The history of Sechelt, BC,
Canada is documented with both, First Nation and European culture
and heritage. The Sechelt area of the Sunshine
Coast was the original home of the Coast Salish people, specifically
the Shishalh First Nation people. Sechelt's name is derived from
the word Shishalh. There are many areas still evident of the Shishalh
First Nation people existence in the area like the shell middens
and rock formations.
In the early 1860's the Shishalh First Nation people were dealt a big blow in numbers when the smallpox epidemic reduced the population to a mere 200 people. Much of the history of the First Nation people is remembered and honoured at the House of Hewhiwas, otherwise known as The House of Chiefs. The Shishalh people were one of the first to achieve the right for self government in 1986.
Near the House of Chiefs are some Totem Poles, carved in the 1970s, which share the story of the Sechelt First Nation people. The faceless Totem Pools indicate a time in the history of the First Nation people where, it is said, they felt they lost their identity. The newly carved Totem Poles with faces indicate the return of their identity after the right for self government was achieved in 1986.
The area of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast saw
one of the first European families to settle in the area in 1895,
named the Whitaker family. By 1904 the Whitaker Family had built
a wharf at Porpoise Bay and
Trail Bay to accommodate the Union Steamships that delivered the
supplies and mail to the remote Sunshine Coast communities. In
the early days of Sechelt, it was the port at
Trail Bay that was the centre of activity because of the the wharf.
It was not until 1952 that a paved highway was built connecting
Sechelt, BC to the rest of the Sunshine
Coast. The new paved supply route put allot less dependence
on the Union Steamships which blew their whistle for the last
time in 1959.
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History