In February 1945 Senator Barnard gifted 2 parcels of land -his 'hunting lodge' - to the Victoria Council of Scouts Canada. This amounted to some 200 acres of second growth forest and included 17-acre Young Lake. Currently Camp Barnard comprises 251 acres and is used year-round. Provincial Jamborees have been held at Camp Barnard in 1974, 1982, 1987, 2015, and 2019.
Senator Barnard (1868 – 1954), a lawyer, was elected Mayor of Victoria in 1904. He served two terms, during which time the Causeway was built to replace the James Bay Bridge. He also promoted the building of the Empress Hotel.
In 1908 he was elected to the House of Commons (Liberal-Conservative Party) where he promoted Victoria as a seaport resulting in the building of the Ogden Point Wharves. In 1917 he was appointed to the Canadian Senate, where he served until 1945 when he retired to Victoria. Senator and Mrs. Barnard’s Victoria home, the Duvals, still stands at 1642 Rockland and an easy search of Ross Bay Cemetery will find you the Barnard family plot.
Camp development began in earnest in the 1960’s with the building of McPherson Lodge, followed ten years later by Totem Lodge- a Katimavik project. Mor Kitchen was a jamboree addition and has just undergone renovation. The current bunkhouses were completed in 1992, Keego Kitchen in 1998.
Click here to veiw a photo montage of the past 75 years.
Acres of wilderness tenting areas back onto Mount Bluff and the Sooke Hills. Bring on the Adventure!
