This image was painted by a crew member aboard the HMS Plumper in the summer of 1860. I found it first in a copy of The Private Journal of Captain G.H. Richards: The Vancouver Island Survey ( 1860-1862) by Linda Dorricott and Deidre Cullon. ( Vancouver, BC: Ronsdale Press, 2012) . The painting is archived as Image B-01601 in the Royal BC Museum, BC Archives.
The details of the picture when clicked for enlargement land ightened show some interesting features which are documented below. ( G. Fletcher)
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- The high building was probably the fog tower. White building is probably a boathouse/workshop.
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- washing on the line by the tent used by the construction workers
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- A man carrying something on his shoulder and a woman in the window.
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- A man at the top of the tower
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- Writing on the top of the barrels, “ALA and perhaps “84R8″ , also a large”E” and “??X”. Contents of the barrels remains a mystery.
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- More barrels plus the painting title .. note “Vancouvers” ( plural) island
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- Green vegetation perhaps even human figures and a barrel labelled “NINE”??
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- A group of men at the base of the tower White rocks at water level behind are strange, as the existing islands there are lower in profile.
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- The complete paintng
