Maritime Museum of BC Celebrates 69th Birthday on April 18 with Community Day

The Maritime Museum of BC is turning 69 this 18 April 2024—celebrate the Museum’s birthday by enjoying admission by donation all day long!

About the Celebrations

“We first opened our doors on April 18, 1955 on Signal Hill, just outside the gates of the HMC Dockyard in Esquimalt. Since then, the Museum has moved to Bastion Square, Humboldt Street, and finally, to our current 744 Douglas Street storefront location,” said Brittany Vis, Executive Director, “if you haven’t visited in years, come see how we’re using our small storefront to our full advantage and support our ongoing efforts to secure a permanent waterfront home.”

During opening hours, 10 AM – 5 PM on 18 April 2024, admission to the Maritime Museum of BC will be by donation only. This is a great opportunity to support the Museum. There will be treats in the gallery, and a brand-new exhibit to see: No Walk in the Woods: The History of the West Coast Trail.

About the Exhibit

No Walk in the Woods: The History of the West Coast Trail will launch on 11 April 2024 and run until 26 October 2024.

“A landscape of forbidding bluffs and nearly impassible brush, punctuated by the ominous sound of crashing waves, hardly seems like the route to salvation for anyone escaping a sinking ship,” said Collections and Exhibits Manager, Heather Feeney.

For those unlucky enough to find themselves in just that situation along the unforgiving southwestern edge of Vancouver Island, the rough trail over slick rocks and fallen trees may have been their only chance. The 75 kilometer stretch of coastline from Bamfield to Port Renfrew has evolved from a narrow telegraph track carved into the woods to one of the most popular hiking destinations in less than a century. “Come along with us as we follow the rain-soaked path from the tragic wreck of the S.S. Valencia, that led to the creation of the lifesaving trail, to the stories of adventurers who brave the modern-day West Coast Trail,” said Feeney.