Colonial Despatches

 

Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, bordering Estevan Point on Hesquiat Peninsula in the north and Pacific Rim National Park in the south.1 The Sound consists of a myriad of islands, the largest of which are Vargas, Flores, and Mearns.2 The coast is dominated by temperate rainforest, and has relatively few non-indigenous settlements. Clayoquot is a registered UNESCO biosphere reserve.3

Alternative spellings of Clayoquot include Clioquatt, Clayocuat, Klaooquat and Klahoquaht.4 Captain George Vancouver's 1792 chart of the region uses Clayoquot, which is now the predominant contemporary spelling. The name is derived from Nuučaańuł, spoken by the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.5 The word translates to people of other tribes, an accurate description of the area, which is a place of confluence for various Indigenous peoples.6

Clayoquot Sound is extensively mentioned in a correspondence discussing two incidents of supposed indian aggression toward white men: the alleged murder of the Colonial Indian Agent for Barkley sound, William Banfield (Bamfield); and the plundering of the merchant sloop Kingfisher and murder of its crew. Vancouver Island's west coast has been a consistent site of Indiegnous-settler interaction which outdates the establishment of the colony. As such, Clayoquot appears often throughout the despatches, noting the area’s natural resources.This despatch, for example, relates an attempt to locate gold fields in the region.

• 1. Andrew Scott, Clayoquot Sound, The Encyclopedia of BC.
• 2. Andrew Scott, Clayoquot, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names.
• 3. Clayoquot Sound, UNESCO Website.
• 4. Scott, Clayoquot, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names.
• 5. Nuučaańuł, Language Map of British Columbia Website; Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Website.
• 6. Scott, Clayoquot, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names.