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LOOK BACK: Working at the Bamfield Cable Station

The station was constructed in 1902 and closed in 1959
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This photo, circa 1932, shows the reunion of Bamfield Cable Station Staff. Identifications written on back: Front Row, left to right: Con. Hart, Sir Frank Dyson, Dr. Blaskett, Lieut. Gov. Mr. Fordham-Johnson, K.C. Cox, Judge Howay, R.G. McLachlan. Standing, left to right: Major Nation, Mr. McTavish, Maj. Seldon Humphreys, Mr. Donald A. Fraser, Mr. Charteris Pemberton, Mr. Fairbairn. This historical photo is one of 24,000 available for the public to see on the Alberni Valley Museum’s digital archives. See more at portalberni.pastperfectonline.com (PHOTO PN19001 COURTESY AV MUSEUM)

This photo, dated August 6, 1932, shows a reunion of Bamfield Cable Station staff.

The Bamfield Cable Station was constructed in 1902 as the western terminus of a trans-Pacific undersea telegraph cable. As many as 50 people, both operators and support staff, were employed there.

Former cable operator R. Bruce Scott described working at the station as “like living in a country club” with amenities like a library and tennis courts.

The cable station was shut down in 1959 after the cable was extended up the Alberni Inlet to Port Alberni. Today, the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre sits on the station’s former site.

The men in this photo are identified by writing on the back of the photograph. In the front Row, from left to right: Con. Hart, Sir Frank Dyson, Dr. Blaskett, Lieut. Gov. Mr. Fordham-Johnson, K.C. Cox, Judge Howay, R.G. McLachlan. Standing, from left to right: Major Nation, Mr. McTavish, Maj. Seldon Humphreys, Mr. Donald A. Fraser, Mr. Charteris Pemberton, Mr. Fairbairn.

For more about Bamfield’s past, visit www.bamfieldhistory.com. For more than 24,000 historical photos from the Alberni Valley Museum, visit portalberni.pastperfectonline.com.