Street/Place Names

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Click on any letter, above, to visit specific section of Street/Place Names

Franklin photo courtesy Royal BC Museum and Archives | H-02400 .....

Gonzales Point (c 1900)

	G
	Gibbs Road
	Named after P.A. Gibbs, former Oak Bay reeve and M.L.A.
	Glen Avenue
	Origin unknown.
	Information welcomed
	Goldsmith Street
	Named after Oliver Goldsmith, English poet and dramaticist.
	Originally called Bourchier Street, after Victoria realtor, but renamed in 1921. Goldsmith Street is one of many streets in the area named after English poets including Chaucer, Milton and Byron
Nearby Elgin Road was originally called Burns Street, after Scottish poet Robert Burns
	Goodwin Street
	Origin unknown.
	Originally called Nile Street but renamed in 1921
	Information welcomed
	Gordon Street
	Origin unknown.
	Former name of Carnarvon Street, renamed in 1921
	Information welcomed
	Granite Street
	Origin uncertain, probably descriptive.
	A section of this street was called Gonzales Street but was renamed in 1921
	Greatford Place
	Origin uncertain, possibly after an early settler in the area.
	Information welcomed
	Guernsey Street Origin uncertain, possibly after the island of Guernsey in the English Channel.
	Originally called Katherine Street but renamed in 1921
	"Regarding the origin of the name "Guernsey Street," I was told this amusing story years ago: Up until 1921 it was called "Katherine Street," but problems were arising because there was a Catherine Street in Vic West, and mail was being misdirected. John Le Gresley owned a house on Oak Bay's Katherine Street, and while he was away on business some of his neighbours got together and arranged for the name to be changed to "Guernsey" in honour of Mr. Le Gresley's birthplace in the Channel Islands. When Le Gresley arrived home, he thanked them kindly but informed them that he had in fact been born on Jersey. However, the name had been changed and, as there was already a Jersey Street in Victoria, "Guernsey" it remained. I have no idea if this is true, but my (very aged) informant seemed quite sure about it, and in any case it's a charming story. In 1985 when I bought my house on Guernsey, John's daughter (I believe her first name was Elise) still lived in the house in which she was born, and although she wasn't the one to give me this account, she might have informed my informant." — Hilary Knight Oak Bay resident since 1983

PLACE NAMES

	Gonzales Bay (Foul Bay, Fowl Bay)
	Named after Gonzalo Lopez de Haro, pilot of Manuel Quimper aboard the Princesa Real when the Spanish were exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca in 1790.
	Originally called Foul Bay on an official survey done about 1847. Confusingly called Fowl Bay from the late 1800s because of Isabella Ross' adjoining Fowl Bay Farm. Renamed Gonzales Bay in 1924 after decades-old campaign by area residents claiming the name Foul Bay negatively affected real estate values.
	Gonzales Hill
	Named after Gonzalo Lopez de Haro, pilot of Manuel Quimper aboard the Princesa Real when the Spanish were exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca in 1790.
	Gonzales Point
	Origin, see Gonzales Hill, above.
	SONGHEES NAME Kukeeluk ("place of war") Derived from the word "keeluk" (war), and the name of an village site on this point. It is believed that the hill was a look-out point for the Chilcowitch people who lived on McNeill Bay

The History of Oak Bay Website
A CENTENNIAL LEGACY PROJECT