It is commonly said that, in British Columbia, gold was first discovered
somewhere on the Fraser River in the spring of 1858, as the California
gold rush was slowing down. News quickly spread to San Francisco later
that summer, as if by accident, and the ensuing gold rush saw nearly
thirty thousand international treasure-seekers flood into the Hudson’s
Bay Company-held lands north of Oregon, laying the foundation for what
would eventually become the sixth Province of Canada. It’s the story of
British Columbia…but it isn’t entirely true.
In 1858, British Columbia, formally known as New Caledonia appointed its
first governor, was officially declared a crown colony of England and
given a new name. The news of gold on the Fraser, however, was old hat
to many by then.
Gold had been found on the Thompson River in 1856 and, as early as 1852,
Ferdinand Boulanger was swapping samples of “yellow sand” with members
of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) First Nations near Fort Kamloops.
The Shuswap in turn showed their findings to Donald McLean, the Hudson’s
Bay Company (HBC) factor (mercantile agent) at Fort Kamloops, who kept
news of these discoveries close to his chest while quietly sending word
about the gold findings to Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island.
James Douglas, the Chief Factor at Fort Victoria, knew if McLean’s early
reports were true, there would be a lot of gold found on the Thompson, a
major tributary of the Fraser River. Douglas also realized that a gold
rush to the mainland was inevitable, and his HBC territories would need
to have some semblance of proper colonial infrastructure ready in order
to survive the onslaught.
So, from 1852 to 1858, news of any gold discoveries on the Thompson and
Fraser Rivers was kept quiet, while the HBC negotiated with Britain over
the fate of New Caledonia. When word eventually did reach California,
they would be ready.
On April 25, 1858, four hundred San Francisco miners disembarked at
Esquimalt harbor, instantly doubling the population of Fort Victoria and
testing Douglas’s colonial plan to its limits. As boatloads of miners
followed, the true significance of the unfolding events was revealed.
By the end of that summer, nearly 23,000 passengers had landed on
Vancouver Island and headed to the mainland. Another 7,000 miners had
scrambled overland through Fort Kamloops in hopes of striking it rich.
Ready or not, the Fraser River Gold Rush was on…and the Colony of
British Columbia was born.
Next issue:
from Fraser Canyon to Cariboo – exciting tales of golden
trails.
James Douglas is Manager of Visitor Experiences and Public Relations at
Barkerville Historic Town. For info visit
www.barkerville.ca.
