Local history
These digital collections feature local historical materials held by UVic Libraries and our community partners.
This digital exhibit includes selections from the records of Peggy and Nicholas Abkhazi held in the ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ Archives.
It includes material relating to the interwar period, World War II and the design and creation of the Abkhazis' internationally renowned rhododendron garden on Fairfield Road in Victoria, now owned by The Land Conservancy of BC (TLC). The material digitized includes diaries, postcards, photographs, objects and watercolours.
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This collection contains exhibit catalogues published by the . The gallery possesses notable works by artists such as Emily Carr, and has one of Canada's most significant collections of Asian art.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the British Colonist newspaper, every page of every issue, from December 11, 1858 until the end of December, 1920 -- a total of 170,000 pages, have been made available.
This collection contains documents drawn from the fonds of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association held in the ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ Archives. Most items are handwritten in traditional Chinese script with English translations but there are also documents in English.
The Chinese Canadian Benevolent Association papers are also part of the collection.
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The Colonial Despatches were the original correspondence between the British Colonial Office and the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. This project aims to digitize and publish online a complete archive of the correspondence covering the period from 1846 up to the incorporation of B.C. into the Canadian Federation in 1871.
This collection consists of digital versions of several print community maps produced through a collaborative process between various community groups and the Common Ground Community Mapping Project and later with the Community Mapping Collaboratory (CMC) at the ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ.
These maps are part of the Green Map movement which began in 1995. Since then, 900 communities in 65 countries have mapped their home places. Green Maps use standard icons to identify community-minded sites and activities.
This collection contains writings and photograph albums reflecting the personal and professional life of German-Canadian author Else Lübcke Seel.
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This collection was drawn from the local history holdings of the (GVPL). Among the works included are a transcript of a talk given by Emily Carr about modern art, the Reminiscences of Bishop Cridge, a volume on Vancouver Island farming, and a report on the Victoria water supply from 1872.
This collection contains amateur films of Mathew Ko from the late 1930s to early 1950s and are a record of family and community life in Victoria and the region during that time.
Gazettes are official publications that disseminate government proclamations, notices, and regulations as required by colonial, and later provincial legislation. The collection will ultimately include the first ten volumes of the Gazette, 1863 to 1871.
Architectural drawings and plans by Samuel Maclure (1860-1929) for homes in Victoria, and other British Columbia locations.
Maclure received commissions from many prominent Victoria and British Columbia businessmen and politicians.
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The UVic historical photograph collection consists of photographs acquired by the ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ Archives of the ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ and its predecessors, the Provincial Normal School and Victoria College.
The fire insurance plans (FIPs) from 1885 to 1916 were created by Charles E. Goad and Company to assist insurance underwriters in determining fire insurance risk.
This digital collection, drawn from the BC Archives collection, contains all of the 1891 plans, the full set of 1903 plans (with revisions to 1909 indicated), and the surviving plans from 1911 (revised to 1913). The number of plans required expanded to cover the city grew from 31 in 1891 to over 170 in 1913.
Nineteenth Century "charge books" from the . The handwritten charge books are a record of the arrests made in Victoria, British Columbia, and surrounding areas between 1873-1876.
Victoria to Vimy, sponsored by a World War Commemorations Community Fund grant from the , is a digital collection of First World War materials held at the ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ Libraries. For this exhibit, the ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ Libraries has selected a range of archival and historical items from our Special Collections and University Archives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that provide diverse perspectives on the lives of ordinary Canadians during the First World War.
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This digital exhibit originates with a website, , a partnership project between the Asian Canadian Working Group at UVic and community partners including the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the Chinese Public School, and the McPherson Library.
A selection of early Victoria and Vancouver Island maps, books, pamphlets and ephemera, together with archival material drawn from the .
Frank Sylvester was an early Jewish settler to Victoria, involved in the fire department and the negotiation of labour contracts.