The Women's History Network of BC, with co-sponsors the Vancouver Public Library, Herstory Cafe and the Vancouver Courier, present a free public Fair Saturday afternoon April 10, 2010 at VPL's Central Branch. The Fair highlights diverse women's history related programs, activities and collections by local groups, individuals and institutions and features table top displays from: museums, archives, organizations, cultural groups, schools and others. Tables (x20) are free of charge. Register for a table now at: www.whnbc.ca. Deadline February 5, 2010. More info at www.herstorycafe.ca.

I am in the process of decommissioning the BC History Portal at http://bchistoryportal.tc.ca. I will migrate it to a new Web site at some point in the future. Until the migration is completed, it will continue to live at its current URL.

David Mattison BC History Portal Administrator

Sunday, January 17, 2010
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Newcombe Conference Hall
Royal B.C. Museum
Victoria, BC

"Keepers of the Record: The History of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives"

Deidre Simmons will discuss the research for her book, which provides the first comprehensive look at the development of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives and the contributions of the many keepers of the records over three centuries. Keepers of the Record is an archival history, which considers the records of the Hudson's Bay Company in the context of the history of the company, as well as in the context of the history of England and the history of Canada, in the context of business history, and in the context of the history of British and Canadian archival traditions.

Deidre carried out many months of research over several years at the Hudson's Bay Company Archives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as at other archives in England and Canada, including the B.C. Archives. The research required access to primary documents, unclassified material, and the expertise of archives staff.

Deidre has a Masters Degree in Archival Studies from the University of Manitoba and has been an independent Archives Consultant and writer with over 20 years experience. In 2005, she was invited by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO to sit on the committee that reviewed the application submitted by Archives of Manitoba for the Hudson's Bay Company Archives to UNESCO's Memory of the World programme.

For more information about this Friends of the BC Archives event contact Ann ten Cate, Outreach Coordinator, BC Archives, 250-387-2970 or Ron Greene, Secretary of the Friends of the BC Archives at 250-598-1835. Call in advance for information about handicap access.

Vancouver Island - 160 Years
A Symposium to Commemorate the Founding of the Colony
Sunday, November 8, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

The party on the mainland for its 150th birthday has finished - now it is Vancouver Island's turn. On November 8 the Friends of the B.C. Archives will present a Symposium to commemorate the 160th Anniversary of the founding of the Colony of Vancouver Island. The Colony was established by Act of Parliament on July 28, 1849. Governor Richard Blanshard arrived in March 1850, and on the 11th read his commission and instructions to a small assembly. Chief Factor James Douglas reported that Blanshard "is rather startled by the wild aspect of the country, but will get used to it."

Our speakers will be John Lutz, historian and author of the recently published MAKUK: A New History of Aboriginal White Relations; Richard Mackie, author of a number of histories of British Columbia including Trading Beyond the Mountains: The British Fur Trade on the Pacific, 1793-1843; and Sylvia Van Kirk, historian and author of Many Tender Ties: Women in Fur-trade Society, 1670-1870 and many articles on fur trade history.

Governor Richard Blanshard (a.k.a. John Adams) will make a special guest appearance.

Dr. Lutz will speak on First Nations and the Colony of Vancouver Island; Dr. Mackie's topic is the Hudson's Bay Company and the Colony of Vancouver Island, and Dr. Van Kirk will look at the colonial families of Walter Simms, W.J. Macdonald and the Reverend E. Cridge.

Registration fees are $35 for members and $45 for non-members; coffee and a light lunch are included.

The registration deadline is Friday, October 30th. Please mail your cheque to Ron Greene, Treasurer, Friends of the B.C. Archives, c/o B.C. Archives, Royal B.C. Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC, V8W 9W2, allowing sufficient time for it to reach the Archives by the 30th.

The Symposium will be held in the Newcombe Conference Hall, Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria. Contact Ann ten Cate at 250-387-2970 or Ron Greene at 250-598-1835 for further information.

October 18, 2009
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Newcombe Conference Hall, RBCM
675 Belleville Street
Victoria

Macdonald's Bank: A Tale of Murder and Mayhem, 1859-1864

Ron Greene (also a Friends Board member) will give an illustrated talk on the first bank in Canada west of the Great Lakes, Macdonald and Company, which opened on Lower Yates Street in 1859. It was also the victim of the first bank robbery in Western Canada. Join the Friends for a tale of robbery, piracy, rape and several murders! Ron is an expert in numismatics and the history of the downtown area in Victoria; for the past 7 years he has been working with the Archives numismatic collection, re-housing and re-inventorying thousands of coins, tokens, medals and paper money. The lecture, which will start at 2:30, will be preceded by the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the B.C. Archives.

This event is free. For more information about the following Friends of the BC Archives events contact Ann ten Cate, Outreach Coordinator, BC Archives, (250) 387-2970 or Ron Greene, Secretary of the Friends of the BC Archives at (250) 598-1835. Call in advance for information about handicap access.