[BCMA] Nanaimo Museum Press Release - Discovering Departure Bay (Feature Exhibit)

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Nanaimo Museum 


100 Museum Way
Nanaimo, BC V9R 5J8
Tel: 250-753-1821

www.nanaimomuseum.ca

 

 

April 8, 2014

 

Feature Exhibit on Departure Bay

 

Nanaimo - A new feature exhibit opens at the Nanaimo Museum on April 8.
The exhibit highlights stories from the Departure Bay neighborhood
including its roots as a Snuneymuxw winter village, a haunted mansion
built by the Dunsmuir family, a jail, crimes committed by visiting
sailors and the installation of BC's first telephone.  Discovering
Departure Bay runs from April 8 to May 31.

 

Departure Bay's heritage will be explored through photos, paintings and
artifacts.  Some of the artifacts are from the museum's collection while
others are on loan from local families and organizations.  "The Harper
family has lived on the same property in Departure Bay for over 140
years," says Aimee Greenaway, Curator of the exhibit.  "We are pleased
that they have loaned artifacts from the Bay Saloon, a fixture in
Departure Bay from the 1870s to the 1940s, to display for the exhibit." 

 

Many stories about Departure Bay in the 1870s and 1880s sound like they
could have taken place in the Wild West.  "We read about drug smuggling
and car thefts in the news and think they are modern problems," says
Greenaway.  "You could pick up a Nanaimo newspaper in the 1880s and read
similar stories."  Sailors on a coal ship were caught smuggling opium
from Departure Bay to San Francisco in 1887.

 

Respected author of Western Canadian history, Lynne Bowen, will be
giving a presentation on life in Departure Bay during the 1880s.
Bowen's presentation will feature stories from her book Three Dollar
Dreams including how the coal wharf changed the area and the luxury home
built for James Dunsmuir's family.  She will also give the audience a
sneak peek into her experiences as a writer, including research for a
book that was not published.  Lynne's presentation is on Wednesday,
April 23 at 3:00 pm.  Pre-registration is not required, admission by
donation.

 

For more information please contact the museum at (250) 753-1821 or
visit www.nanaimomuseum.ca  The Nanaimo Museum is located on Commercial
Street, beside Serious Coffee.  Hours of operation are Monday-Saturday,
10am-5pm.

 

-30-

 

Contact:

 

Aimee Greenaway, Curator of the exhibit
Program Coordinator
250 753-1821
program at nanaimomuseum.ca

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.vvv.com/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20140409/c945af88/attachment.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 17483 bytes
Desc: image001.jpg
Url : http://lists.vvv.com/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20140409/c945af88/attachment.jpeg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2448 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
Url : http://lists.vvv.com/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20140409/c945af88/attachment-0001.jpeg 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Nanaimo Museum Press Release - Feature Exhibit Discovering	Departure Bay.pdf
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 67167 bytes
Desc: Nanaimo Museum Press Release - Feature Exhibit
	Discovering Departure Bay.pdf
Url : http://lists.vvv.com/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20140409/c945af88/attachment.obj