James Island (British Columbia) - History

History

The island is within the traditional lands of the Tsawout First Nation. Although it is east of the North Saanich Douglas Treaty area and south of the Hul'q'umin'um Treaty area, it is not within a Douglas Treaty area. In the early 1900s, the island was used as a private hunting ground for Victoria sportsmen including then British Columbia Premier Richard McBride, who served between 1903 and 1915. In 1913 a dynamite plant was established on the island. The plant was owned by a company that merged into Canadian Explosives Ltd, which in turn changed its name to Canadian Industries Limited (CIL) in 1927. From the outset of World War II, the plant was operated by Defence Industries Ltd, a subsidiary of CIL. The plant, and many of its workers' cottages, had been moved to the island from Nanaimo. At its peak, the plant employed 800 people, most of whom lived in a small, traffic-free village on the opposite end of the island. During World War II, the plant produced 900 tonnes of TNT per month. The TNT plant closed in 1972, and it and the village were disassembled and removed from the island in 1979.

James Island was purchased by Craig McCaw in 1994 for $19 million. Recent luxury resort development on the island includes a golf course, yacht moorage, seaplane ramp, and an airstrip.

McCaw has reportedly established an environmental regime on James Island where insecticides are not allowed, power lines are underground and electric cars and golf carts are used for transportation. The island was the property with the highest assessed value in the Capital Regional District in 2009, at almost $76 million. In June, 2012, the island was put on the market with an asking price of $75 million and is listed by Sotheby's Specialized Assets Group in Vancouver.