In 1852 the HBCo. (Hudson's Bay Company) ordered a group of miners from its failing Fort Rupert coal mine (near Port Hardy) to begin coal explorations on Newcastle Island. The HBCo. prospectors hit pay dirt with the discovery of the Newcastle Seam. Extracting coal from the seam employed almost all the miners in the area, including those that arrived on the Princess Royal in 1854.
=0D=0A=To support the centralized island industry and house its employees, the HBCo. established a community comprised of 25-30 buildings overlooking Midden Bay on the west side of Newcastle Island. Following the departure of James Douglas from the HBCo., the mine and supporting infrastructure were sold to the Vancouver Coal Company in 1862. The Vancouver Coal Company shuttered the operations shortly thereafter. A photo from 1875 shows the abandoned village still standing nearly extant before salvagers and forces of nature and time erased the homes and buildings from the landscape and living memories.
=0D=0A=This HBCo. village faded to little more than a local archival footnote until recently. LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) imaging of Newcastle Island revealed the manmade remnants that are almost completely obscured by foliage and overburden. Through these LIDAR images researchers were able to locate and identify physical evidence of the mine operations and footprints of the former buildings.
=0D=0A=The compilation of this new data and subsequent research will be presented by archaeologists Colleen Parsley and Brian Vivien, in partnership with the Newcastle Island Society.
=0D=0A=Please join them for this free public presentation at the Bowen Park Lawn Bowling Hut.
DTSTART:19691231 DTEND:19700101 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR