Newcastle Island Pictures

[Nostradama]

Again, thanks for the pictures. In the senior crowd still surviving, there are lots of stories about parties in the old ballroom/dance hall on Newcastle. From some of them, I suspect that there are people in Nanaimo who were conceived on Newcastle but don't know it.

Question: when I was very young, we used to come to the Island to camp in Parksville every summer, not much more than a wide spot in the highway then. I remember once returning to Vancouver in a ferry, might have been the "Victoria." You boarded (with car) in the evening, had a glorious cabin, spent the night aboard, sleeping, and woke up in Vancouver. Magnificent ship. Had a central area overlooked by a mezzanine floor, and the cabins opened onto the mezzanine. Very plush, lots of red velvet, dark wood, gilt decorations. It reminded me of some movie I'd seen that featured an old Mississippi River gambling boat. Which ship do you think that might have been? Any sites I could go to that might give interior shots of ferries so I could ID which one I was aboard? I'm pretty sure we must have left from Nanaimo, since it was the closest to Parksville.

[Flugel Horn]

Question: when I was very young, we used to come to the Island to camp in Parksville every summer, not much more than a wide spot in the highway then. I remember once returning to Vancouver in a ferry, might have been the "Victoria." You boarded (with car) in the evening, had a glorious cabin, spent the night aboard, sleeping, and woke up in Vancouver. Magnificent ship. Had a central area overlooked by a mezzanine floor, and the cabins opened onto the mezzanine. Very plush, lots of red velvet, dark wood, gilt decorations. It reminded me of some movie I'd seen that featured an old Mississippi River gambling boat. Which ship do you think that might have been? Any sites I could go to that might give interior shots of ferries so I could ID which one I was aboard? I'm pretty sure we must have left from Nanaimo, since it was the closest to Parksville.

Thanks Nostra, for giving me reason to reach for 2 of my favourite books in my collection. Robert Turner is the expert and has written many fine books on BC rail and ships. My 2 books used today are "The Pacific Princesses" and "Those Beautiful Coastal Liners". Both Sono Nis Press published.

The ship that you describe would have been CP's Princess Victoria. Her life-extension refit was in 1929, which modified her for use as a car-ferry. She ran until retired in 1950.

Robert Turner's books says that the Princess Victoria provided summer overflow capacity on the Vancouver-Nanaimo run in the years leading up to 1950, which likely fits into your personal timeline..

Here are some pictures, photographed by me at some books lying on my den floor:

The Victoria in her original configuration, pre 1929.



The Victoria, post-1929, in the configuration that you'd remember:



A stateroom on the Princess Victoria:



And the central area overlooked by a mezzanine floor, that you've described:

[Flugel Horn]

I visited Kanaka Bay, on a sunny Saturday June 5, 2010, while on a day-hike with Mrs. Horn. We approached from the south, on the Shoreline trail. Just before the bay, we took a side-trip to see the air-shaft, located on the Mallard Lake trail.

Kanaka Bay seemed aptly named on Saturday, with the sunny skies making me think that perhaps we were in Polynesia.
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Approaching from the south, we get a glimpse of the far edge of Kanaka Bay:







Then it's back to the trail through the woods.:

- take a look at that fungi



- that's a large tree !




- the side-trip to the air-shaft yields this sight. No explanatory plaque, just the rusted cylinder.



Then we get to the centre of the bay, and I can see the ferry Coastal Renaissance in the distance, making her way past Snake Island towards Horseshoe Bay.




Coastal RaisenSauce likes to do a disappearing act when she passes Snake Island...


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At the beach entrance is a plaque explaining the origin of the bay's name, and Peter's story.



- and there's a nice bench beside the trail, to sit and enjoy the great view.



...but it's even better to climb over the logs and walk on the beach itself (see next post).

[Flugel Horn]

More photos of Kanaka Bay, from June 5, 2010:


The north side of the bay:



The south side of the bay:



The Pano-stitch of the entire bay:




Here is the S.S. RiverRat, an ocean-going vessel that's moored on the beach.




- and here's the "camera low to the ground" shot

[Nostradama]

That has to be it. Looking at the interior through adult eyes is strange, 'tho. It's like going back to a house that you lived in as a child and discovering that it's not half as big as you thought it was. That happened when I went to Prince George and saw the house we'd lived in when I was a kid. So small in comparison to what I remembered! If I were to draw a picture of the way I remember the boat, the interior would have been much bigger.

[Flugel Horn]

I will piggy-back my Giovando Lookout pictures onto this old thread of RiverRat's, because the location is in relatively close proximity to the NorthEast lookout. My photos are from a June 5, 2010 day-trip hike around the island.

Giovando Lookout is further north along the island, maybe another 30 minutes of walking. It is near the entrance to Departure Bay, and so the views north are to Stephenson Point, Jesse Island, the 5-Fingers, etc.

Here's a peek of the area, maybe 10 minutes south of Giovando lookout:



Here's the turn-off to the short path down to Giovando lookout:



- The lookout has a shelter with benches, with a great view





- Here's the plaque for the late Dr. Giovando. He's someone that many people in Nanaimo remember.



- the views are pretty awesome.







And of course the entrance to Departure Bay is a spectacular place to ship-spot. Here's the Queen of Oak Bay heading into Departure Bay.

[Flugel Horn]

Photos from my June 5, 2010 day-trip hike around Newcastle Island.

This is indeed a beautiful part of the island. Nice pebble beach with a view across to the Departure Bay ferry terminal.











A view down to Newcastle Passage.



- A lightened close-up of the beach below




Trail steps made from stone...



And here are some big stones !





Coming to the scene of the mine shaft. The concrete blocks are under those trees.






- I'm not sure what these concrete tracks are for. But I tripped over one, just after taking a photo of it.

[Flugel Horn]

Here are some pictures from a June 5, 2010 day-hike around Newcastle Island.


Looking at Newcastle Passage, from the bench at Shaft Point.



Looking south down Newcastle Passage, from Shaft Point.




Looking at Midden Bay, and the grassy area to the north of it.

[Flugel Horn]

Photos of Brownie Bay area, taken June 5, 2010:


- on the way to Brownie Bay, looking back at the gap and the Nanaimo waterfront.



Looking ahead at the Bay-Bridge.


Brownie Bay Beach at low tide.






Looking back at Brownie Bay






Just past Brownie Bay, the Garry Oaks frame a nice scene:



Looking out towards Harmac:




A citizen of Brownie Bay.

[Flugel Horn]

Bate Point is at the south end of Newcastle, on the tip closest to Nanaimo's Maffeo-Sutton Park.

It is named for Mark Bate, Nanaimo's first Mayor:

(this bust is located on the Nanaimo waterfront, not on Newcastle)


You'd think that the Park would be able to spell his name correctly. I guess not...

- I was tempted to deface the sign by adding an apostrophe, so that it would at least make some sense...but no.


View towards Bate Point, from the Dinghy Dock Pub




By land, you can approach Bate Point from 2 directions: southward along the shoreline trail (as I am, in this picture), or from a branch off the Mallard Lake trail, shortly after leaving the camping area that's located behind the Pavilion.



The point has some nice Garry Oak trees, and then a grassy end to the land, which then becomes rocks out into the harbour.






On the west-side of the point, is a nice cove formed by the rocks. A kayaker is enjoying this sheltered spot.




Standing on the point area, looking north, there is a bay separating the point from the main touristy areas by the pavilion. It's Mark Bay, named for the same Mark Bate.



To Echo what I said above, this is the start of Mark Bay.




Once you hike around the head of Mark Bay, you then make a short climb up the Mallard Lake trail, and are soon walking past the campsites, on your way to the Pavilion area.