Maple Bay Village to Imadene Cove
Sansum Narrows South to Musgrave and Separation Point
Sansum Narrows (48° 48' 00" N - 123° 34' 00" W) and Sansum Point (48° 47' 00" N - 123° 33' 00" W) were named for Arthur Samsun, First Lieutenant aboard HMS Thetis. The Thetis was a 36-gun Royal Navy frigate on the Pacific Station from 1851 to 1853. Though the Gazeteer says not known, it may have been Captain Richards or it may have been Captain Augustus Leopold Kuper of the “Thetis” who named the narrows as the Thetis surveyed the area to the north and gave Thetis and Kuper Islands their names. Seems that Sansum should have stayed in this climate as he apparently died of heat apoplexy in Guaymus Mexico in 1853.
Bold Bluff Point (48° 47' 00"N. - 123° 33 '00"W.) was on Captain Richards’ 1858-60 British Admiralty Charts and the name was adopted in 1946 as an established local name. Once, while fishing near Bold Bluff, an oldtimer pointed to the steep wall on the Vancouver Island side of the Narrows and told of how the local braves would test their prowess by seeing who could place their spear the highest up the rock wall. It always seemed that this should be called Bold Bluff. Just south of Bold Bluff is a cove which contains a B&B with a very long walkway out to the dock at the point. This dock was built by the government during World War II to provide quick freighter access to a top-secret hideaway for provincial officials should Victoria be attacked. Originally the dock was 120 feet long but a fire in the 1950s destroyed about 40 feet of the structure.
Mount Bruce (48° 46' 00" N - 123° 30' 00" W) was named by, you guessed it, Captain Richards in 1858. Rear-Admiral Bruce was the previous Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Station from 1854 to 1857. British Admiralty Charts listed it as Bruce Peak but it was known as Bruce Mountain until it officially became Bruce Peak in 1936.
Burial Island (48° 46' 00" N - 123° 34' 00" W) is officially known as Burial Islet. The British Admiralty Charts from 1859 on called it this so you can bet on who named it. Canada adopted this as the official name in 1946.
Musgrave Point and Musgrave Landing (48° 45' 00" N - 123° 33' 00" W) were named for Edward Musgrave, an early farmer in this area. A farm at Musgrave Landing was home to Beryl and Miles Smeeton for a while. Beryl purchased the farm sight unseen from India in 1943 but it was 3 years before they saw their purchase. It was their home away from Tzu Hang until they sold in 1955. Daughter Clio attended QMS, becoming a border when her parents were traveling. She used to receive the most exotic postcards!
Separation Point (48° 44' 00" N - 123° 34' 00" W) appears on the British Admiralty Charts in 1861. This name was officially adopted in 1911.
Stoney Hill (48° 47' 00" N - 123° 34' 00" W) is the name of the steep bluff on the Vancouver Island side of the south narrows. The origin of the name is not known.
