This is not just any piece of real estate; it’s an extraordinary place. Its geography alone makes it special. This corner of the Central Coast is a labyrinth of land and sea. Its complex coastline was carved by cycles of glaciation. All the involution, complexity, shelter, and ample nearshore foster incredible biodiversity and bounty, making it a natural place for humans to settle.
In fact, human settlement dates back well over ten thousand years—at least to the end of the last ice age. We’ve even seen 13,000-year-old human footprints on the island.
Moving ahead to five thousand years ago, Kwakshua Channel was an industrial-scale shellfish aquaculture site with extensive clam gardens and a processing area not far from where the Hakai Institute facilities sit today. We see evidence of this in the enormous shell midden on the Pruth Bay shore. There would have been drying racks and people undertaking activities that served local needs and provided goods for trade with other communities and nations.
For thousands of years, the region attracted settlers and visitors, and was the setting for gatherings hosted for all sorts of reasons.
But this is a dynamic landscape with many natural hazards. The low-lying land between West Beach and Pruth Bay was repeatedly swept by tsunamis, most recently in January 1700. Therefore, villages were in the sheltered inlets along the Kwakshua Channel and elsewhere.
Captain George Vancouver visited in 1792 and celebrated the island’s natural harbor.
From First Nations’ oral history, we know that around this time, there was a settlement known as Lúxvbálís, probably in the Kwakshua Channel—although the exact location is unknown.
Lúxvbálís was devastated by the smallpox epidemic of 1862. Any survivors took refuge farther north, near Bella Bella. That year, Pruth Bay was a place where the dead had to be abandoned by parties heading northward; many souls from many nations were never properly mourned.
So, in short, this is a place with a complicated past. A very important place.
After the First World War, the region was surveyed by the government. In 1925, the surveyor, Jim Underhill, talked friends into buying the large tract of land occupied by the Hakai Institute today. Underhill hoped the land would eventually be set aside as a park. For the next 40 years, it was a place of gathering and recreation, particularly for workers from the nearby towns of Namu and Ocean Falls, the fishing fleet, and anyone traveling the Inside Passage.
But the land never became a park. By the end of the 1960s, Underhill and his friends had died, and the land passed into other hands. It was first developed as a logging operation, and then, in 1993, as the Hakai Beach Resort.
From the outset, the Hakai Beach Resort created friction—with BC Parks, the neighboring First Nations, and members of the public who wanted access to the shoreline, beaches, and trails.
We purchased the Hakai Beach Resort in 2009 for two reasons. First, we wanted to restore the site to the public domain, open it to visitors, and reduce friction with the key partners. Second, we hoped the site could become a place for science, education, leadership, and culture to intersect.
We’ve exceeded our expectations on both fronts. We’re thrilled with our great relationship with BC Parks and neighboring First Nations. A visit from school kids or Guardian Watchmen from Heiltsuk or Wuikinuxv communities is always a highlight.
We are now looking ahead, hoping the work we have done in the past fifteen years can be of lasting value. The land being transferred today is an important step in that direction. Visitors will see no change but can be assured that the future of these two parcels is secured for everyone to enjoy.
One critical issue is the future of the main parcel of land and the Hakai Institute facilities on Calvert Island. We look forward to active discussion about that future with all interested parties and all levels of government, including First Nations.
