Fonds consists of the records of the Cortes Island Ratepayers Association, an organization of the property owners and residents of Cortes Island from 1963 to 1984. They include administrative documents such as the constitution and membership lists, minutes of CIRA meetings, annual reports, newsletters to members, correspondence and materials related to the provision of services, land use planning and other issues of island concern.
The fonds is composed of the following series: Administrative Documents; Minutes; Financial; Newsletters and Notices; Correspondence; Subject; Community Planning and Land Use (Advisory Planning Commission); Clippings; and Maps and Plans.
The Cortes Island Ratepayers Association (CIRA) was an association of property owners and residents formed in 1963 to "further the development of the island and to have a representative body in dealing with the Provincial government."
The first activity initiated by CIRA was to lobby the provincial government for the provision of electricity and ferry service to Cortes Island. Their efforts met with success. Electricity was brought to the island in 1970 and ferry service from Quadra Island to Cortes Island began in 1969. CIRA also became an important forum for the discussion of other important services on Cortes Island, including roads, fire protection, garbage disposal, water quality, rural mail delivery and library facilities.
As a result of CIRA's efforts to bring electricity to Cortes Island, in 1967 the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Dan Campbell, designated Cortes Island a Local Improvement District. This made Cortes Island into a legal entity for the purpose of negotiating with the province for electrical power. In that same year, Minister Campbell invited CIRA to participate in discussions and committee work on the formation of a regional district level of government.
In 1968, Cortes Island was designated 'Electoral Area I' in the Regional District of Comox-Strathcona (RDCS) with an elected director. Under this system, a Regional Director is elected who in turn sits on the Board of the RDCS. Each Regional Director appoints an Advisory Planning Commission (APC), a committee of island residents who advise the Director on matters of island concern. In 1968, CIRA determined that the elected members of the executive of CIRA would form the APC for Cortes Island. This arrangement lasted until the dissolution of CIRA in 1984. The first zoning by-law was completed in 1970 and an Official Settlement Plan and zoning by-law in 1979.
In 1982, CIRA initiated a court case against Raven Lumber for non-compliance with the Cortes Island Official Settlement Plan and zoning by-law. CIRA won the case upon appeal, but in 1984 an Order in Council allowed Raven Lumber to proceed with their development. The court case had absorbed a great deal of CIRA energy and fund raising effort over a four year period. At the General Meeting in November, 1984 there were no candidates willing to stand for the executive. CIRA was declared inactive at that meeting and was never reactivated.
Custodial History
During the term of the last president of CIRA, the records were kept in the Gorge Harbour Community Hall on Cortes Island. After the dissolution of the CIRA in 1984, the records continued to be stored in the hall. The records were transferred to the Cortes Island Museum and Archives by the Whaletown Community Club (owner of the hall) in 2000.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the records of the Cortes Island Ratepayers Association, an organization of the property owners and residents of Cortes Island from 1963 to 1984. They include administrative documents such as the constitution and membership lists, minutes of CIRA meetings, annual reports, newsletters to members, correspondence and materials related to the provision of services, land use planning and other issues of island concern.
The fonds is composed of the following series: Administrative Documents; Minutes; Financial; Newsletters and Notices; Correspondence; Subject; Community Planning and Land Use (Advisory Planning Commission); Clippings; and Maps and Plans.
Regional Director of Electoral Area I (Cortes Island) fonds
Gilean Douglas fonds
Finding Aid
File list available
Arrangement
Materials were received in their original file folders, however the files were not in any discernible order. In the absence of original order, materials were arranged by function and subject at the series level and chronologically within series.
Photograph of four boys including Harry, Jack and Bill Huck. They are barefoot and in overalls, playing with home-made bows and arrows, in front of the unfinished log Huck house at Hell's Half Acre. Dated to 1916 by Doreen Huck.
Photograph of four boys including Harry, Jack and Bill Huck. They are barefoot and in overalls, playing with home-made bows and arrows, in front of the unfinished log Huck house at Hell's Half Acre. Dated to 1916 by Doreen Huck.
Photograph of five young women seated in a dugout canoe on the big lake in Green Valley. Identified by Doreen Thompson as Pete (Margaret) Middleton of Braeside, Meg Robertson of Burnside, Dorothy Huck from Hell's Half Acre and Gladys Merrick.
Photograph of five young women seated in a dugout canoe on the big lake in Green Valley. Identified by Doreen Thompson as Pete (Margaret) Middleton of Braeside, Meg Robertson of Burnside, Dorothy Huck from Hell's Half Acre and Gladys Merrick.
Photograph of Dorothy Huck holding an infant, Mary Agnes Tait, at the Tait's home in Green Valle; Billy Tait is in the background. There is no caption for this photograph; identification is from Doreen Thompson in the Green Valley album.
Photograph of Dorothy Huck holding an infant, Mary Agnes Tait, at the Tait's home in Green Valle; Billy Tait is in the background. There is no caption for this photograph; identification is from Doreen Thompson in the Green Valley album.
Photograph of two children on a donkey. In the background a vegetable garden, picket fence and buildings at Braeside can be seen. (See also #2001.001.161, #2001.001.173 & #2001.001.174. Identifications by Doreen Thompson.)
Photograph of two children on a donkey. In the background a vegetable garden, picket fence and buildings at Braeside can be seen. (See also #2001.001.161, #2001.001.173 & #2001.001.174. Identifications by Doreen Thompson.)
Photograph of (L to R) Dorothy Huck, Helen Starr, Dorothy Robertson, Margaret Huck, Billy Huck and Violet Stoney on a woooden dock in Delight Lake (the small lake in Green Valley). Last names identified by Doreen Thompson.
Photograph of (L to R) Dorothy Huck, Helen Starr, Dorothy Robertson, Margaret Huck, Billy Huck and Violet Stoney on a woooden dock in Delight Lake (the small lake in Green Valley). Last names identified by Doreen Thompson.
