Photo Credit: Maurice Robinson
e-mail: naturallight@shaw.ca
Hatley
Park as seen looking
across the Esquimalt
Lagoon
Photo Credit: J. C. Williams
email: silkroad@shaw.ca
Photo Credit: J. C. Williams
email: silkroad@shaw.ca
Photo Credit: J. C. Williams
email: silkroad@shaw.ca
More than 30 natural springs
remain from the last glacial period. Some of these springs
are carefully being tapped for irrigation on campus in place
of water from the municipal system.
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Day Pass |
Seasons Pass |
| Adults (18-59): |
$4.50 |
$26.50 |
| Seniors (60+): |
$4.00 |
$23.00 |
| Youth (13-17): |
$3.00 |
$19.00 |
| Child (12 and under): |
Free |
Free |
| Family of Five |
$13.50 |
$68 |
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| May1-Sept30 |
May1-Sept30 |
| 30min |
60min |
| Adults (18-59) |
$15.00 |
$17.00 |
| Seniors (60+): |
$14.00 |
$16.00 |
| Youth ( 13-17 years): |
$ 9.00 |
$11.00 |
| Child ( 6-12 years): |
$ 7.00 |
$9.00 |
| Children under 5 years: |
Free |
Free |
| Family of 5: |
$42.00 |
$48.00 |
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Mon-Fri
(30min)
10:00 am
10:45 am
12:45 pm
1:30 pm
3:15 pm
4:00pm
Mon-Sun
(60min)
11:30 am
2:00 pm
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Sat&Sun
(30min)
10:00 am
10:45 am
12:45 pm
1:30 pm
3:15 pm |
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Download the most recent brochure with information on garden tours and workshops at Hatley Park.
(PDF File: 522 kb. Requires Acrobat Reader)
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Westshore Victoria, BC
The National Historic Sites and Monuments Board
of Canada has designated Hatley Park a National Historic Site,
as it is one of the few Edwardian estates in Canada with its
key structural elements intact. This is also the home of Hatley Castle.
The story of
Hatley Park National Historic site of Canada, rechristened
Royal
Roads from the offshore anchorage in the Juan de Fuca
Strait, has it beginnings in the singleness of purpose and
dogged determination of one man. No
history of the estate would be complete without some mention
of the man in whose mind Hatley Park was conceived and through
whose efforts the lands were assembled and the buildings constructed.
The Honourable James Dunsmuir was born
at Fort Rupert, BC on 8 July 1851, the oldest son of Robert Dunsmuir,
a Scottish miner who, at the time of his son's birth, was on
his way from Ayrshire to "Vancouver's Island" to prospect
for coal. It was not until 1869, however, when James was eighteen
years old, that Robert, prospecting on his own, finally struck
the rich seam of coal at Wellington, near Nanaimo, BC. He raised
sufficient capital, acquired 2,000 acres of land, and started
operations which proved so successful that before long he had
bought out the other three partners in the venture to become
sole owner. During this time, James himself had worked through
all the stages of mining and had risen to the position of manager
in his father's business. Under his management, the daily output
of coal quickly rose from 30 tons to 1,500 tons. After his father's
death in 1889, James devoted himself to the development of the
collieries at Wellington and Cumberland, laid out the townsite
of Ladysmith, and initiated the Ladysmith-Vancouver ferry service.
It was only natural that his prominence
in business should lead him into politics. He was elected to
the Legislature in 1898 and became Premier in 1900; but, having
no taste for public life, he resigned in 1902. He later served
as Lieutenant-Governor of the Province.
It was during the early years of this
century that he purchased the Hatley Park estate comprised of
about 650 acres. The original Hatley Park house stood on the
site that is now the student parking lot (lot 3). This house
had been completely destroyed by fire while its owner was in
England. Having amassed a huge fortune, James now turned his
attention to the building and planning of the new estate to which
he intended to retire.
The site features hundreds of heritage
trees significant for their size, rarity and diversity, including
250-year-old Douglas firs that are among the largest in the area.
The showpieces of the park are generally considered to be the
formal gardens of which the Italian,
the Rose and the Japanese
gardens are the best known.
The salt marsh estuary located at the
mouth of Colwood Creek along the shore of Esquimalt Lagoon is
a rare ecosystem in this area. The estuary acts as a transition
zone between freshwater, marine and forest habitats. As a result,
it is highly productive and sustains a wide diversity of plants
and animals, including sedges, grasses, cattails, raccoons, sea
otters, waterfowl, marine crustaceans, and both marine and freshwater
fish.
The salt marsh plays an important ecological role. It provides habitat and
sources of food for many species, filters and purifies water flowing through
it, buffers against on-shore storm waves, and regulates nutrients, sediments,
and water in both terrestrial and aquatic systems.
LEARN
MORE . . .
Photo Credit: Bill Plank
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