Floating households

Concluding comments on the 1911 harbour census and GIS

Detail of 1911 map of Victoria, B.C.
Image courtesy of City of Victoria Engineering Department

The 1911 census of Canada coincided with a golden period in Victoria's history.

In the decade since 1901, the City of Victoria’s population increased by over fifty percent, from about 21,000 to over 32,000. The year 1911 was notable for civic confidence and prosperity. It was a banner year marked by an unprecedented building boom driven by favourable interest rates, rising immigration, railway expansion, and expectations from the completion of the Panama Canal.

The maritime sector was vital to Victoria's economy, generating over $4 million in customs revenue in 1911 alone. The sector was sustained by a commercial fleet consisting of more than fifty vessels with an aggregate crew of nearly 1,200 people.

The vessels described in this project were not simply units of transportation and labour, they were also abodes for their crew. The vessels were floating households, distributed across the Inner Harbour, Upper Harbour, and Outer Wharf.

When census records of these vessels are integrated within a geographical information system (GIS), we may achieve a new perspective on Victoria during its Edwardian summer. GIS may provide a spatial dimension to the community and allow us to view Victoria not only from its streets, but from its waterfront.