Archives

About the Archives

• Archives introduction leaflet
• Archives Q&A
• Archives Q&A 2
• Oak Bay Archives pre-2021 - a photo tour
  
• Oak Bay Archives photo tour - current
• Donating archival material - things to think about
• Why the Archives does not collect copies from loans or from other archives

Collection descriptions & finding aids

• List of community records
• Reference library catalogue
• Reference files index
• Oak Bay Building Permits index (to 1955)
• OBA PR 103 Brown papers
• OBA PR 131 Mayhew papers
• OBA PR 132/01 Burgess diary
• OBA PR 132 / 02 Kootenays photo album
• OBA PR 231 McCann papers

Research & Collections Features

• 2024 Oak Bay Archives banners - sources of original images
• 2024 Oak Bay Councillors 1906 - present
• 2023 Fire Chiefs of Oak Bay
• 2022 Marrion Street in photos
• 2022 schools activity - Oak Bay Avenue village history
• 2022 Principals of Oak Bay High School
• 2022 Marbled endpapers in archival ledgers
• 2022 Alice Olive Munro, nee Bunting
• 2022 #Archive30: Bert Howell photos
• 2021 Oak Bay's population over time
• 2021 Oak Bay Street Names
• 2021 #ArchiveFirsts
• 2021 #Archive30
• 2020 Reeves & Mayors of Oak Bay
• 2020 Hope Leeder wildflower sketchbook
• 2020 Discover Oak Bay history by bike

Displays - online and in the Municipal Hall foyer

• 2023 City Directories as research resources
• 2022 House photos from appraisal cards
• 2022 Sport & Recreation in Oak Bay
• 2022 Bert Howell photos
• 2022 Archives reference library
• 2021 Weather
• 2021 Willows Camp at the Fair Grounds during WW1

Reports & updates

• 2024
  • April
  • March
  • back to normal
  • flood notice
  • February
• 2023
  • 2023 year in review
  • 2023 enquiries
  • December-January
  • November
  • October
  • September
  • August
  • July
  • open to visitors in person
  • June
  • May
  • April
  • March
  • January - February
• 2022 year in review
• 2021 year in review
• closure & access in 2021-22

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Questions? Please get in touch!
Website: https://www.oakbay.ca/archives
Photo Search: https://www.oakbay.ca/archives/photographs
Blog posts: https://connect.oakbay.ca/archives
Email: archives@oakbay.ca
Phone: 250-598-3290

- Post by Anna Sander 2024 -

Public open hours: The Archives were open for enquiries and on-site research appointments 17.5 hours/week as usual, with drop-in hours on Tuesday mornings, plus 4 hours at the June Night Market on Oak Bay Avenue, which generated many conversations and 15 written enquiries. We also took a night market-style table of resources outside one Tuesday morning.

Enquiries: 21, of which 15 in person.

Running total for 2024: 96

On-site volunteer hours logged: 51 (5 volunteers)

Volunteer projects (ongoing):

• municipal demolished-property files indexing
• historic building permits indexing, now complete to end of 1955 - view here
• scanning photographs - completed: Martin album
• physical numbering of hundreds of items in several collections of personal papers, preparatory to cataloguing. Completed: Martin album, Pattinson album and scrapbooks, long run of Campbell scrapbooks.

New articles on Connect:

• Images on the Oak Bay Archives Banners
• Donating records to the Archives
• Why the Archives does not collect copies of records from loans or other archives
• List of Reeves/Mayors and Councillors of Oak Bay, sorted alphabetically by surname and chronologically by first year served

Views on Flickr in June: (6.5K, total 294.9K by 2 July,since 3 Mar 2022).

Archivist's work:

• preparing reference and outreach materials for summer Night Markets
• staffing Night Market table & responding to ensuing enquiries
• Connect articles listed above
• final stages of catalogue descriptions of PR 106 Pattinson family papers
• final stages of catalogue descriptions of PR 127 Barber family papers
• internal and external enquiries research and responses, facilitating researcher visits, volunteer management & monthly bulletin - #52

Questions or appointment requests? Please get in touch!

Website: https://www.oakbay.ca/archives
Photo Search: https://www.oakbay.ca/archives/photographs
More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oakbayarchives/
Blog posts: https://connect.oakbay.ca/archives
Email: archives@oakbay.ca
Phone: 250-598-3290

- Post by Anna Sander, 2 July 2024.

To cite: Sander, Anna. (2024, July). 'June 2024 in the Archives.' [Blog post]. District of Oak Bay, Archives. Retrieved from https://connect.oakbay.ca/archives/news_feed/june-2024-in-the-archives [date accessed].

Sorted by year then name

Here are some things to consider when thinking about offering your records to Oak Bay Archives:

Transfer of Ownership

• Donors are required to transfer physical ownership of records to the District of oak Bay (Archives). This also applies to the original/master copies of electronic records.
• We do not normally accept copy loans (where the original is retained by the donor).
• The transfer of ownership ensures that the District of Oak Bay owns the records, is responsible for their custody, and can preserve and make the records accessible for current and future generations.
• To ensure their preservation, security and authenticity, once records are donated to the Archives, they may not be removed from the custody of the Archives. If original records are still required for operational purposes, they are not ready for donation to the Archives.

Transfer of Copyright

• The intellectual rights of records creators are protected under Canadian Copyright law.
• Copyright cannot be transferred, but owners are encouraged to waive their moral rights (i.e. the exercise of copyright) to the District of Oak Bay (administered by the Archivist) for the purposes of providing: access to the records; copies of records to researchers; and permission to reproduce copies.
• The waiving of copyright ensures that the records can be used by researchers for many different purposes without the Archivist needing to refer every researcher back to the donor.

Placing restrictions on records

• Oak Bay Archives promotes open access to the records it holds. However, sometimes restrictions are necessary. The Archivist will work with donors to determine appropriate restrictions.
• Records are restricted for specific limited reasons and for a specific period of time, and are opened for research when that time expires. Procedures for permitting exceptional access before the expiration date will also be established.
• Excessive conditions or duration of restrictions will not normally be accepted by the Archives. If the records are not intended for eventual public access, subject to Canadian and provincial legislation and via the usual policies and procedures of the Archives, they are not ready for donation to the Archives.

Adapted from https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/donate/consider.html

another good example: https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2018/01/so-you-want-to-donate-your-documentary-collection-to-an-archives/

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Donations: an archivist’s questions

Some information to put together before approaching an archivist about a potential donation. Please do get in touch at any time in your deliberation if you need further information or advice about any of these things, especially physical formats or ownership/rights issues.

* What is in the collection, and how much is there? e.g. 4 banker's boxes of family diaries, letters, photographs and business records from the family of Joe and Lois Bloggs, who ran the Avenue Luncheonette on Oak Bay Avenue in the 1940s and 1950s and lived at 234 Hampshire Rd (fictional).

* What are the main subjects of the collection: people, organizations, places, events

* How old is the collection, from what dates? e.g. 1910-1930s

* Is it published or original material, or a mix? Examples of published material: printed books, newspaper and magazine cuttings, postcards. Original material: most photographs, hand written letters, diaries, households accounts. Does it include objects?

* What is the history of the collection? Who created the materials, and how did they arrange, store, and use them?

* What is the creator’s and/or collection’s relationship to Oak Bay? What does this material tell us about Oak Bay’s history? This might be the history of one person, family, house/property, business, or organization. There needs to be some connection to Oak Bay, but all the material in the collection does not need to be directly related to Oak Bay.

* Is the collection yours to donate? Do you own the physical material and the copyright and other rights in this material? Are there any rights or ethical issues to consider?

* Are you still using the materials in the collection? have they ever been published?

* What is the physical condition of the materials, where have they been stored?

* What formats are the materials in? e.g. loose papers, bound manuscript ledgers, loose photographs, bound photograph albums, electronic records stored on floppy discs or flash drives, wax cylinders, framed photos, folded or rolled large-format maps, plans or drawings, works of art on paper.

* Are there any restrictions on access to the materials? (privacy, confidentiality etc)

* Are there any student records, financial records, medical records, or legal case files relating to third parties in the collection?

* Are there any other copies of the materials (e.g. duplicate original photo prints)? If so, where/with whom?

* Are there any other potential owners, donors or archive repositories interested in the materials?

Contact:

Email: archives@oakbay.ca

Tel: 250-598-3290

Post & in person: Oak Bay Archives, Municipal Hall

2167 Oak Bay Avenue, Victoria, British Columbia V8R 1G2

Archivist: Anna Sander, BA, MPhil, MScEcon

Every archive, especially those with personal and family papers, ends up with material that doesn't pertain exactly to its collecting mandate or geographical location. Records created during the ordinary transactions of businesses, organizations and governments tend to fall into clearly defined categories and pertain to specific places and subjects, but the archival fonds created organically by the ordinary lives and activities of individuals and families in particular often include material on a wide range of subjects and places.

Is the 1910s photo album of an Oak Bay family less interesting because some of the photos are from their former home in the City of Victoria, or their holidays at Shawnigan Lake, travels in BC's Interior, or visits to family in Ontario? No! Would we break up the collection and redistribute everything to the places they are directly relevant to? Definitely not - this goes against a fundamental archival principle of "respect des fonds".

An archive is a network of interrelated documents that tell the story of their creator/collector/user(s). For an archivist, that's the primary identity of any archive. Any of our later research interests are secondary - but are often the main reason for preserving and cataloguing an archive at all. Archival catalogues aim to do both of 1) reflecting the original order and relationships between/among the records and 2) describing and indexing the records in a way that helps future researchers to discover, understand and interpret them for their own purposes.

All this to say: it's not surprising - or wrong - that Oak Bay Archives holds photos of Kelowna in the 1930s, or that the City and Provincial archives hold historic photos of Oak Bay. We certainly collect and share information about related collections in other repositories, but we don't normally collect or provide access to copies. (This line does sometimes become blurred in Canada, often because of the enormous distances required for researchers to travel between repositories holding related material on any given subject - the Hudson's Bay Company archive was a good example.) Now that we are able to digitize some of our records, especially photos, access across space and distance - to digital surrogates at least - is becoming increasingly practical.

It is always important to know where the originals are, and to cite the source whenever and wherever an image is used. I do not normally accept copy loans for the archives, except in unusual circumstances and then only for the archives reference files. This means that - often with real regret - I will not agree to someone bringing in their family album and leaving it in the archives for a short time, to be digitized and returned, with the archives having permission from the private owner to make the digital images available in the archives and online. I can only accept the real thing. (And in some cases, born-digital records are the real thing! But that's another story...) Sometimes potential donors are not ready or able to give away their treasured family records, and I regret having to say no to copies only. I'm conscious that those images may never get to the archives, may never be shared with others. But such offers are an opportunity to explain the archival principles of provenance and authenticity, and people who value their own family records tend to understand this well.

If the potential donor does decide to deposit their records, I can usually offer a full set of digital copies back to them (eventually!) for their own use. There is often only one member of an extended family who has real interest in or concern about preserving the originals, but many who would enjoy having digital copies or reprints of a selection. And of course once they are deposited, anyone in the family can always consult the originals at the Archives. Nobody has to worry about them rotting in a damp basement or baking in a hot attic, prey to pests, floods, house moves, and careless handling.

But why not free these wonderful images of Oak Bay life in the past to use on the internet and in publications without requiring the owner to surrender a cherished heirloom? How can I possibly refuse these generous offers of irreplaceable, fascinating and highly relevant images?

• if I only have the digital image, I will never be able to prove its authenticity by comparing it to the original.
• How can I check whether a mark on the photo is a feature of the original composition, a developing stain, a later annotation, or a digital artifact from the scanning process? I can't.
• Scanning is great, but it doesn't capture all the information - sometimes layers of information - in the original print (or negative).
• Sometimes things go wrong with a scan, an image is lost or becomes corrupted.
• If the scan is incomplete and cuts off a margin, contextual information such as names, dates, places and other captions may be cut off. If the original is not in the archives to check and/or re-scan, that's it, the image or information is lost
• What if there's better scanning technology in the future? In 50 years, with good storage and handling, most 100-year old photo albums will still be around, but if the original isn't in the archive, we're stuck with this old jpeg from 2022. The same applies to software and format obsolescence - if one day we can no longer read/use our current photo formats, our successors can use newer technology to scan the originals again.
• Many vicissitudes can get in the way of promised eventual donation "one day"; they don't always come to fruition.
• Photographic manipulation has been around since the beginning of photography itself, but with the advent of AI generated/manipulated images, preservation of and access to originals is increasingly important. For instance, I digitally removed images of people on a recent series of Oak Bay house photos when putting them on the internet, for privacy reasons. But the originals are still available for comparison in the archives - for instance, so you can see that I only removed the person, no changes have been made to the image of the house. More on this to come, I'm sure.

All digital images of hard-copy originals are facsimiles - access and preservation tools. In some ways they can help us get more information and different uses from the original than is possible when using the original - but they cannot replace the original.

What about watermarks? Why bother?

Using correct citations and preserving digital watermarks acknowledges the work of the institution in preserving, describing and digitizing the image, and making the image and its description available, and in some cases there are also rights and permissions issues attached even to old photos and other records. More importantly, good citation provides a trail for other researchers to follow in order to find other relevant related material, or to ask related questions, for their own research interests. This is the only reason I put watermarks on Oak Bay Archives photos, and I'm disappointed when I find they are being used with the watermarks removed. They don't look lovely, but that's not why they are there. It's so easy for an image to become orphaned from all of its contextual information. If a researcher needs a copy of an image without a watermark, we can provide them of course. But for use "in the wild" on the internet, that watermark should stay, to provide a way for others to find us.

tl;dr:

1) Thank you for using and sharing our photos, WITH correct citations and captions and a link back to our website, AND with watermark intact! They are made freely available to you - why wouldn't you do the same?

2) If you would like your historic family photos of Oak Bay to be available to a wider posterity, we would LOVE to consider them for the Archives - and yes, you will need to formally transfer ownership of the original prints/negatives to the Archives. We can usually provide full digital copies back to you, for any use you want to make of them, including printing/sharing with your family members.

sources of original photos

If you visit Oak Bay Archives in person, pass the Archives entrance on the side of Municipal Hall, or stop by our table at the Oak Bay Avenue Night Markets, you'll see at least one of the beautiful standing banners created in 2014 by Sandy Reber of Reber Creative. All the photos on the banners depict Oak Bay Life of yesteryear, but not all the originals are from Oak Bay Archives. Click the credits below for links to source images.

Why is a list of image sources important? [click here]

	1. BC Archives E-00029 2. Oak Bay Archives PHOT 1994-001-017. 3. Oak Bay Archives, photo number not identified. 4. BC Archives I-02257, Photographer Duncan Macphail. 5. BC Archives I-02288, Photographer Duncan MacPhail. 6. Source not identified, not held at Oak Bay Archives. Probably copy loan from private collection. 7. Oak Bay Archives PHOT 2019-010-006 8. Oak Bay Archives PHOT 2012-001-055 9. Oak Bay Archives PHOT 2012-001-086 10. Online at Oak Bay News without credit. Probably copy loan from private collection. 11. Uplands Garage and Gas Station on Cadboro Bay Road near Estevan, ca. 1925. Oak Bay Archives 2016-027-001
	1. Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Painting by TS Gore. 2. BC Archives A-08840. 3. Copy loan from private collection, original not held at Oak Bay Archives. 4. Oak Bay Archives PHOT 2010-010-076. Photographer Frank Burrell. 5. Oak Bay Archives PHOT 1994-001-77 6. Oak Bay Archives PHOT 2010-010-132. Photographer Frank Burrell. 7. Source not identified, probably copy loan from private collection.
	1. Oak Bay Archives 2012-001-023 2. Oak Bay Archives 1994-001-014 3. Saanich Archives 2010-060-002 4. Oak Bay Archives 2012-010-008, postcard. 5. Victoria Golf Club. 6. BC Archives A-03039 7. Oak Bay Archives 2012-001-017 8. Oak Bay Archives 1994-006-001 9. Oak Bay Archives 2013-017-004. Photographer: Fleming Bros. 10. Oak Bay Archives 2013-017-009. Photographer: Fleming Bros.

Sorted by name then year:

1906: Reeve, William Edgar Oliver (1867-1920). Councillors: AE Haynes, William Noble, William E Henderson (1837-1931) , FB Pemberton, Francis Mawson Rattenbury (1867-1935), John Sutherland.

1907: Reeve, W.E. Oliver. Councillors: William Fernie, William Henderson, S.R. Newton, William Noble, FM Rattenbury, John Sutherland.

1908: Reeve, W.E. Oliver. Councillors: William Fernie, Willieam Henderson, S.R. Newton, William Noble, FM Rattenbury, John Sutherland.

1909: Reeve, William Henderson. Councillors: JL Colbert, JH McGregor, SR Newton, William Noble, WE Oliver, FB Pemberton.

1910: Reeve, William Henderson. Councillors: JH Hargreaves, HS Lott, JH McGregor, SR Newton, FB Pemberton, JC Sproule.

1911: Reeve, William Henderson. Councillors: JH Hargreaves, PD Hillis, JA Lindsay, JH McGregor, WIlliam Noble, WE Oliver (part of the year only), FB Pemberton.

1912: Reeve, W.E. Oliver. Councillors: James Brown, HS Lott, JH McGregor, William Noble, FB Pemberton, JE Smart.

1913: Reeve, FM Rattenbury. Councillors: James Brown, NT Burdick, AW Elliott, JH McGregor, FB Pemberton.

1914: Reeve, W.E. Oliver. Councillors: James Brown, NT Burdick, AW Elliott, MP Gordon, JH McGregor, LW Toms.

1915: Reeve, W.E. Oliver. Councillors: James Brown, NT Burdick, AD Crease, AW Elliott, MP Gordon, LW Toms.

1916: Reeve, Marshall P Gordon (1862-1929) .Councillors: James Brown, NT Burdick, WA Jameson, WE Oliver, LW Toms, Charles E Wilson.

1917: Reeve, M.P Gordon. Councillors: James Brown, NT Burdick, WA Jameson, FC Niven, LW Toms, Charles E Wilson.

1918: Reeve,Newton Townley Burdick (to April 9) (1882-1953) .Councillors: WA Jameson, JC McNeill, FC Niven, JJ Shallcross, LW Toms, CE Wilson.

Burdick resigned on 2 April, and following a by-election, Council members for the remainder of the year were:

1918: Reeve, Charles E Wilson (April 17 1918 – December 1919) .Councillors: WA Jameson, P McKechnie, JC McNeill, FC Niven, JJ Shallcross, FW Toms.

1919: Reeve, C.E. Wilson. Councillors: SJ Drake, AD MacFarlane, JC McNeill, AE Mallett, FC Niven, JJ Shallcross.

1920: Reeve, Samuel James Drake (1874-1940) . Councillors: HJ Davis, AD MacFarlane, P McKechnie, JC McNeill, AE Mallett, JJ Shallcross.

1921: Reeve, Samuel J. Drake. Councillors: HJ Davis, HF Hewlett, AD MacFarlane, P McKechnie, AE Mallett, JJ Shallcross.

1922: Reeve, Samuel J. Drake. Councillors: AD Crease, HJ Davis, EC Hayward, HF Hewlett, H Patterson, D Reid.

1923: Reeve, Harold Frederick Hewlett (1887-1961) . Councillors: AD Crease, TJ Goodlake, AE Haynes, EC Hayward, HWR Moore, D Reid.

1924 (Jan-April): Reeve, HF Hewlett. Councillors: WW Elliott, AE Mallett, WH Mearns, AE Haynes, KR Streatfield, WFC Taylor.

In March 1924, Councillors Haynes, Mallett and Elliott resigned in a dispute over taxation. Following the by-election, Council members for the remainder of the year were:

1924 (April - Dec): Reeve, HF Hewlett. Councillors: H Anscomb, HLN Edwards, CH Johnson, WH Mearns, KR Streatfield, WFC Taylor.

1925: Reeve, Herbert Anscomb (1892-1972). Councillors: Thomas Ashe, HLN Edwards, CH Johnson, WH Mearns, CFL Money, HL Wilson.

1926: Reeve, Herbert Anscomb (1892-1972) . Councillors: T Ashe, AD Crease, EC Hayward, WH Mearns, CFL Money, HL WIlson.

1927: Reeve, Herbert Anscomb (1892-1972). Councillors: T Ashe, AD Crease, EC Hayward, WH Mearns, CFL Money, HL WIlson.

1928: Reeve, Ernest C Hayward (d.1933). Councillors: T Ashe, TJ Goodlake, WH Mearns, CFL Money, AD Crease, H Patterson.

1929: Reeve, Ernest C Hayward (d.1933). Councillors: R Angus, FWG Barber-Starkey, AD Crease, WH Mearns, TJ Goodlake, H Patterson.

1930: Reeve, Ernest C Hayward (d.1933). Councillors: R Angus, FWG Barber-Starkey, AD Crease, WH Mearns, TJ Goodlake, H Patterson.

1931: Reeve, Ernest C Hayward (d.1933). Councillors: R Angus, AD Crease, TJ Goodlake, RW Mayhew, WH Mearns, H Patterson.

1932: Reeve, Ernest C Hayward (d.1933). Councillors: R Angus, AD Crease, TJ Goodlake, RW Mayhew, WH Mearns, H Patterson.

1933: Reeve, Robert W Mayhew, later MP (1880-1971). Councillors: R Angus, AD Crease, William Ellis, TJ Goodlake, WH Mearns, RR Taylor.

1934: Reeve, Robert W Mayhew, later MP (1880-1971). Councillors: R Angus, William Ellis, TJ Goodlake, JV Johnson, WH Mearns, RR Taylor.

1935: Reeve, Robert W Mayhew, later MP (1880-1971). Councillors: R Angus, William Ellis, TJ Goodlake, JV Johnson, WH Mearns, RR Taylor.

1936: Reeve, Richard Ratcliffe Taylor (1884-1942). Councillors: R Angus, William Ellis, PA Gibbs, JV Johnson, P Vernon-Jackson, WL Woodhouse.

1937 Reeve, Richard Ratcliffe Taylor (1884-1942). Councillors: Councillors: R Angus, William Ellis, PA Gibbs, JV Johnson, P Vernon-Jackson, WL Woodhouse.

1938: Reeve, Richard Ratcliffe Taylor (1884-1942). Councillors: Councillors: R Angus, William Ellis, PA Gibbs, JV Johnson, P Vernon-Jackson, WL Woodhouse.

1939: Reeve, Richard Ratcliffe Taylor (1884-1942). Councillors: Councillors: R Angus, William Ellis, PA Gibbs, JV Johnson, P Vernon-Jackson, WL Woodhouse.

1940: Reeve, Richard Ratcliffe Taylor (1884-1942). Councillors: R Angus, William Ellis, PA Gibbs, Leo Grogan, P Vernon-Jackson, JV Johnson.

1941: Reeve, Walter Leonard (Len) Woodhouse (1895-1967). Councillors: R Angus, PA Gibbs, Leo Grogan, JV Johnson, Frank Turley, WM Walker.

1942: Reeve, Walter Leonard (Len) Woodhouse (1895-1967). Councillors: R Angus, PA Gibbs, JV Johnson, Alex Peden, Frank Turley, WM Walker.

1943: Reeve, Walter Leonard (Len) Woodhouse (1895-1967). Councillors: R Angus, JV Johnson, PA Moir, Alex Peden, Frank Turley, WM Walker.

1944: Reeve, Walter Leonard (Len) Woodhouse (1895-1967). Councillors: R Angus, JV Johnson, PA Moir, Alex Peden, Frank Turley, WM Walker.

1945: Reeve, Walter Leonard (Len) Woodhouse (1895-1967). Councillors: R Angus, JV Johnson, PA Moir, Alex Peden, WM Walker, RAB Wootton.

1946: Reeve, Walter Mitchell Walker (1887-1983). Councillors: R Angus, JV Johnson, Tom Kay, PA Moir, George Murdoch, RAB Wootton.

1947: Reeve, Walter Mitchell Walker (1887-1983). Councillors: CC Annett, WG Ellis, JV Johnson, PA Moir, George Murdoch, RAB Wootton.

1948: Reeve, Robert Alexander Burnie Wootton (1901-1982). Councillors: CC Annett, WG Ellis, PA Gibbs, JV Johnson, PA Moir, George Murdoch.

1949: Reeve, Robert Alexander Burnie Wootton (1901-1982). Councillors: PA Gibbs, JV Johnson, PA Moir, George Murdoch, FA Robinson, RB WIlson.

1950: Reeve, Philip Archibald Gibbs, later MLA (1893-1960). Councillors: JV Johnson, George Murdoch, Frederick E Norris, FA Robinson, JG Ruttan, RB WIlson.

1951: Reeve, Philip Archibald Gibbs, later MLA (1893-1960). Councillors: JV Johnson, George Murdoch, Frederick E Norris, FA Robinson, JG Ruttan, RB WIlson.

1952: Reeve, Philip Archibald Gibbs, later MLA (1893-1960). Councillors: JV Johnson, George Murdoch, Frederick E Norris, FA Robinson, JG Ruttan, RB WIlson.

1953: Reeve, Philip Archibald Gibbs, later MLA (1893-1960). Councillors: SP Birley, WG Ellis, GFT Gregory, JV Johnson, George Murdoch, Frederick E Norris.

1954: Reeve, Frederick Elford Norris (1910-2003). Councillors: SP Birley, GFT Gregory, FW Hawes, JV Johnson, JW Maltby, George Murdoch.

1955: Reeve, Frederick Elford Norris (1910-2003). Councillors: SP Birley, FW Hawes, JV Johnson, JW Maltby, CGH Mann, George Murdoch.

1956: Reeve, Frederick Elford Norris (1910-2003). Councillors: SP Birley, FW Hawes, JV Johnson, JW Maltby, CHG Mann, George Murdoch.

1957: Reeve, Frederick Elford Norris (1910-2003). Councillors: WG Ellis, FW Hawes, JV Johnson, CHG Mann, George Murdoch, FA Robinson.

1958: Reeve, Frederick Elford Norris (1910-2003). Councillors: SP Birley, WG Ellis, FW Hawes, CHG Mann, George Murdoch, FA Robinson.

1959: Reeve, George Murdoch (1893-1979). Councillors: AL Cox, WG Ellis, GB Elworthy, FW Hawes, FA Robinson, RB Matthews (part of the year), J Douglas Watts(part of the year).

1960: Reeve, George Murdoch (1893-1979). Councillors: AL Cox, GB Elworthy, FW Hawes, PR Noel, J Douglas Watts, FA Robinson.

1961: Reeve, George Murdoch (1893-1979). Councillors: AL Cox, GB Elworthy, FW Hawes, PR Noel, J Douglas Watts, FA Robinson.

1962: Reeve, George Murdoch (1893-1979). Councillors: AL Cox, WC Dodsworth, FW Hawes, FA Robinson, WJJ Wade, J Douglas Watts.

1963: Reeve, George Murdoch (1893-1979). Councillors: AL Cox, WC Dodsworth, Alexander Hendry, FA Robinson, WJJ Wade, J Douglas Watts.

1964: Reeve, Allan Leslie Cox (1927-1996). Councillors: WC Dodsworth, Frances H Elford, Alexander Hendry, PP Lovric, FA Robinson, WJJ Wade.

1965: Reeve, Allan Leslie Cox (1927-1996). Councillors: Dr HR Carter, WC Dodsworth, FW Hawes, Fances H Elford, WJJ Wade, J Douglas Watts.

1966: Reeve, Allan Leslie Cox (1927-1996). Councillors: Dr HR Carter, WC Dodsworth, FW Hawes, Fances H Elford, WJJ Wade, J Douglas Watts.

1967: Reeve, Allan Leslie Cox (1927-1996). Councillors: WD Dodsworth, Frances H Elford, FW Hawes, WJJ Wade, J Douglas Watts, LH Whittaker.

1968: Reeve (Jan-Apr), Mayor (Apr-Dec), Frederick William Hawes. Councillors: WC Dodsworth, Frances H Elford, Alexander Hendry, Ian M Horne, Dr G Scott Wallace, J Douglas Watts (10 months)

1969: Mayor, Frederick William Hawes. Councillors: WC Dodsworth, Frances H Elford, Alexander Henry, IM Horne, Dr G Scott Wallace, J Douglas Watts.

1970: Mayor, Frances Henrietta Elford (1914-2002). Councillors: Alexander Hendry, Dr AJ Hoey, IM Horne, NA Pimlott, Brian RD Smith, J Douglas Watts.

1971: Mayor, Frances Henrietta Elford (1914-2002). Councillors: Shirley R Dowell, John BG Eamer-Goult, Dr AJ Hoey, NA Pimlott, Brian RD Smith, J Douglas Watts.

1972: Mayor, Frances Henrietta Elford (1914-2002). Councillors: Shirley R Dowell, John BG Eamer-Goult, DS McLelland, NA Pimlott, Brian RD Smith, J Douglas Watts.

1973: Mayor, Frances Henrietta Elford (1914-2002). Councillors: Shirley R Dowell, John BG Eamer-Goult, DS McLelland, NA Pimlott, Brian RD Smith, J Douglas Watts.

1974: Mayor, Brian Smith (b.1934). Councillors: Shirley R Dowell, John BG Eamer-Goult, H Graham, DS McLelland, NA Pimlott, J Douglas Watts.

1975: Mayor, Brian Smith (b.1934). Councillors: M Isabel Craig, Shirley R Dowell, John BG Eamer-Goult, DS McLelland, NA Pimlott, J Douglas Watts.

1976: Mayor, Brian Smith (b.1934). Councillors: M Isabel Craig, Shirley R Dowell, John BG Eamer-Goult, DS McLelland, NA Pimlott, J Douglas Watts.

1977: Mayor, Brian Smith (b.1934). Councillors: M Isabel Craig, Shirley R Dowell, John BG Eamer-Goult, NA Pimlott, Dr Neil A Swainson, J Douglas Watts.

1978: Mayor, Brian Smith (b.1934). Councillors: Peter G Bunn, M Isabel Craig, Shirley R Dowell, John BG Eamer-Goult, Dr Neil A Swainson, J Douglas Watts.

1979: Mayor, Brian Smith (b.1934). Councillors: Peter G Bunn, M Isabel Craig, Shirley R Dowell, NA Pimlott, Dr Neil A Swainson, J Douglas Watts.

1980: Mayor, J Douglas Watts. Councillors: Susan M Brice, Peter G Bunn, M Isabel Craig, Shirley R Dowell, W Gordon Holms, Dr Neil A Swainson

1981: Mayor, J Douglas Watts. Councillors: Susan M Brice, Peter G Bunn, Dr Charles J Clayton, M Isabel Craig, W Gordon Holms, Dr Neil A Swainson

1982: Mayor, J Douglas Watts. Councillors: Susan M Brice, Peter G Bunn, Dr Charles J Clayton, M Isabel Craig, W Gordon Holms, Dr Neil A Swainson.

1983: Mayor, J Douglas Watts. Councillors: Susan M Brice, Peter G Bunn, M Isabel Craig, J Edward N Flanagan, W Gordon Holms, Dr Neil A Swainson.

1984: Mayor, J Douglas Watts. Councillors: Susan M Brice, Peter G Bunn, M Isabel Craig, J Edward N Flanagan, W Gordon Holms, Dr Neil A Swainson.

1985: Mayor, J Douglas Watts. Councillors: Susan M Brice, Peter G Bunn, M Isabel Craig, J Edward N Flanagan, W Gordon Holms, Dr Neil A Swainson.

1986: Mayor, Susan Brice. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Diana M Butler, Dr Charles J Clayton, J Edward N Flanagan, W Gordon Holms, Dr Neil A Swainson.

1987: Mayor, Susan Brice. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Diana M Butler, Bert D Caine, Christopher M Causton, J Edward N Flanagan, David SH Nicholson.

1988: Mayor, Susan Brice. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Diana M Butler, Bert D Caine, Christopher M Causton, J Edward N Flanagan, David SH Nicholson.

1989: Mayor, Susan Brice. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Diana M Butler, Bert D Caine, Christopher M Causton, J Edward N Flanagan, David SH Nicholson.

1990: Mayor, Susan Brice. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Diana M Butler, Bert D Caine, Christopher M Causton, J Edward N Flanagan, David SH Nicholson.

1991: Mayor, Diana Butler. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Bert D Caine, Christopher M Causton, Faith B Collins, Charlotte (Sherry) P Irvine, Dr Neil A Swainson.

1992: Mayor, Diana Butler. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Bert D Caine, Christopher M Causton, Faith B Collins, Charlotte (Sherry) P Irvine, Dr Neil A Swainson.

1993: Mayor, Diana Butler. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Bert D Caine, Christopher M Causton, Faith B Collins, Charlotte (Sherry) P Irvine, Dr Neil A Swainson.

1994: Mayor, Diana Butler. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Frank B Carson, Christopher M Causton, Charlotte (Sherry) P Irvine, John LR Pallett, Cheryle A Scott.

1995: Mayor, Diana Butler. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Frank B Carson, Christopher M Causton, Charlotte (Sherry) P Irvine, John LR Pallett, Cheryle A Scott.

1996: Mayor, Diana Butler. Councillors: Peter G Bunn, Frank B Carson, Christopher M Causton, Charlotte (Sherry) P Irvine, John LR Pallett, Cheryle A Scott.

1997: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: S Frank B Carson, Allan R Cassidy, Nils B Jensen, John LR Pallett, Cheryle A Scott, Fiona I Warrington.

1998: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: S Frank B Carson, Allan R Cassidy, Fiona I Warrington, Nils B Jensen, John LR Pallett, Cheryle A Scott.

1999: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: S. F. B. Carson, A. R. Cassidy, N. B. Jensen, J. L. R. Pallett, C. A. Scott, F. I. Warrington

2000: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: AR Cassidy, JD Herbert, RJ Irvine, C Macey-Brown, NB Jensen, CA Scott.

2001: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: A. R. Cassidy, J. D. Herbert, R. J. Irvine, N. B. Jensen, C. Macey-Brown, C. A. Scott

2002: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: A. R. Cassidy, J. D. Herbert, R. J. Irvine, N. B. Jensen, C. Macey-Brown, C. A. Scott

2003: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: S. F. B. Carson, A. R. Cassidy, J. D. Herbert, R. J. Irvine, N. B. Jensen, C. Macey-Brown

2004: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: S. F. B. Carson, A. R. Cassidy, J. D. Herbert, R. J. Irvine, N. B. Jensen, C. Macey-Brown

2005: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: S. F. B. Carson, A. R. Cassidy, J. D. Herbert, R. J. Irvine (left end of January), N. B. Jensen, C. Macey-Brown

2006: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: H. Braithwaite, S. F. B. Carson, A. R. Cassidy, P. Copley, J. D. Herbert, N.B. Jensen

2007: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: H. Braithwaite, S. F. B. Carson, A. R. Cassidy, P. Copley, J. D. Herbert, N.B. Jensen

2008: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: H. Braithwaite, S. F. B. Carson, A. R. Cassidy, P. Copley, J. D. Herbert, N.B. Jensen

2009: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: H. Braithwaite, A. R. Cassidy, P. Copley, J. D. Herbert, N. B. Jensen, T. Ney

2010: Mayor, Christopher M Causton. Councillors: H. Braithwaite, A. R. Cassidy, P. Copley, J. D. Herbert, N. B. Jensen, T. Ney

2011: Mayor, Nils Jensen (d.2019). Councillors: H. Braithwaite, A. R. Cassidy, P. Copley, J. D. Herbert, N. B. Jensen, T. Ney

2012: Mayor, Nils Jensen (d.2019). Councillors: P. Copley, C. Green, J. Herbert, M. Kirby, K. Murdoch, T. Ney

2013: Mayor, Nils Jensen (d.2019). Councillors: P. Copley, C. Green, J. Herbert, M. Kirby, K. Murdoch, T. Ney

2014: Mayor, Nils Jensen (d.2019). Councillors: P. Copley, C. Green, J. Herbert, M. Kirby, K. Murdoch, T. Ney

2015: Mayor, Nils Jensen (d.2019). Councillors: Hazel Braithwaite, Tom Croft, Michelle Kirby, Kevin Murdoch, Tara Ney, Eric Zhelka.

2016: Mayor, Nils Jensen (d.2019). Councillors: H. Braithwaite, T. Croft, M. Kirby, K. Murdoch, T. Ney, E. Zhelka

2017: Mayor, Nils Jensen (d.2019). Councillors: H. Braithwaite, T. Croft, M. Kirby, K. Murdoch, T. Ney, E. Zhelka

2018: Mayor, Kevin Murdoch. Councillors: H. Braithwaite, T. Croft, M. Kirby, K. Murdoch, T. Ney, E. Zhelka

2019: Mayor, Kevin Murdoch. Councillors: Andrew Appleton, Hazel Braithwaite, Cairine Green, Tara Ney, Esther Paterson, Eric Wood Zhelka.

2020: Mayor, Kevin Murdoch. Councillors: Andrew Appleton, Hazel Braithwaite, Cairine Green, Tara Ney, Esther Paterson, Eric Wood Zhelka.

2021: Mayor, Kevin Murdoch. Councillors: Andrew Appleton, Hazel Braithwaite, Cairine Green, Tara Ney, Esther Paterson, Eric Wood Zhelka.

2022: Mayor, Kevin Murdoch. Councillors: Andrew Appleton, Hazel Braithwaite, Cairine Green, Tara Ney, Esther Paterson, Eric Wood Zhelka.

2023: Mayor, Kevin Murdoch. Councillors: Andrew Appleton, Hazel Braithwaite, Cairine Green, Carrie Smart, Esther Paterson, Lesley Watson.

2024: Mayor, Kevin Murdoch. Councillors: Andrew Appleton, Hazel Braithwaite, Cairine Green, Carrie Smart, Esther Paterson, Lesley Watson.

Sources: for 1906-1997, an unattributed list found in Oak Bay Archives; for all, Council minutes, Corporation of the District of Oak Bay. Inaugural meetings of a council are usually held in December and list the newly elected mayor and council for the coming year, so e.g. minutes of the first meeting of the Council listed for 2015 will be found in the 2014 file, etc.

Oak Bay Archives' archivist and volunteers will be at the Night Markets on Oak Bay Avenue in 2024! See you in the District tent - we’re at booth 198, very close to the Hall, opposite Oak Bay Flower Shop (same place each time).

4-8pm on 2nd Wednesdays in the summer:

• June 12
• July 10
• August 14
• September 11

Bring your questions about Oak Bay house history, family history research, how to look after old records, and more! Or ask any time:

Email: archives@oakbay.ca
Phone: 250-598-3290
Website: https://www.oakbay.ca/archives
Photo Search: https://www.oakbay.ca/archives/photographs
Blog posts: https://connect.oakbay.ca/archives
Location: Oak Bay Municipal Hall, 2167 Oak Bay Avenue. Archives entrance is on the ground floor on the east side of the building (beside Fairway Market).
Visits/research appointments can be arranged in advance for most Tuesdays & Fridays; public drop-in hours Tuesdays 10-1.

Public open hours: The Archives were open for enquiries and on-site research appointments 17.5 hours/week as usual, with drop-in hours on Tuesday mornings.

Enquiries: 11, of which 1 in person. People have been getting into their gardens this month!

Running total for 2024: 74

On-site volunteer hours logged: 49.5 (5 volunteers)

Volunteer projects (ongoing):

• municipal demolished-property files indexing
• historic building permits indexing, now complete to end of 1955 - view here
• scanning photographs
• physical numbering of hundreds of items in several collections of personal papers, preparatory to cataloguing

Digital images:

• Larry McCann & UVic students' photographic sample of Oak Bay houses by building era, photos taken ca. 2000-2002: last section done, project complete with 1700 photos - view here

Views on Flickr in May: 9K (total 288.2K by 31 May, since 3 Mar 2022).

How accurate are these view counts? Not very - they are likely to include more than individual views of specific photos by individual viewers. But at least they demonstrate continuing interest, and there's always a big spike in the days after an upload. View numbers on individual photo pages are more accurate. The OB Houses photo survey and the house photos from appraisal cards, unsurprisingly, are the most popular; an unexpected star is Mrs Burgess' diary from North Saanich in 1907!

Archivist's work:

• scanning and processing of McCann digital images as above
• preparing reference and outreach materials for summer Night Markets
• reviewing and updating catalogue descriptions of PR 106 Pattinson family papers
• reviewing and updating catalogue descriptions of PR 127 Barber family papers
• new online: complete list of Oak Bay's Councillors (formerly Aldermen) as well as the Reeves/Mayors.
• internal and external enquiries research and responses, facilitating researcher visits, volunteer management & monthly bulletin - #51

A good start to my 5th year at Oak Bay Archives!

Questions or appointment requests? Please get in touch!

Website: https://www.oakbay.ca/archives
Photo Search: https://www.oakbay.ca/archives/photographs
More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oakbayarchives/
Blog posts: https://connect.oakbay.ca/archives
Email: archives@oakbay.ca
Phone: 250-598-3290

- Post by Anna Sander, June 2024.

To cite: Sander, Anna. (2024, June). 'May 2024 in the Archives.' [Blog post]. District of Oak Bay, Archives. Retrieved from https://connect.oakbay.ca/archives/news_feed/may-2024-in-the-archives [date accessed].