From the Vaults
James Dunsmuir’s Dreamy Retirement - Part II 

Last month’s column focused on James Dunsmuir’s imported car, chauffeur and custom yacht that was the envy of European heads of state. This month, RRU archivist Sarah Holland looks at other aspects of Dunsmuir’s retirement . . . the world travel, the golf course, the fishing lodge and, of course, the castle that is the centrepiece of Royal Roads University today.

by Sarah Elizabeth Holland, RRU archivist

One of the Dunsmuir daughters demonstrates that a proper lady always keeps her ankles crossed when seated – even on a camel.

The campus of Royal Roads University is located in Hatley Park National Historic Site, an Edwardian estate once home to the family of coal baron and former B.C. premier James Dunsmuir.

When James Dunsmuir finished his tenure as Lieutenant Governor of B.C. at the end of 1909, he moved his family out of Government House and into the largest private residence on the west coast at Hatley Park. Dunsmuir paid about $134,000 for almost 800 acres of forested ocean-front property with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains. Led by iconic local architect Samuel Maclure, a large crew – including 60 stonemasons and 25 finishing carpenters – completed the design and construction of the mansion in less than two years. Equipment, workers and supplies were brought to the building site by barge across the lagoon. Exotic materials from around the world were used throughout the 50-room mansion such as the stained glass windows designed by William Morris from England, pink sandstone from Arizona for the hall fireplace, and Australian jarrah wood for inlay in the yellow cedar panelling in Dunsmuir’s study.

A company from Boston - Brett and Hall - completed most of the landscaping work between 1913 and 1916. That included developing the croquet and tennis courts, several formal gardens and model farm which included hayfields, dairy, piggery, stable and garage, ice house, smoke house and conservatory complete with a huge banana tree and imported orchids.

A company from Boston - Brett and Hall - completed most of the landscaping work between 1913 and 1916. Here, James and Laura pose in the Italian Garden.

At the end of November 1911, Dunsmuir and his family left Victoria for a year-long trip abroad. They spent Christmas in Caux Switzerland, probably staying at the Caux-Palace overlooking Lake Geneva. The Caux-Palace was the largest and most luxurious hotel in Switzerland during the Belle Epoque, hosting celebrities from the Rockefellers to Rudyard Kipling. From here, the family travelled to Egypt where they spent six weeks taking in the sights and cruising up the Nile. A photograph from the family album shows one of the Dunsmuir daughters demonstrating that a proper lady always keeps her ankles crossed when seated – even on a camel. Spring and summer were spent in England where the Dunsmuirs took over a stately home called Bisham Abbey near Henley.

No retirement package would be complete without golf! In 1912, Dunsmuir and Joseph Sayward bought 240 acres of the old Hudson’s Bay Company Esquimalt farm located adjacent to Hatley Park for $183,720. Their intention was to start a new golf club complete with championship course and country club. They hired A. Macan, reigning B.C. Amateur Champion to design the course that is still ranked among the top in Canada. After Macan lost his lower leg in the World War I, he continued to play golf to a four-handicap for many years.

In 1929, the eldest son of King George V – Edward, Prince of Wales – honoured the Club by becoming its first royal patron. Edward was an avid golfer and frequent visitor to the Club while staying at Hatley Castle. With Edward as its patron, the Club successfully petitioned the Canadian Governor-General for the right to use the "Royal" prefix. The Royal Colwood Golf Course is one of four “royal” courses in the country and continues to host many major tournaments.

Dunsmuir was such an enthusiastic sports fisherman that he stocked the ponds at Hatley with trout so that he could go fishing in his own backyard.

No retirement package would be complete without golf! In 1912, Dunsmuir and Joseph Sayward bought 240 acres of the old Hudson’s Bay Company Esquimalt farm located adjacent to Hatley Park – now the Royal Colwood Golf Club - to build a championship course.

Sometime before 1911, he bought a summer cottage on one of Vancouver Island’s best fishing rivers to which he escaped as frequently as his business would allow. Although Dunsmuir added bedrooms and a wide verandah to his cottage on the Cowichan River, he kept things simple so as to maintain a rustic charm that he preferred to his formal life at lavish Hatley.

In 1920, one month before his sixty-ninth birthday, Dunsmuir spent the day fishing from his Cowichan cottage followed by an evening of bridge with friends. He went to bed early feeling unwell and during the night suffered a stroke before dying, in the early morning, of a massive cerebral haemorrhage. After his death, his wife, Laura, continued to visit the Cowichan cottage into her seventies, bringing family members along for summer visits.