About VHS Presentations
Presentations will take place on the fourth Thursday of each month (September – May). Entry is free for VHS members and $5 for non-members. Membership forms will be available for those that wish to join the Victoria Historical Society.
March 27, 2025
Dragged from the Surf: Shipwrecks and Rescues on Vancouver Island’s Indigenous Shores, 1859-1906
Jesse Robertson
Location: James Bay New Horizons Centre, 7:30pm
In 1877, the Member of Parliament for Victoria raised a motion to establish lifesaving stations “to succour shipwrecked mariners” and protect them from “murderous attacks” on the Pacific coast. Stories of Indigenous “murder” and “plunder” continued to circulate long after their actual occurrence, but the reality quite different by the late nineteenth century. In fact, Indigenous seafarers were the colonial castaway’s best hope. In the absence of an organized coast guard, Canadian officials relied on Indigenous rescuers to drag mariners from the surf in what became known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” This presentation examines the history of shipwrecks on Vancouver Island, showing how Indigenous first responders saved lives and reaffirmed ancient “drift rights” when sailors washed ashore and local communities were called to their aid.
Jesse Robertson is a historical consultant and PhD candidate at the University of Victoria. His dissertation examines histories of marine navigation and colonialism in the Pacific Northwest, showing how voyages of exploration, marine charts, and lighthouses transformed the coast by permitting newcomers to transit its waves without Indigenous consent or assistance.
April 24, 2025
A Victoria Hospital Goes to War — Canadian General Hospital No. 5
Yvonne Van Ruskenveld
Location: James Bay New Horizons Centre, 7:30pm
When World War I began in 1914, the Canadian Army Medical Corps had just 127 members, including doctors, nursing sisters and non-commissioned personnel. From 1914 through 1918, it expanded dramatically—over half of Canadian doctors served overseas in the CAMC. This talk will focus on the experiences of one group of Canadians who served in an active war zone far from the Western Front. It will describe how Canadian General Hospital No. 5 was “raised” in Victoria in 1915 and followed a trajectory shared by few other Canadian medical facilities in the Great War.
Yvonne Van Ruskenveld is a long-time member and current president of the Old Cemeteries Society, leading cemetery walking tours on a wide range of topics, including women’s history, gold rushes, symbolism, and epitaphs, among others. As a member of the World War I historical organization, the Western Front Association—Pacific Coast Branch, she has given many presentations on various aspects of military history, including military nurses, animals, balloonists and Canadian General Hospital No. 5. She is also a member of the Victoria Historical Society and the Victoria Genealogical Society.
May 22, 2025
Victoria’s Lesser-Known “Firsts”
May Q. Wong
Location: James Bay New Horizons Centre, 7:30pm
May Q. Wong will be sharing stories from her book City in Colour: Rediscovered Stories of Victoria’s Multicultural Past (TouchWood Editions, 2018).
She is also the author of A Cowherd in Paradise: From China to Canada (Brindle&Glass, 2012). The memoir explores the lives of a family impacted by Canada’s immigration laws against the Chinese. Her father paid the $500 head tax to enter Canada. The Chinese Exclusion Act forced her parents to live apart for the first 25 years of their over 50-year marriage.
With degrees from McGill University and the University of Victoria, her career in the British Columbia Public Service centred on improving the lives of those in need. She received the Canada 125 Medal for her volunteer contributions at the local, provincial, and national levels. In addition to chronicling the lives of “ordinary people,” May was a Mentor for Diaspora Dialogues, has written for The British Columbia Review, and has been filmed in 3 documentaries. May creates through knitting, painting, cooking, and sewing. She holds a 2nd degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate.
This presentation is about some lesser-known pioneers of Victoria.
