The Nuu-chah-nulth have occupied the west coast of Vancouver Island for thousands of years from Barkley Sound to Brooks Peninsula. The local tribe in this area is called "Nuchatlaht." We have a selection of history books in our cabin library describing the Nuu-chah-nulth and European exploration of the area. Friendly Cove on the south end of Nootka Island is where James Cook landed on the 29th of March, 1778.
In the early part of the twentieth century, the west coast of Nootka Island was allocated for homesteading. Our island is one of the few to remain in private hands. It was owned by a fishing company and there are a some remains of their buildings on the island. There is a deserted gas dock near Rosa Harbour, and in the twenties and thirties many fish processing plants were in the area. An abandoned sawmill is located in McBride Bay. Esperanza, with its hospital, was the center of this activity. The CPR passenger ship "Princess Maquinna" used to service all the settlements on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Today, the "U-Chuck" offers passage through these waters from Gold River. Zeballos began as a gold mine, then iron mine, and is now a logging and fishing community with many interesting old buildings. Tahsis was founded by "Bull of the Woods" Gordon Gibson in the 1950's when he built a sawmill. The sawmill ran until a few years ago. Tahsis museum records the history of the area. Nestled at the head of Tahsis inlet, with mountains on three sides, it now caters to tourists and sports fishermen.
A group of people bought our island (as yet unnamed) in 1974 and formed a corporation. There are twelve separate shares with various dwellings. Some of the island trails are on private property and cannot be accessed by guests. Approximately ten years ago the area around us was made into Nuchatlitz Provincial Park and has many public trails and areas for camping.