Gilbert Malcolm Sproat
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
businessman, office holder, and author. Arriving on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
in 1860, he helped to found the first sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
in Port Alberni
Port Alberni, British Columbia
Port Alberni is a city located in the province of British Columbia in Canada. It is the location of the head offices of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. The city has a total population of 17,743, and the census agglomeration area a total of 25,396....
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. On 24 July. 1863 he was made the justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for the Colony of Vancouver Island
Colony of Vancouver Island
The Colony of Vancouver Island , was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871...
. When the sawmill burnt down in 1865, Sproat returned to England, but maintained his interest in the affairs of the colony, which was united with the mainland in 1866. Sproat's fascination with the First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people he encountered on Vancouver Island, led to his best remembered book, The Nootka:Scenes and studies of savage life, which appeared in 1868. Following British Columbia's entry into Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1871, Sproat became the new province's
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
agent general
Agent General
An Agent-General was the representative in the United Kingdom of the government of a British colony in Nigeria, Canada, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand and subsequently, of a Nigerian Region, Canadian Province or an Australian State in the United Kingdom...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, a position he held from 1872 until his return to the province in 1876. From 1876 he served as the joint federal-provincial appointee on the Indian Reserve Commission, where he argued that sufficient land be allocated to First Nations people that they could remain self-sufficient. This proved to be an unpopular position with the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an colonists and led to much controversy, as well as Sproat's resignation from the committee in 1880. Beginning in 1883, Sproat began travelling to the interior of British Columbia, especially to the Kootenay
Kootenays
The Kootenay Region comprises the southeastern portion of British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Ktunaxa First Nation first encountered by explorer David Thompson.-Boundaries:The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay Land...
region, where he held several regional offices. After 1898, Sproat returned to Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, where he spent the majority of his time writing. He died there on 4 June 1913. Sproat Lake
Sproat Lake
Sproat Lake, named after Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, is a lake in central Vancouver Island. Home of the last Martin Mars type Waterbombers, and near Port Alberni, Sproat Lake is a summer hangout for the Alberni Valley. Highway 4 runs along its scenic north shore....
and Sproat Lake Provincial Park
Sproat Lake Provincial Park
Sproat Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park near Port Alberni in British Columbia, Canada's Vancouver Island. Its name derives from a lake named after Gilbert Malcolm Sproat....
on Vancouver Island are named in his honour by Robert Brown
Robert Brown (explorer)
Robert Brown was a Scottish scientist, explorer, and author.He was born in Camster, Caithness, and studied in the universities of Edinburgh, Leyden, Copenhagen, and Rostock. He took the habit of referring to his home town, Campster , to distinguish himself from his famous contemporary of the same...
.