The base map is a zoning map produced by the Regional District of Comox-
Strathcona for the Cortes Island Land Use Project (Aug 1969). Edwards used
coloured pencil to show land and foreshore zones, and transferred information
about early preemptions and old roads and trails from an earlier map (see
Donald Palmer fonds, 2020.002.011, map of Cortes Island, Sayward District, ca.
1915).
The base map is a zoning map produced by the Regional District of Comox-
Strathcona for the Cortes Island Land Use Project (Aug 1969). Edwards used
coloured pencil to show land and foreshore zones, and transferred information
about early preemptions and old roads and trails from an earlier map (see
Donald Palmer fonds, 2020.002.011, map of Cortes Island, Sayward District, ca.
1915).
Two men standing beside a car in the valley at Knight Inlet. Logging camp buildings may be seen in the background. This is a near-duplicate of 1999.001.1053.
One of a series of photographs taken at Clarence and Doug Boardman's Dot Logging Co. camp in Knight Inlet.
2 photograph prints: b&w ; 18 x 12 cm & 21.5 x 16.5
Scope and Content
Two men standing beside a car in the valley at Knight Inlet. Logging camp buildings may be seen in the background. This is a near-duplicate of 1999.001.1053.
One of a series of photographs taken at Clarence and Doug Boardman's Dot Logging Co. camp in Knight Inlet.
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.
Fonds comprises material created or collected by Wilfred (Wilf) Freeman in the course of his work as a logger and during his community activities. It includes correspondence, logging records, maps, minutes of committee meetings, financial records, ephemera and clippings. It is arranged in four series: Logging; Centennial Committee; Ephemera; and Cortez Grapevine Telephone Association.
Wilfred (Wilf) Michael Freeman was born October 21, 1917 in Vancouver B.C. and died December 23, 2012. He was the son of William George Freeman and Robina Steel (Manson) Freeman and brother to Elizabeth Jane May (Freeman) Ellingsen (born March 13, 1914). His grandparents were Michael and Jane Manson. Wilf grew up on Hernando Island until 1926 when the family moved to Vancouver. One of his first jobs in the early 1930s was in Powell River where, among other things, he was hand digging basements under some of the original Powell River townsite homes.
He gravitated to the logging industry, working for Sigurd Ellingsen and Eric Flescher in Phillips Arm through the late ’30’s and into the 1950’s. He was an excellent worker; strong, resourceful, thoughtful, humorous and thorough, and, as well, he enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Wilf and his wife, May (Spence; died 1970) moved down to Smelt Bay on Cortes in the early 1950s from Phillips Arm. He logged with Bill Mathews between 1954 and 1965 in the Von Donop Creek areas. As well, they both crewed on the seine boat “Courtenay Maid” with Pat Andrews for a few summers.
When the ferry came to Cortes Island, both Wilf and Bill worked as deckhands, always cheerful and busy throughout the trips, often chipping and repainting rust spots on the ship.
Wilf was active in many community affairs over all the years living on Cortes: among them the Ratepayers Association, the 1958 Centennial Committee, the Cortes Grapevine Telephone Assoc. (a local telephone system, 1959 - 1966), Cortes Days summer celebrations, Cortes Island Firefighters Assoc., Cortes Rod and Gun Club.
Wilf and his second wife, Nora, lived on in Smelt Bay until they moved to Willow Point, South of Campbell River, in 2002. There they lived until, on December 23, 2102, he passed away while shovelling snow in their back yard.
Custodial History
Accession 2001.001 was donated to CIMAS by Wilfred Freeman on June 16, 2001. Accession 2002.002 was gathered at Wilf Freeman's garage sale by Bonnie MacDonald and donated to the museum in June of 2002. Accession 2017.006 was donated to CIMAS by Bruce Ellingsen, Freeman's nephew, in July of 2017.
Scope and Content
Fonds comprises material created or collected by Wilfred (Wilf) Freeman in the course of his work as a logger and during his community activities. It includes correspondence, logging records, maps, minutes of committee meetings, financial records, ephemera and clippings. It is arranged in four series: Logging; Centennial Committee; Ephemera; and Cortez Grapevine Telephone Association.
Fonds consists of materials created or collected by Directors of Cortes Electoral Area during their terms of office. Because outgoing Directors may turn their current files over to their successors, the papers of one Director may contain materials generated during a previous term.
Fonds includes minutes of Cortes Advisory Planning Commission meetings; minutes of Regional Board and committee meetings with related background material; records of public hearings; correspondence; community plans and by-laws with associated planning material; licenses for the use of foreshore and crown land; and materials relating to island issues such as parks, aquaculture, forestry, garbage disposal, recycling and water quality.
Fonds is arranged into sous-fonds based on accession of records and contains four sous-fonds: Linda Gagnon, Regional Director; Ralph Nursall, Regional Director; George Sirk, Regional Director; and Jeanette Hiebert, Regional Director.
The Regional Director of Electoral Area I (Cortes Island) was the elected representative to the Regional District of Comox-Strathcona (RDCS), one of 28 regional districts in British Columbia. The RDCS covered an area of North Vancouver Island and surrounding islands which included the municipalities of Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay, Cumberland, Gold River, Sayward, Tahsis and Zeballos, and 10 rural Electoral Areas. Initially enabled by the Municipal Act of 1965, Regional Districts act as a regional government over issues affecting their entire region. In the absence of incorporated municipalities, they function as the "local" government for rural areas by providing planning and land use regulations, and facilitating the delivery of services such as garbage disposal, fire protection and house numbering. Cortes Island was designated Electoral Area I when the RDCS was formed in 1968, and was the smallest electoral area in both population and size. In 2008 the RDCS was split, and Cortes Island became Area B in the newly-formed Strathcona Regional District.
Cortes was represented on the RDCS by one Director, elected for a three year term, who appointed an Alternate Director and an Advisory Planning Commission (APC). From 1968 until 1984, the Cortes Island APC was formed by the elected executive of the Cortes Island Ratepayers Association. The first Director of Area I was George Griffin (1968-1973), followed by Gilean Douglas (1973-1978), Irv Reedel (1978-1981), David Hansen (1981-1984), Bruce Ellingsen (1984-1987), Linda Gagnon (1987-1990), Ralph Nursall (1990-1996), George Sirk (1996-2005) and Jeanette (Jenny) Hiebert (2005-2008).
Custodial History
Material in the Linda Gagnon, Regional Director sous-fonds (Accession 2002.001) was passed on to her successor, Ralph Nursall, at the end of her term. It was donated to CIMAS in 2002 by Ralph Nursall. Material in the Ralph Nursall, Regional Director sous-fonds (Accession 2003.001) was donated to CIMAS by Nursall in 2003 and in 2008 (Accession 2008.001). Material in the George Sirk, Regional Director sous-fonds (Accession 2004.004) was donated to CIMAS by Sirk in 2004. Material in the Jeanette Hiebert Regional Director sous-fonds (Accession 2019.015) was donated to CIMAS by Hiebert in 2019.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of materials created or collected by Directors of Cortes Electoral Area during their terms of office. Because outgoing Directors may turn their current files over to their successors, the papers of one Director may contain materials generated during a previous term.
Fonds includes minutes of Cortes Advisory Planning Commission meetings; minutes of Regional Board and committee meetings with related background material; records of public hearings; correspondence; community plans and by-laws with associated planning material; licenses for the use of foreshore and crown land; and materials relating to island issues such as parks, aquaculture, forestry, garbage disposal, recycling and water quality.
Fonds is arranged into sous-fonds based on accession of records and contains four sous-fonds: Linda Gagnon, Regional Director; Ralph Nursall, Regional Director; George Sirk, Regional Director; and Jeanette Hiebert, Regional Director.
The Gilean Douglas fonds contains records from Douglas's term as Regional Director (1973 to 1978). The Cortes Island Ratepayers Association fonds contains material relating to Cortes' incorporation into the Regional District, and minutes, correspondence and other materials from the APC (1968-1984).
File contains Plan Map Schedule A-1, Development Proposal Referral forms about changing the zoning bylaw designations to reflect the Official Community Plan of 1995, the agenda for an APC meeting and photocopies of FOCI/CIFC maps of Cortes Island land tenure.
File contains Plan Map Schedule A-1, Development Proposal Referral forms about changing the zoning bylaw designations to reflect the Official Community Plan of 1995, the agenda for an APC meeting and photocopies of FOCI/CIFC maps of Cortes Island land tenure.
