Bowen Island

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For the island in Jervis Bay Territory on the southeast coast of Australia, see Bowen Island (Australia).

Bowen Island, British Columbia, is an island municipality in Howe Sound, and within Metro Vancouver. Approximately 6 kilometres wide by 12 km long, the island sits about 6 km west of the mainland, with regular ferry service from West Vancouver. There were 3,362 permanent residents as of the Canada 2006 Census, a number that is supplemented in the summer by roughly 1,500 visitors, as Bowen Island is a popular vacation home location for British Columbians. About 500 workers and over 200 students commute to offices and schools on the mainland each day. The island has a land area of 49.94 km² (19.28 sq mi).

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[edit] Indigenous History

Bowen Island and BC Ferry, viewed looking southwest from the Cypress Mountain ski area. Georgia Strait and Vancouver Island visible in the background, Keats Island the Sunshine Coast to the right.
Bowen Island and BC Ferry, viewed looking southwest from the Cypress Mountain ski area. Georgia Strait and Vancouver Island visible in the background, Keats Island the Sunshine Coast to the right.

The history of the Indigenous peoples come from the Sḵwxwú7mesh (or Squamish). In their history, they have lived in this territory from time immemorial. They have histories of different parts of the Howe Sound, including Bowen Island. The Sḵwxwú7mesh used the present village site of Snug Cove and many other parts of the island as a temporary camp. Traditionally they had many other temporary spots along their territorial lands as they were semi-nomadic. The Sḵwxwú7mesh name for Snug Cove is Xwilil Xhwm, which means "Cove". Reference to the Sḵwxwú7mesh story of how the black-tailed deer were created on Bowen Island exists but the source is unconfirmed.

Into the 20th century Bowen Island was actively used by Sḵwxwú7mesh people for deer and duck hunting, fishing and, later, jobs. In conversations with Vancouver archivist Major Matthews in the 1950s, August Jack Khatsahlano recalls knowing several Sḵwxwú7mesh who worked for whalers on the island at the turn of the 20th century. In a conversation with City of Vancouver archivist JA Matthews, Khatsahlano himself recalls deer hunting on Bowen saying that at one time he took the biggest deer in British Columbia from the island, weighing in at 195 pounds.

The strip of land between Bowen and Finisterre Islands has a name that translates to "Fast Drumming Ground". The tide rushing in and out is reminiscent of the sound of drums beating fast. The name "kwemshem" is used for Hood Point.

The island lies within the traditional territories of the Sḵwxwú7mesh, and through the Indian Act government, the Squamish Nation, has shown in the Squamish statement of intent submitted to the British Columbia Treaty Commission. Although the Squamish Nation has dropped out of Treaty negotiations. Bowen is still used by people from Sḵwxwú7mesh and Musqueam for deer hunting.

[edit] Post-colonization

When Spanish explorers arrived on the west coast of Canada, they named many of the features of what is now the Strait of Georgia. Bowen Island was called Isla de Apodaca by the Spanish Captain Narvaez in July, 1791. Later the island was renamed by Cpt. George Henry Richards in 1860, who named it after Rear Admiral James Bowen.

Bowen remained a wilderness until the 1870s when homesteaders built houses and started a brickworks, which supplied bricks to the expanding city of Vancouver. Over the years, local industry has included an explosives factory, logging, mining, and milling, although there is no heavy industry on the island at present.

In the first half of the 20th century, life on Bowen was dominated by the Union Steamship Company that operated a very busy resort at Snug Cove. The resort closed in the 1960s and the island returned to a quiet period of slow growth. In the 1980s, real estate pressures in Vancouver accelerated growth on Bowen and currently the local economy is largely dependent on commuters who work on the mainland in Greater Vancouver.

In 1999 the Bowen Island Municipality was incorporated, becoming the second 'island municipality' in BC. The first was Saltspring Island which was incorporated in 1873 and dissolved by the BC legislature 10 years later.

[edit] The Island today

[edit] Commerce

The Island has several small businesses and a Chamber of Commerce.[1] In June 2007, First Credit Union, a full-service bank, opened its doors in Snug Cove. There is also a North Shore Credit Union automated banking machine that provides cash withdrawals. There is no supermarket, but groceries are available at a general store and a health food store, the Ruddy Potato, as well as a handful of smaller outlets. Shops are concentrated around Snug Cove and, further into the island, Artisan Square. There are also several good restaurants, including The Galley, Blue Eyed Mary's, and the Tuscany. Bowen Island has a high proportion of artists and artisans, and the Bowen Island Pub on Trunk Road regularly features live music.[1] There is also a 2,746 metre (3,003 yard) 130 Slope rated 9-hole golf course.[2]

[edit] Education

The Island has an elementary school called Bowen Island Community School, a Montessori daycare / preschool / Kindergarten [2] and the private Island Pacific School, a middle school. There is a public supported homelearning program which provides classroom and teacher support to homelearning families. A small number of families also unschool. Students travel to West Vancouver on the mainland for high school.

[edit] Culture

Particularly for a small community, Bowen Island has an extensive cultural life. Notably, Bowen Island boasts four different choral ensembles; an extensive Theatre School for children; and a public Gallery which showcases local artists.


[edit] Recreation

Bowen has a long history as a day-trip destination from Vancouver. Today, the island offers a number of popular swimming beaches, including Sandy Beach, Tunstall Bay, and Bowen Bay. There is a kayak rental operation in Snug Cove. A popular hike leads from the ferry dock to Killarney Lake, and from there up Mount Gardner, the island's highest point.

[edit] Churches and other religious communities

Bowen Island United Church, c. 1971
Bowen Island United Church, c. 1971

There are four permanent churches on the Island. St Gerard's Catholic Church is located on Miller Road.[3] The United Church is situated in a timber building erected in 1932 a little further along on the same road.[4] Further still along Miller Road, nearer to Snug Cove, and meeting in Bowen Court, is Bowen Island Community Church,[5], an affiliate of the Congregational Christian Churches in Canada. Lastly, Cates Hill Chapel is a Christian Brethren church founded in 1991. Its present building was opened in 1999.[6] There are also regular meetings held by Unitarians and Quakers.

There are regular Buddhist meditation sittings in both the Zen and Vipassana traditions. Bowen's small Jewish community celebrates Shabbat and high holidays, and acquired a Torah in 2006.

[edit] Bowen Island on Film

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hill Strategies Research. Artists in Small and Rural Municipalities in Canada.
  2. ^ Bowen Island Golf Course. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] Surrounding Municipalities

Sunshine Coast
(via ferry from West Vancouver)		 Howe Sound North Shore Mountains
Lions Bay small>(via West Vancouver)
v • d • e
 
Howe Sound North West Vancouver
(ferry to Horseshoe Bay)
West   Bowen Island    East
South
Strait of Georgia Strait of Georgia Vancouver
(via West Vancouver)
v • d • e
Municipalities of Metro Vancouver
Population over 100,000
Population over 50,000
Population over 10,000
Population under 10,000
Anmore • Belcarra • Bowen Island • Lions Bay
Unincorporated areas

Coordinates: 49°23′N, 123°23′W