South Thormanby Island
Encyclopedia
South Thormanby Island
South Thormanby is an island off of the Sunshine Coast British ColumbiaBritish 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...
, Canada
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...
, located 17 km west of Sechelt
Sechelt, British Columbia
The District Municipality of Sechelt is on the lower Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately 50 km northwest of Vancouver, Sechelt is accessible to the mainland of British Columbia via a 40 minute ferry trip between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale, and a 25 minute drive from Langdale...
.
Geography
The island is more rocky than its neighbour North Thormanby IslandNorth Thormanby Island
North Thormanby Island is a island off of the Sunshine Coast British Columbia, Canada, located 17 km west of Sechelt.-Geography:The island is noted for its sandy beaches and is a popular anchorage for small boats cruising the strait of Georgia....
. There are two main hills on the island: Mount Seafield in the south and Spy Glass hill in the north. South of Mount Seafield there is a large lake in an area known locally as the farm. Tattenham Ledge, a long shallow underwater shelf of rock, extends from the northern side of the island and is a hazard to navigation. There are several small islands attached to South Thormanby island, including Pirate Rock and Merry Island to the South. Welcome Passage separates South Thormanby Island from the mainland along the Sunshine Coast.
Wildlife and Vegetation
The island is quite heavily forested, maily with second growth douglas fir and cedar. There are some semi-wild apple and cherry trees near the lake in the old farm. Other common tree species found on the island include hemlock, alder, arbutus, lodgepole pine, and broadleaf maple. Edible berries found on the island include salal, salmonberries, thimbleberries, huckleberries, and blackberries. In marshy areas bullrushes and swampgrass is found. It is estimated that the South Thormanby Island has a population of approximately 300 coast blacktail deer. Other small animals include mink, raccoons, squirrels, chipmuks, and bords of all sorts. There have also been beavers inhabiting the lake and in recent memory bears and cougars have been present on the island, though they are not believed to be present now. The area is well known for its fishing, especially salmon fishing.History
There are five known shell middens on South Thormanby Island. It is thought that the natives used the island for hunting purposes.The name Thormanby was given to the island by Captain George Henry Richards
George Henry Richards
Admiral Sir George Henry Richards was Hydrographer to the British Admiralty from 1864 to 1874.-Early life:Richards was born in Anthony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G S Richards, and joined the navy in 1832....
who surveyed the area with the ship HMS Plumper
HMS Plumper
HMS Plumper was an 8-gun wooden screw sloop of the Royal Navy, the fifth and last ship to bear the name. Launched in 1848, she served three commissions, firstly on the West Indies and North American Station, then on the West Africa Station and finally in the Pacific Station...
in 1860. Thormanby was the name of the horse who won the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
that year. Several other place names in the area come from the Epsom derby. The island is noted for its large bay, Buccaneer Bay, whose name was also taken from that of a race horse Buccaneer who won the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot in 1861
The majority of the island was granted to a shopkeeper named Calvert Simson from Hastings Mill Store in Gastown as a crown grant in 1892. Around 1912, Simson had an old swamp cleared on the southern part of the island to establish a farm and orchard. The farm was abandoned in 1948 and the origninal buildings were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s.
During the 1920s and 1930s the Union Steamship Company made regular trips to the island from Vancouver and they had a float build in Buccaneer Bay. At the time, trails were constructed throughout the island and the various bays were named.
From 1951 until 1981, South Thormanby Island was selectively logged. 75% of the trees harvested were Coastal Douglas Fir and 25% were red cedar and balsam poplar. Most of the old trees that were not harvested were left because they were not suitable, though there is now a second growth forest throughout the island.
Beavers were introduced to the island in 1984 and 1985. They dammed part of the former farm meadow, creating the lake that currently exists there.
Simson Provincial Park
Simson Provincial Park
Simson Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.The Simson Provincial Park is located on the southern half of South Thormanby Island and is opposite Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia. The park is of mostly forested land, though it also contains the remains of an abandoned farm...
occupies the southern part of the island. The park was established in 1986 and named after Calvert Simson. The park area includes the remains of the old abandoned farm and orchard. Most of the northern half of the island is still private property with a concentration of cottages along Buccaneer Bay and Water Bay. South Thormanby Island is opposite Buccaneer Bay Provincial Park
Buccaneer Bay Provincial Park
Buccaneer Bay Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located 17 km west of Sechelt on North Thormanby Island, offshore from the community of Halfmoon Bay.-External links:...
on North Thormanby Island.