explored the valley at the head of the inlet hoping that it would lead to the interior of British Columbia.

James F. "Mac" MacDonald purchased the core of the park, 45 acres (18 ha), in 1919 and donated it to the Princess Louisa International Society in 1953. It was acquired by BC Parks in 1964. Much of the remaining land surrounding the inlet has been acquired and added to the park in following years. Hamilton Island, renamed MacDonald Island, is now a part of the park as well.

In 1940 Herman Caspar, who was rumored to have homesteaded at the entrance of the inlet, sold the land to Thomas F. Hamilton for $500. Casper was actually a squatter and had no legal right to the land. Hamilton, an American aviation executive, did buy all the land surrounding Princess Louisa Inlet with the intent on developing it with a series of themed luxury resorts to cater to visiting yachtsmen and Hollywood celebrities. However, only one resort was built at the entrance of the inlet, the Malibu Club which was named after Hamilton's yacht the Malibu. In 1950, the resort was closed and abandoned due to a polio outbreak and quarantine. The property was later sold to Young Life in 1953 and has successfully operated it as a non-denominational Christian summer camp for teenagers.