Province British Columbia | Local time Wednesday 12:20 PM | |
Weather 10°C, Wind SE at 8 km/h, 76% Humidity | ||
Irvine's Landing was the first post-contact settlement in the Pender Harbour area, and quickly became a hub for supplies and provisions. The first settler in Pender Harbour was an English immigrant named Charles Irvine, who established a small trading post in 1865. Steve Dames, a displaced seaman from Riga, Latvia, and Joe Perry of Cape Verde became familiar with Irvine's Landing, and purchased it in 1898. Perry's father-in-law, Joseph Gonsalves of Madeira Island, later moved up from Brockton Point (now Stanley Park in Vancouver). Under the name Gonsalves and Dames General Traders, they expanded their holdings and built the Irvine's Landing Hotel and Store. An early Union Steamer stop for settlers and loggers, it grew into a fish-processing centre and later a yacht anchorage and vacation spot.