Cape Beale Lighthouse

Lit in 1874 and still staffed today — the light at the mouth of Barkley Sound, and the keeper's wife who walked ten kilometres through a gale to save a ship.

The first light on this coast

The light was first lit on July 1, 1874, by keeper Robert Westmoreland — a 31-foot wooden tower with a second-order Fresnel lens, visible 19 miles out. It was built because this coast was killing ships.

Minnie Paterson's walk

In December 1906 the barque Coloma was being driven onto the rocks in a southeasterly gale. The telegraph line to Bamfield was down, and the keeper could not leave the light. So his wife — a mother of five — set out on foot over six miles of rough trail to raise the alarm in Bamfield. The rescue steamer got through. Canada gave her a gold watch. She said she would have traded it all for no wrecks.

Still staffed

Cape Beale is one of 27 lightstations left with a keeper on the BC coast. You reach it on a demanding 10-kilometre trail from Bamfield, or by boat when the weather allows.

Timeline

1874: First lit, July 1, by keeper Robert Westmoreland.
1906: Minnie Paterson walks to Bamfield through a gale to save the crew of the Coloma.
1958: The wooden tower is replaced by the current steel tower.
Today: Still staffed — one of 27 keeper stations left on the BC coast.