Colonial Despatches

Bamfield Inlet is a fair anchorage on the southeastern side of Barkley Sound. It was first known as “Bamfield Creek”, as 19th-century navy men and officers used “creek” to refer to narrow tidal inlets. The BC Geographical Names Office changed the moniker to “inlet” in 1944 to better fit lay terms.1 “Bamfield” is a mis-spelling of the name William Eddy Banfield, an ex-Royal Navy carpenter who traded at a post in the area and died under mysterious circumstances. The error appeared on British Admiralty charts in 1863 and 1865, and persisted when the Bamfield Post Office opened in 1903. Postal authorities never issued corrective stamps, and the name was officially changed in 1951.2

The longest portion of the submarine cable connecting British North American and British Australia, completed in 1902, terminated at Bamfield Inlet. Parks Canada has installed a National Historic Site plaque on the site once occupied by the cable station.3

• 1. Bamfield Inlet, BC Geographical Names.
• 2. Bamfield (Community), BC Geographical Names.
• 3. Ibid.