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April 2000 West Vancouver Historical Society Page 5 Mapping the Past Continued WEST VANCOUVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26,2000 at 7:00 pm At the Seniors' Activity Centre, 695- 21st Street, West Vancouver Remember - you must be a fully paid up member before you can vote at the meeting. Our February issue brought a letter about the photograph of the "Capilano River Bridge", from Andy Reid of Victoria. "Looking at the Photo of the "Capilano River Bridge" in the last issue of History-Onics prompted me to add a little explanation, for the benefit of our new comers, who might wonder how such a small bridge could span the Capilano."This bridge was situated approximately a block and a half east of the main river, and spanned a 90% dry tributary that flowed only in flood periods. I have no memory of this span ever having a name. It still looked the same in the late 20's and early 30's. I was very interested in Margaret Sawyers article, which brought memories of the many changes that have taken place since I arrived, age 9 in 1921. Will try and write about that some time." Thank you Andy, we look forward to hearing more from you soon. By the way, Andy tells me that he is now on the web. His call is - westgyle@coastnet.com if you want to call him. Mapping the Past By: Anne Vernon Derek Hayes, author of "Historical Atlas of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest", presented a slide show and talk at our February meeting. Early maps of North America were fairly accurate regarding the east coast, but the west coast was a different matter. For years maps of the Northwest Pacific region mainly consisted of wavy lines on parchment. The maps which Derek Hayes has collected over the years, many of which appear in his highly acclaimed book, are in existence because of the indomitable seamen who have been driven by their sense of duty and adventure to explore the vast oceans of our world. Names such as Drake (reputed to be on the west coast in 1580), Dudley, Cook, Juan de Fuca, Bering and, of course, George Vancouver, are all linked with this long, wet and often fog-bound coastline. Because of the cold wet climate, this part of the continent was somewhat neglected regarding exploration, but that changed drastically when the spice trade boomed in Europe in the 1600 and 1700's. The rush was on to be to find the fabled North West Passage which would be the fastest way to sail from Europe to India in order to corner the spice market. What dreams of glory many hearts must have had. The duty-bound seamen continued to draw their maps of these shores and, during his third visit here, James Cook was able to use a new chronometer which allowed much greater exactitude in the calculation of longtitude. This enabled the production of excellent maps, some of which are still in use today. Several of Cook's men acquired beaver ftirs here and sold them for great profit in China. The word spread - suddenly the Pacific Northwest Coast was very popular! Explores came by land and by sea and great changes took place as the trade in furs expanded. Unfortunately very few land maps seem to be in existence but a recent land map has been discovered so it is hoped that more may surface. In the mid 18(X)'s "negotiations" of the border between Great Britain and the United States of America took place. The Hudson's Bay and Astoria Fur companies were both interested in holding on to their "territory" and many interesting and unusual maps were produced - the details given depending on which side the map-maker was working! Eventually, as we know today, the 49th parallel was settled upon so all the Oregon territory went to the United States. The first map shown was a rather vague one, produced in 1569. The last two were James Douglas' map of Victoria and a sketch map of Vancouver by Colonel Moody, Royal Engineers. Moody proposed a canal connecting the Fraser River to Boundary Bay as the best way to handle shipping. Vancouver would certainly be different today if it had been built! To end, Mr Hayes left us with this little gem. The Public Records Office in London, where he often visits to find specialised information, and where vast numbers of maps and charts are stored, displays a notice asking people: "If you are looking through these maps and come across a map which we have not yet catalogued, please tell us".