Portage Inlet is located northwest of the Gorge Waterway, at the narrow head of
Victoria harbour. It appears on an 1855 map by
Joseph Pemberton, and on Admiralty charts thereafter.
1 According to Scott, an ancient First Nation trail ran between the head of the Inlet
and
Thetis Cove, in
Esquimalt Harbour.
2 It draws its European names from
Pemberton's era, when small-craft navy sailors chose to portage across the nearby land to avoid
rougher outside waters.
3