About Mayne Island

Mayne Island is a 21-square-kilometre (8.1 sq mi) island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of 1,071. Mount Parke in the south-central heart of the island is its highest peak at 255 metres (837 feet). The Island was named after Lieutenant Richard Mayne, who served aboard the HMS Plumper during the 1850s. Nearby Plumper Sound, between the Pender Islands and Mayne, carries its name. There are several heritage buildings on the island that are well worth a visit: St. Mary Magdalene Church, the Active Pass light station, the Plumper Pass lockup museum, Springwater Lodge and the Mayne Inn at Bennett Bay. Across from the museum is the Agricultural Hall, built about 1900 and is the site of the oldest Fall Fair on the Gulf Islands. Mayne Island has a rich agricultural history and still has quite a number of operating farms supplying produce to the community.

The surprising number of accommodations and restaurants on island date back to the early 1900s when Mayne became an important Pacific Northwest resort island, and the stopover point for miners travelling north from Victoria to the Fraser River en route to the Cariboo gold rush. During these early years, the island bustled and rapidly developed tourist facilities to capitalize on its popularity and location. Today, there are over a dozen galleries, homes, shops and studios specializing in painting, pottery, fabric art, home preserves, jewellery and carvings, as well as traditional festivities celebrated in July and August.