Mayne Island | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Mayne Island

Mayne Island, 2327 ha, is one of the Gulf Islands in BC. The island is named for British surveyor Lieutenant Richard C. Mayne.

Mayne Island, 2327 ha, is one of the Gulf Islands in BC. The island is named for British surveyor Lieutenant Richard C. Mayne. Excavated middens near Active Pass suggest habitation for at least 5000 years. Active Pass, separating Mayne and Galiano islands, has large salmon runs and, because of tidal upwellings, large feeding waterfowl populations.

Mayne Island was the hub of the Gulf Islands at the turn of the century on the strength of its resort hotels and wharves, which handled passenger ships plying the Strait of Georgia between Victoria and New Westminster or Vancouver. Today, with the other islands, it is a retirement and summer tourism centre.