Western Canada’s oldest Maritime museum is located in an 1889 heritage building in historic Bastion Square.

Experience yesterday today as you travel back in time to the days of pirates, shipwrecks, exploration and discovery. See Tilikum, a dugout canoe that sailed from Victoria to England.

Established in 1954 as a non-profit society, the Maritime Museum of British Columbia was originally a naval museum located on Signal Hill just outside the gates of HMC Dockyard. By 1965, the museum’s artifact collection had outgrown the premises and the museum moved to its present location, in the Provincial Courthouse.

The fog shrouded Pacific Coast of North America has a deep and rich heritage that spans the centuries from the first aboriginal cultures to European exploration and early settlement. Initially isolated from the European world, this region witnessed the navigation feats of early mariners and the clash of empires. Meet great characters such as Captains James Cook and George Vancouver, witness the territorial see-saw between Russia, the United States and British Canada, and discover the many mysteries of this coast.

_{"In 1901 Captain Voss left Oak Bay, Victoria, in the modified cedar dug-out canoe the Tilikum on a journey in which he intended to circumnavigate the world. The voyage was to last 3 years and 3 months from Victoria to Margate, England.}

_{Journalist Norman Luxton accompanied Voss for part of the voyage. It was hoped that Luxton’s writings would help finance the expedition. Dropping Luxton off in Fiji, Voss then took on a series of temporary first-mates, one of whom was swept overboard in a storm, carrying with him the boat’s only compass. In 1904 Voss and his final first-mate arrived at Margate. The vessel was exhibited at Earls Court, London in 1905 after which it was sold and passed through a number of hands and was discovered in 1929 lying derelict.}

_{Through the efforts of concerned Victorians, Tilikum was crated and returned to Victoria by freighter where restoration was carried out by the Thermopylae Club. She can be seen on display at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia."}

_{(From the website of the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria, BC:)}