Cape Scott Provincial Park extends from Shushartie in the east, then westward around Cape Scott and south to San Josef Bay. This coastline comprises the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The provincial park is about northwest of Victoria.
First Nations & explorers
In 1786, the cape was named in honour of David Scott, a merchant of Mumbai (Bombay), who had backed James Strange's maritime fur trade voyage to the Pacific Northwest Coast.
The Yutlinuk occupied the Scott Islands until the early 1800s. Remnants mixed with the Nakomgilisala, who traditionally inhabited the Cape Scott area with the Tlatlasikwala. Through amalgamations and relocations, they are known collectively as the Kwakwaka'wakw. Three First Nations reserves are adjacent to the park, including the former village of Nahwitti.
Southeast of the cape is the sand neck between Experiment Bight and Guise Bay. Interpretive signs provide First Nations names and their significance. The bight name meant "whale between on beach," and the neck was "against each other." The terms for the cape were "trail on the surface," "foam place, "sea monster," and "swell on beach." To avoid the turbulent cape waters, the Kwakwaka'wakw would manually haul their canoes across the sandy neck.
Lighthouse & radar installation
Former communities
Promoted to be an idyllic settlement, a Danish-Canadian community was established about east of the cape at the head of Hansen Lagoon in 1897. Supplies were landed about farther east at Fisherman's Bay/Cove, Nissen Bight. The trail linking the lagoon and the bay was upgraded to a wagon road. At the bay, Nels C. Nelson ran the co-op general store, and was the inaugural postmaster 1899–1909. A community hall and newspaper also served the population of about 90. The tidal flats at the lagoon were reclaimed with dykes. Smashed by storms on completion, the dykes were rebuilt.
Unsuitable boats limited worthwhile fishing. Excessive trapping, and cougars moving into the area, eliminated the plentiful game. The big cats also attacked domestic cattle. The community sloop Floyberg, which carried marketable produce to Shushartie and returned with supplies, was shipwrecked in 1899. From 1895, Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Service (CP) (formerly Canadian Navigation) ran a monthly service to Cape Scott, which by 1898, included a Quatsino port of call. Based on typical sea conditions, freight and passengers probably disembarked onto rowboats at the final destination, located somewhere near the cape. This arrangement likely precluded the loading of significant freight for the return journey. In 1909, the cape leg of this service ceased.
The government reneged on its promise to build a road from Quatsino Sound. That decision shattered the opportunity to ship out farming produce, eliminating the ongoing viability of the settlement. By 1909, the harsh environment had dwindled the population, leaving only two residents. New waves of Danish immigrants mainly settled about south along the San Josef Valley, at San Josef Bay or at Sea Otter Cove, immediately north. This valley is largely outside today's park. From 1910, the nearest significant transportation link was the CP ferry service to Holberg, a destination for cattle drives. During the following decade, a private launch made a weekly Shushartie–Fisherman's Bay freight run, but capacity was limited.
A number of new arrivals settled at the original location, but from 1914, World War I enlistments decimated all communities. The installation of government telephone lines along the trails connecting Holberg to Cape Scott, San Josef Bay, Sea Otter Cove and Shushartie, was completed in 1915.
Within and adjacent to the park boundaries are privately owned lots. This includes the river mouth property at the former settlement of Strandby about northeast of the cape. About farther northeast is a First Nations reserve at the former village of Nahwitti, on Cape Sutil. During the early 1900s, the small launch making the Shushartie–Fisherman's Bay mail run included stops at Nahwitti and Strandby. By 1921, only one elderly bachelor remained at the former, and a married couple at the latter.