Name/Title
Mill Bay FerryEntry/Object ID
2018.07.02Description
Painting
This small 1925 Modernist image of the Mill Bay ferry was done shortly after the service had started in November of 1924. The Mill Bay - Brentwood Bay route across the Saanich Inlet is described as ‘Vancouver Island’s Most Beautiful Shortcut’ and holds the distinction of being the oldest ferry link on B.C.’s coast. The painting depicts the "Cascade" ferry, partially visible behind docks, piles and anchored boats in the foreground water. A sliver of blue sky is visible in the distance above the dark deep-sided bay.Artwork Details
Medium
Oil on boardSubject Place
Region
Pacific NorthwestContinent
North AmericaContext
In the 1920s, the road from Victoria over the Malahat* was slow and dangerous with a gravel surface and winding turns, as well as being subject to washouts. Named after the Malahat First Nation, this rugged region of heavy forest and steep cliffs north of Victoria provides scenic vistas of Saanich Inlet, the Saanich Peninsula, Saltspring Island, and the Gulf Islands in the distance. The Malahat road climbs to a summit of 356 m.
Two former naval officers, Kennaird and Williams, saw a way to bypass this road by transporting vehicles across Saanich Inlet, and they founded the Mill Bay - Brentwood Bay ferry, starting operations in late 1924. Terminals were established on the east and west sides of the Inlet near to the present terminal location in Brentwood Bay and at Camp Point in Mill Bay. Initial service by the Cascade Freight and Trading Company was provided with a wooden-hulled coastal steamer, the "SS Cascade", which was altered to allow cars to drive on or off both the bow and the stern. The "Cascade" underwent many alterations over the years, and was eventually rechristened the "Brentwood". Cascade Freight and Trading Company was bought by Coast Ferries Ltd. in 1945, and in 1969 Coast Ferries Limited was bought out by BC Ferries.
In the 1950s, the aging "Brentwood" ferry was replaced by the "Mill Bay" ferry, and in 2011 the "MV Klitsa" took over the route. The MV prefix before the ferry's name stands for Motor Vessel. An SS prefix stands for Steam Ship.
*The name Malahat describes a 25 km long portion of the Trans-Canada Highway, as well as the locality in the Cowichan Valley. The highway begins in Goldstream Provincial Park, just north of Langford, and takes a twisting and steep route over the Malahat Summit to end just south of Mill Bay. The Malahat is of great significance to the Malahat First Nation, and the mountain itself remains one of the most sacred sites on southern Vancouver Island.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Harold Mackintosh McGiverin, RCA (1900-1937)Role
PainterDate made
circa 1925Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Ottawa, the son of a lawyer and Member of Canadian Parliament, Honourable Harold Buchanan McGiverin, P.C. and the grandson of Lieutenant Colonel William McGiverin and the Honourable Charles Herbert Mackintosh, Harold Mackintosh McGiverin was an accomplished landscape painter and an architect. He studied at the National Academy of Design, the Art Students' League art school, and under Hamilton Easter Field (1873–1922), all in New York City. He later studied under Robert Henry Lindsay (1868-1938) at the Brockville Ontario Government School of Art. In 1924, McGiverin exhibited with the Art Association of Montréal (forerunner of the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts), the Ottawa Art Association and the Royal Canadian Academy. He also held private shows in Ottawa and Hamilton.
After his marriage, he moved to Victoria ca. 1924, exhibiting with the Island Arts and Crafts Association for three years beginning in 1925 and at the Vancouver Art Gallery in the 1933 Vancouver Island Exhibition. He served as President of the Victoria Liberal Association and was a Major, 16th Canadian Scottish. McGiverin was living in Oak Bay where he died at the age of 37.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Signature, Date, LabelLocation
Signed and dated lower leftTranscription
Labels, etc. verso frame (photocopy of pic in file)
Label UL, typed:
...OIL PAINTING
......Harold Mackintosh McGiverin
Mill Bay Ferry
c. 1925
Oil on wood panel
Label (UR), typed and handwritten:
McGiverin, Harold...
(1900-1937) Victoria B.C.
Exhibited oils in IACS at
Victoria 1925-26-27-28.
Mill Bay Ferry, ca. 192.
(M.V. Cascade at....
Pencil on wood panel (centre):
OIL MILL BAY FERRY
Plus Lunds stickers, Options Picture Framing stamp...Dimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageHeight
19.7 cmWidth
24.8 cmAcquisition
Acquisition Method
PurchaseDate
May 17, 2016Notes
Lunds Lot #194
