Malahat Roadway, c. 1912 (Unedited)

Рет қаралды 20,799

Күн бұрын

00:00 Footage begins
00:44 Approach to Shawnigan Lake, including lumber camp.
02:43 View along the Malahat, with cars driving by.
06:21 Planting of the first post of the "Canadian Highway", Port Alberni, BC, May 4 1912.
08:15 View of the Lillooet Suspension Bridge, Frasier Canyon.
Library and Archives Canada ISN 22890
This video may depict a visit to the Malahat Highway near Victoria, B.C., by the Duchess of Connaught on the 2nd of October, 1912. It is some of the earliest footage recorded from a moving car in Canada.
"The Royal ladies... spent the afternoon looking over the logging camp of the Shawnigan Lake Lumber Company [...] The journey to Shawnigan was made by motor over the Malahat drive, the return trip being across the Sooke hills." -Victoria Daily Times, 3 October 1912.
Later footage of a canyon scene may have been taken at the Fraser Canyon, and is likely not from the same trip as the previous scenes.
Do you recognize any of the places, vehicles or situations in this film? Let us know at ddepencier@canadianautomotivemuseum.com.

Пікірлер: 89

@albertstadt9853 Ай бұрын

I hope the duchess will support us in advocating that the Malahat be expanded to two lane traffic. This would allow traffic to travel in both directions at once. Perhaps it could also be paved.

@hlk5887 Ай бұрын

It is with great pleasure that the duchess announces the Malahat will indeed be widened to a two lane road. She thought it was a rather splendid idea, especially because now traffic would move in both directions. This suggestion must have come from someone with foresight of what is to come. Her opinion moved the powers that be to move forward.

@geoffa3017 24 күн бұрын

They need to build a tunnel around the bad part is what has to happen.

@seekingtruthnotfindingany7301 22 күн бұрын

Perhaps

@eternalfizzer 29 күн бұрын

The opening shot is along what is now Mill Bay Road between Mill Bay and the ferry terminal. I sure recognize that! I walked it month!

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 29 күн бұрын

It's a bit more lush and overgrown now than it was in 1912.

@TriumvirVespasianus Ай бұрын

My grandparents used to tell me that mill bay rd was the main hwy back in the day, this film confirms that at the beginning there...👍

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

Not only the main highway, the first highway! Or at least the first one in the area developed specifically for motor traffic.

@Rhythm911 27 күн бұрын

I didn't know where it was at first ... but I recognized the name Malahat, and I've lived all over south BC over the last few decades, so I couldn't pin-point it ... I had to hit a GOOGLE map !!! 😜 But Shawnigan (Lake) I knew... But I didn't make the connect !!! 🤭 I've traveled that way many times '81 to '84, and then '94-2002 I think the highway was built above that original road (?) Maybe ??

@garyfrancis6193 26 күн бұрын

A beautiful scenic drive to Duncan and Nanaimo.

@northwestalternativemedia2125 25 күн бұрын

Wow! Im surprised how recognizable that mill bay rd is in this video from 1912. How so much has changed yet still so fermiliar. Great video!

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 23 күн бұрын

Thanks for tuning in!

@zigarten Ай бұрын

Cool train shot too!

@JMac-fj1rg Ай бұрын

Note when they meet another car it can be seen that traffic in BC (in 1912) drove on the left hand side of the road.

@dlittlester 29 күн бұрын

Until about '31 I think.

@Rhythm911 27 күн бұрын

British for sure !!!

@garyfrancis6193 26 күн бұрын

Compared to all over the road now.

@dlittlester 26 күн бұрын

@@garyfrancis6193 Ha! Indeed!

@MelioraCogito 25 күн бұрын

@@garyfrancis6193 🤣 Indeed.

@frankemcgillivray6695 Ай бұрын

Road looks pretty rough but it has been under construction/improvement continuously ever since.

@JoeTourist 5 ай бұрын

1:50 might be Thetis Lake and at 4:30 the train heading south for the tunnel from what is now the straight stretch north of Tunnel Hill. It's really cool to see the highway wind through the campers at Goldstream Park!

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 5 ай бұрын

Good catches, thanks so much! It's really staggering how much ground this old filmstrip covers- pun intended.

@dennis2376 4 ай бұрын

Very cool to see this stuff.

@MikeH-sg2ue Ай бұрын

I see that since then, the Malahat has improved a little! Cool video, a piece of history! I drive the Malahat often. Thanks for sharing!

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

Thanks for tuning in!

@dlittlester 29 күн бұрын

Doesn't stop us from complaining about it though! 🙂

@dougabbott8261 Ай бұрын

1912 .... even the logging practices had not developed.Horse and hand logging and lots of first growth everywhere amazing how 100 years will change things. thx

@darrenhansen354 29 күн бұрын

The location in Alberni, BC on May 4,1912 would be the confluence of the Somass River and Kitsuksis Creek. The lake footage starting at 7:42 is the eastern shore of Cameron Lake.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 29 күн бұрын

Both certainly look like they could be, and geographically make sense together. Do you have anything to hard-confirm this?

@darrenhansen354 29 күн бұрын

The mile zero mark was installed at Victoria Quay and Johnson Road. There are pictures online. Cameron Lake part of the video I know those mountains around the for sure as I have driven past them for the last 60 years. You can check Cameron Lake photos online and see the same mountains. 1912 was the same year the rail line was brought into the Alberni Valley.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 29 күн бұрын

Oh, we hadn't realized there was a mile marker! Fascinating stuff. We're really uncovering up this proto-Trans Canada Highway story as we go. Thank you!

@darrenhansen354 29 күн бұрын

Mile Zero: In 1912, hundreds gathered at Victoria Quay for the installation of a post recognizing the terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. In the spirit of rivalry between the two towns, pranksters from Port Alberni stole the sign in the middle of the night and replanted it at Argyle and Kingsway; Port Alberni's mayor, Arthur Waterhouse, made sure that the sign was returned. In 1950, the terminus, or Mile Zero, was moved to Victoria

@towgod7985 3 ай бұрын

1912!!!!! I'am floored!

@garyfrancis6193 26 күн бұрын

I must have driven the Malahat a few hundred times in the 1970’s and 80’s. Last time was probably 1998. Hasn’t changed a bit.

@bimmjim 2 ай бұрын

In this film you can see some forest the way it used to be.

@BADBIKERBENNY Ай бұрын

Only if there was footage like this of the Cariboo Road in the Fraser Canyon.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

If you find any, let us know!

@Me-ei8yd 28 күн бұрын

I have a picture of my grandma is driving her model t ford through the canyon in the late 1930s. When her husband and 2 kids drove from Saskatchewan all the way to Victoria and never left.♥️🇨🇦♥️

@vikneumann4148 5 ай бұрын

That bridge near the end of this footage was built in 1913, which is still there in Lilooet.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 4 ай бұрын

Excellent spot! That's definitely the Lilooet suspension bridge.

@johnb3118 27 күн бұрын

I've been across it before they built the new bridge. Right before that scene is a nice view of Seton Lake. Still is beautiful there.

@garyfrancis6193 26 күн бұрын

Lilooet is only s few hundred miles from the Malahat.

@maxpower6765 22 күн бұрын

Cool video. It’s a much easier drive these days There is a rifle range at the top I belong to ✌🏼

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 21 күн бұрын

Thanks for tuning in!

@alancooper3473 Ай бұрын

The Malahat is on Vancouver Island, North of Victoria.

@alancooper3473 Ай бұрын

NW.

@Kaptain13Gonzo 5 ай бұрын

The very beginning reminds me of Mill bay Rd. along the water. Not sure the bridge in the canyon is lillooet. My money would be on Spences Bridge. But i will admit I'm old, but not that old. The canoeing bit near the end reminds me of the mouth of goldstream river, to the side of the old shooting range. Just some thoughts from an old islander. .

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 4 ай бұрын

We've been looking over Street View of the Mill Bay road, and it certainly could be- it's tough because the area is now a lot greener and more overgrown than it was at the time this was shot. We're pretty sure the bridge isn't the old Spences Bridge one, as that was a box girder- in the footage you can clearly see the towers of a suspension bridge, so it's probably the one in Lilooet, which would have been brand-new when the latter half of this footage was taken. That river mouth could be the Goldstream, yeah. It's certainly in the right area for the rest of the footage.

@millbaymoll2420 Ай бұрын

I agree on the Mill Bay Rd. footage. Near the start of the movie, it is heading south as it rises up towards the First Nations village. Later in the footage, a similar section, with several cars passing the camera, headed north on the MB waterfront, headed towards Verdier Point, I thought.

@V.I.Outdoors Ай бұрын

For sure it is@@millbaymoll2420

@davemacmurchie6982 28 күн бұрын

Mill Bay Rd for sure!

@islguy420 2 ай бұрын

My great-grandparents were probably there

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 2 ай бұрын

Oh? Tell us more! Did they live in the area?

@willowsworld111 Ай бұрын

I don’t understand the comments here, arg. 👧🏻🏴‍☠️🇨🇦 Lillooet is on the mainland, it is mile zero on the Gold Rush Trail, highway 99, drive the switchbacks on the Duffy, turn left after the historic Hatcreek Ranch onto the 97, and boom, there’s 70mile, 83mile, 100mile, take the right turn exit at The 150, (Yes it is called THE 150), you see Chief Will-Yum’s gas station there at The 150, do the righty turn, and you hit 160mile Likely and Horsefly. The end of the mile-road is here peoples! 🩵👧🏻 This road is where the Mt Pauley mine breached its tailing pond. (Just a tidbit of info as we drive.) There is no swingy bridge at the end of the Malahat in Lillooet, there might be two swingy bridges, I should go visit…. 🚙🚙 Woot woot! Gotta love the Cariboo…. And the Malahat, Gotta drive that….

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

So, this footage is made of driving footage from two, possibly three different road trips and filming sessions edited together, the last of which was probably taken at least a few months after the previous two. We don't have notes for context on any of them, and they certainly don't show any kind of geographical sense. Think of this as a compilation of three different trips, instead of one continuous route.

@pbasswil Ай бұрын

2:57 That's a lot of traffic for a back-woods road, before WW I! Even a lowly Ford Model T cost a good chunk of 1912 dollars (its price would go down considerably in later years as production scaled) - motoring was still not quite attainable for the common man. Clearly, though, some B.C. islanders had the $$ to travel in style.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

Yes, absolutely! Victoria had one of Canada's largest auto clubs at the time- we know that by 1909 there were at least a dozen cars being regularly driven on the city's roads, which is certainly above-average for that time period. The city's motoring community were also early lobbyists for the construction of a trans-Canada highway, and appear to have used their local highways often.

@garyfrancis6193 26 күн бұрын

@@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum A dozen cars. Why that’s absolute chaos. What if they were all on Douglas or Fort streets at the same time? It wouldn’t be safe to go downtown.

@brucemckean2848 Ай бұрын

A real mix and certainly not all Malahat. Goldstream, OK, and E&N railway, and a bit of Saanich Inlet, all great but, but, but other stuff just doesn't fit.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

Absolutely correct. This footage is mostly Malahat, but also appears to include footage from at least two other driving trips in B.C.; it doesn't represent one continuous voyage.

@HOWNDOG66 29 күн бұрын

It’s explained in the description.

@marceld6061 Ай бұрын

This kind of makes me think.... you had to be a little brave to risk driving that road from the very beginning.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

Extremely brave! Early driving, even on a good road, was scary. The cars were dangerous and unreliable, and could be quite difficult to control, and even the best roads were rough. There was no easy way to call for help if you got in an accident. Driving, especially fast driving, was an activity for the foolhardy or confident.

@bimmjim 2 ай бұрын

5:33 Here are the road crews at work. .. I'll bet the road repair was constant.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 2 ай бұрын

In this case it's less road repair and more road cleanup, as construction on the Malahat had only recently finished. We're also not sure to what extent the workers shown are part of the logging camp versus part of the road-construction team.

@benbradley7028 5 ай бұрын

that is Lillooet and the Fraser River at the end...

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 5 ай бұрын

We suspect that footage is from somewhere along the Fraser, yeah. It doesn't seem to be part of the original Malahat footage, and we don't have any contextual info for it. Do you recognize a specific spot in or near Lillooet? Or just general vibes? Either way, thank you!

@billsmith7320 Күн бұрын

Looks about the same today

@JustADumbTrucker Күн бұрын

Some of those Lake shots look like Cameron Lake. 🤔

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 16 сағат бұрын

There's a good chance they are, though we don't know for certain, and you're definitely not the first person to suggest as much. We know for a fact some of the footage was taken at Port Alberni, and given that Cameron was and is the next big stop on the highway between Alberni and Victoria... again, can't say for sure but probably.

@michaelzimmer1115 Ай бұрын

Pretty hard to figure out just where these films were taken. The caption says the Malahat, but I cannot place the shots with respect to the current road.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

Absolutely. Our only reference for where some of this footage might have been taken is a single newspaper article from 1912- the rest is guesswork, not helped by it clearly incorporating footage from multiple different trips.

@MelioraCogito 25 күн бұрын

*Malahat Roadway:* _As treacherous in 1912 as it remains in 2024._ 😨😱 Some things never change.

@billfarley9167 Ай бұрын

Now you know why MacMillen became a multi millionnaire and why Bloedel joined forces.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

Is this a reference to the B.C. lumber barons of the same names?

@billfarley9167 Ай бұрын

All those people look so........................British.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum Ай бұрын

Well, a substantial chunk of this road trip is the entourage of the Duchess of Connaught, so presumably they are, yes!

@margyeoman3564 Ай бұрын

LOL. yes that was before the 1960's when a nasty MP or someone like that began to curtail the British Isles immigration/ migration to Canada and opened it up for a very different demographic.

@murrayandru7527 Ай бұрын

The road hasn't changed much , lol.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 29 күн бұрын

Little more pavement, little more greenery, sliiiiightly more traffic...

@JS-jh4cy 29 күн бұрын

Before that , 1900s it was ass drive or horse drive

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 28 күн бұрын

Not at all! Canada's first steam car was around in the 1860s, and there were electric cars and gas cars by the late 1890s. Plus, bicycles started being really popular in the late 1880s- when this film was made, the country was on the tail-end of a huge cycling boom.

@janknudsen145 Ай бұрын

kinda sad

@srpacific 24 күн бұрын

In other countries they just build tunnels, in Canada we suffer with poor infrastructure…

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 23 күн бұрын

There are pretty good reasons, at least originally, why the Malahat didn't have many tunnels- these were the very early days of driving, and even modern road-building in Canada, so the funding and demand weren't there for full-scale road tunnels. Also, the first Canadian highways were often expected to pay for themselves through auto and cycle tourism, mostly from the United States- so the more scenic and windy the route, the better the investment. That was the thinking in 1912, at least.

@Rhythm911 27 күн бұрын

WOW the scenes of them driven along cliffs on roads that were basically off-road by today's standards, with no seat-belts, no roof and no windows !!!! 😱😱😱😱😱🤕💀 On vehicles that never should have been convertibles. or off-road. And then one, I assume, youngish woman/girl stands up to wave frantically... like someone in a speeding boat on a choppy sea, with corners!!!!! 🤢🤮 I was posted/stationed/lived in Esquimalt/Victoria, for 3 and a half years, I guess I need to Sub' I love this type of "Time Travel"... ( {A.J.L.} footage, especially when it has a more personal connection. And I'm tired of just city footage or foreign footage. I was born on 1957 , my father was born in 1901 and his father in1868 in bilingual Ontario ! I could see what they had lived before civilization got much more serious. And decades before I was born. I always look for my father in antique film footage of WW2 (his parents forbid him to go to WW1 until he turned 18, It was over before he was 18.

@CanadianAutomotiveMuseum 27 күн бұрын

Thanks for tuning in! Driving in the early 20th century was indeed a heckuva lot more dangerous than it is now- the only reason accident rates weren't incredibly high is that so few people were actually driving.