The Victoria Historical Society meeting on Thursday, September 28, 2006 will feature Terri Hunter, the popular local historian, who will speak on "Oak Bay: People and Places over the Past 100 Years". The meeting will be at the James Bay New Horizons Centre, 234 Menzies Street at 7:30 pm. Visitors are welcome.

Friends of the B.C. Archives Lecture: " Old Square Toes: Sir James Douglas, KCB"

Sunday, November 19, 2006, Newcombe Conference Hall, 2-4, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria

Join the Friends for Douglas Day, and a talk by historian John Adams on "Old Square Toes", more formally known as Sir James Douglas, the first Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. This will also be a unique opportunity to see the original Commission which was issued to Governor Douglas by the Crown, transported to the Colony by Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie, and then read aloud on November 19th, 1858 at Fort Langley to mark the official birth of the Colony. The Commission is normally kept in a secure vault, but for Douglas Day will be available for special viewing.

For more information about this event contact Ann ten Cate, Outreach Coordinator, BC Archives, 250-387-2970 or Ron Greene, Secretary of the Friends of the BC Archives at 250-598-1835. This event is free for Friends of the Archives, $5.00 for non-members, payable at the door. Call in advance for information about handicap access.

Friends of the B.C. Archives Lecture: " Simon Fraser and Fort St. James"

October 22, 2006, Annual General Meeting, Newcombe Conference Hall, 2-4, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria

Fur trade historian Jamie Morton will be speaking on Simon Fraser and the 200th anniversary of the founding of the first white settlement in British Columbia, Fort St. James. This event will help celebrate the exploits of this remarkable North West Company fur trader, who in 1808 became the first European to travel down the Fraser River, and who leant his name to so many places in our province.

For more information about this event contact Ann ten Cate, Outreach Coordinator, BC Archives, 250-387-2970 or Ron Greene, Secretary of the Friends of the BC Archives at 250-598-1835. This event is free and the public are welcome to attend. Call in advance for information about handicap access.

Friends of the B.C. Archives Lecture: " The Land Records of B.C."

September 17, 2006, 2- 4 p.m., Newcombe Conference Hall, Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria

Godfrey D. Archbold, Chief Executive Officer, Land Title and Survey Authority will speak about the Authority and their work with the archival records in their custody. These include the original survey plans for the province. Walter Meyer Zu Erpen, their contract archivist, will also be on hand to report on the results of the inventory and appraisal of those records. This will also be an opportunity to ask questions about plans for providing public access to these records, which have been the subject of much recent media attention.

For more information about this event contact Ann ten Cate, Outreach Coordinator, BC Archives, 250-387-2970 or Ron Greene, Secretary of the Friends of the BC Archives at 250-598-1835. This event is free for Friends of the Archives, $5.00 for non-members, payable at the door. Call in advance for information about handicap access.

Canada West to East: Teaching History in a Time of Change: A National conference on the Teaching, Learning & Communicating the History of Canada, Empire Landmark Hotel Vancouver, British Columbia, October 20-22, 2006. Further details in the conference announcement document (Adobe Acrobat PDF file), or on the Association for Canadian Studies Web site.