Oak Bay Boathouse
a popular Oak Bay focal-point for many decades

courtesy Oak Bay Archives
Oak Bay Boathouse (circa 1956)
The boathouse was demolished in 1962 to make way
for the Oak Bay Marina, completed in 1964


The original Oak Bay Boathouse and ramp1 were located one headland south of Turkey Head as an adjunct of Mount Baker Hotel, built in 1893.
The hotel burned to the ground in 1902, but the boathouse continued to serve the boating community.
The municipality assuned ownership in 1912 2 and dealt with many leasees and their problems over the next few decades.
About 1915, the boathouse was floated on logs one headland north to its new location on Turkey Head, where it was enlarged and received a cupola on the roof.
Soon with a coffee shop, restaurant and retail sales, the refurbished Oak Bay Boathouse became a popular focal point in Oak Bay for several decades.
But by the early 1960s, it was in need of much repair and considered an eyesore. The decision was made that the Oak Bay Boathouse had outlived its usefullness.
It was demolished in 1962 to make way for the Oak Bay Marina complex, which was completed in 1964. Part of this complex was Charlie White's Undersea Garden attraction.
see Oak Bay Marine Ways, Oak Bay Marina, Undersea Garden
1 This was the site of the 1901 departure of Captain John Voss in his Indian dugout canoe, Tilikum, on his unheralded voyage around the world in his Indian dugout canoe, Tilikum.
2 Murdoch, George. A History of the Municipality of Oak Bay (Oak Bay Archives: 1968) p 186


PHOTOGRAPHS

Newly-Relocated Boathouse (circa 1917)
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ARTIFACTS

Matchbook ad 1957 Victoria Today ad
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.Food, Fun and Fishing

OAK BAY BOATHOUSE
DALE AND BETTY SCOTT

Phone 4-9851
ad in 1958 OBHS yearbook, The Oak Leaf .

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RECOLLECTIONS

Recollections may be abridged for length and/or clarity

"Thanks so much for the wonderful old photo of the Oak Bay Marina as it once was.
I can remember riding my bike down to the boathouse and watching the fishermen unloading and cleaning their boats. It was a great place to spend some idle time. One could even catch a jellyfish, it always felt so squishy and when it was dropped it made a very satisfying splat. Somehow, it just isn't quite the same inviting place today.
How do we know we might be a little bit older? When the pictures of our special memories come courtesy of the Provincial Archives."
— Gloria (Manson) Knudsen, OBHS class of 1960

* * *
"The Oak Bay Boat House is very warm in my heart.
Bob Moffatt and I would clamber over the rocks from the golf club to Rattenbury Beach several times a week and stop at the Boathouse for a chocolate milk shake, which were the best."
— Ian Else, OBHS class of 1960

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SUBMISSIONS

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