BACKGROUNDER - Royal BC Museum

BACKGROUNDER
2003MCAWS0026-000179
Feb. 17, 2003
Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services
ROYAL BRITISH COLUMBIA MUSEUM
The Royal British Columbia Museum contains detailed information on all of the province's natural and
human history. It houses a collection of over 10 million objects and specimens valued at $600 million.
Founded in 1886, the museum developed in the wings of the provincial legislative buildings until its
current building was erected as a Canadian centennial project in 1967. The museum building
comprises a research and collections tower named for John Fannin, the museum’s first curator.
In its new location, the museum created state-of-the art exhibits on the province’s natural history and
human history and devoted another gallery to British Columbia’s First Peoples. Open Oceans, the last
large permanent exhibit, was added in 1987.
Also on the site is a First Nations carving studio and Big House, as well as Thunderbird Park, famous
for its totems. These areas are programmed and interpreted through a partnership with Victoria’s
Native Friendship Centre. St. Ann’s schoolhouse on Elliott Square dates to 1843 and was used by the
Sisters of St. Ann’s.
In 1996, the province granted the museum special operating agency status, thereby allowing it to
conduct business in a more entrepreneurial fashion. Since then, the museum has added a National
Geographic Imax Theatre through a public-private partnership, licensed the provision of food services
in an enhanced museum café, introduced a gallery rentals program and expanded its museum shop.
Marketing synergies with community and tourism partners have been developed and fostered. These
activities aided the Royal British Columbia Museum in augmenting revenues, especially through
special exhibits like Dragon Bones: When Dinosaurs Ruled China (signed for 2003); Circus Magicus,
(1999/2000); Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist, Inventor, Artist (1998/99); and Empires Beyond the Great
Wall (1995/96). These relationships allowed the museum to sustain its position as a world-class
cultural institution.
In the fall of 2001, the government directed the museum to review its operations and examine ways to
improve services. In November 2002 at an open cabinet meeting, the government approved the
museum’s recommendation that the Royal British Columbia Museum become a Crown entity and the
British Columbia Archives, Helmcken House and the Netherlands Carillon – previously under the
purview of four separate ministries – be amalgamated with the museum to form a cultural precinct.
-more-

- 2 -
CULTURAL PRECINCT
British Columbia Archives
The B.C. Archives, started in 1898, is the central archives service for the government of British
Columbia, and provides research access to records of enduring value to the province for both the
provincial government and public clientele.
The archival holdings, valued at $100 million, include government documents and records; private
historical manuscripts and papers; maps, charts and architectural plans; photographs; paintings,
drawings and prints; audio and video tapes; film; newspapers; and an extensive library of publications
with a strong emphasis on the social and political history of British Columbia and the Pacific
Northwest.
The archives moved into its present location in 1970 and added a sound and moving image division in
1975.
Helmcken House
The house was built by Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken and is the oldest house in British Columbia on its
original site that is open to the public. Helmcken, a surgeon with the Hudson’s Bay Company, set up
house in Victoria when he married the daughter of Governor Sir James Douglas in 1852. He went on to
become a statesman and helped negotiate the entry of British Columbia into Canada as a province.
Helmcken House, originally a three-room log structure, offers a glimpse into the way life was lived
over a hundred years ago. One of the collections is the doctor's original 19th century medical kit.
The Netherlands Carillon
The Netherlands Carillon in Victoria was a gift of the Dutch community of British Columbia to the
people of the province in honor of Canada’s Centennial.
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands laid the cornerstone on May 23, 1967. The tower was completed and
officially opened a year later. There are 75 steps on the staircase that turns through six complete
circles, a 10-step ladder to reach the playing room, plus anotherladder to the belfry. The bells were
cast at Royal Bell Foundry at Petit and Fritsen in the Netherlands. The tower stands 27 metres tall at
the corner of Government and Belleville streets.
The Netherlands Centennial Carillon became the largest in Canada in 1971 with the addition of 13
bells, bringing the total to 62, nine more than the Peace Tower at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.
The original carillonneur was the late Herman Bergink. His efforts to build and the carillon for the
people of B.C. resulted in his being knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Visit the province's Web site at http://www.gov.bc.ca/ for online information and services.
-30-
Media
contact:
Sharon Henwood
Corporate Communications Manager
Royal British Columbia Museum
250 356-7226
250 387-2135 (direct)
Marisa Adair
Communications Director
Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services
250 387-4089