Archives > History of the Archives

The Archives was started in 1967 by Ainslie Helmcken, a descendant of one of Victoria's pioneer families. The establishment of a city archives required strong support from Mayor Al Toone and his successor, Mayor Hugh Stephen. In the seventeen years that Mr. Helmcken held the position of City Archivist, he worked to create strong ties to the citizens of Victoria and was very active in the acquisition of archives. Major archival holdings were obtained during this time. Two particularly important acquisitions were the British Columbia Land and Investment Agency records and the photograph work of Harry Upperton Knight. The history of the City was another interest of Mr. Helmcken. He gave many talks on various historical topics and wrote articles for the newspapers. All of these activities helped to raise the profile of the Archives.

In the beginning the Archives was located in a small room near the City Council Chambers. As the records holdings grew, the Archives was moved to 613 Pandora Avenue. In a building shared with the Parks and Recreation Department and the McPherson Foundation, the Archives consisted of a series of small rooms. No separate reference room existed and researchers would often share the same work tables as staff. This could lead to many difficult situations including frequent visitors to the Archives answering the phone before the staff had a chance to get there.

Following Mr. Helmcken's retirement, Penny Seedhouse, who had worked for many years with Mr. Helmcken, became Archives Manager. During the next six years, greater emphasis was placed on the description of the archival records which had been previously acquired. A major focus for the Archives was the development of the photograph access system. As the photograph collection was in heavy demand by archives users, good access to the photographs was very important. A marked improvement to the physical layout of the Archives occurred at the end of 1989 when there was a move to #8 Centennial Square. While the Archives lost about 500 square feet in their new location, a proper reference room and more efficient storage was possible. Small amounts of space have been added over the years.

Jim Burrows was hired as Archives Manager in 1990. Since then the Archives has begun to take a larger role in the records management of the City records. The Archives has managed the main records storage area in City Hall and undertaken an inventory of the City's records. Describing the textual records, particularly the records of the City, has been a priority during the last five years. The Archives has also participated in the British Columbia Archival Union List, an automated descriptive list on the Internet. Major acquisitions have included the Victoria Commonwealth Games Society, W. & J. Wilson (Clothiers), Fernwood Community Association, the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and P.R. Brown & Sons. In 1994 when local governments came under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Archives Manager was appointed the Information and Privacy Coordinator.

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