Halkett Island is located in the north end of Victoria Harbour.1Henry Kellett, captain of the HMS Herald, named the island in 1846 after the Halkett family, who
had a number of members prominant in the Royal Navy throughout the 18th, 19th, and
20th centuries.2 Several other British Columbia features are named after various members of the Halkett
family.3
Halkett Island, which at one point was called Deadman's Island, was once a First Nation
burial ground.4 The July 1, 1867 edition of the British Colonist states that a fire damaged much of Halkett Island, including First Nations remains.
Police later arrested two young men who had lost control of their small fire.5
1. Halkett Island,BC Geographical Names Information System.
2. Andrew Scott, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2009), 244.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Halkett Island,BC Geographical Names Information System.