The History of the Brown Property ...
It all started with a fishing trip visit to Vancouver Island
by Noel Money in 1913. He came to Qualicum Beach on July 17
of that year and liked the place so much that he bought six
lots from the Merchants Trust and Trading Company, which was
in the process of building the golf course and the Qualicum
Beach Hotel, and selling residential lots. The six lots comprise
what is now known as the Brown Mansion and grounds.
We don't know what transpired between Mr. Money and R. Thompson
Tinn, the resident manager of the Merchants Trust and Trading
Company, but Money went back to England and concluded his affairs
there and returned in 1914 to take Tinn's place as Manager.
He lived in Tinn's house, now called Valhalla, at the corner
of Beach and West Crescent, while his own house at 292 Crescent
Road East was being built.
In 1915 Money rejoined his regiment and the hotel was converted
into a convalescent hospital for wounded officers. Sometime
after the end of the war, Money returned, a brigadier general,
and became manager of a new company that ran the hotel and golf
course and sold lots.
The 30's were a difficult time for the hotel and golf course,
and for the whole village, including the Moneys. When General
Money died in 1939 the house on East Crescent was sold to his
neighbour. Major Jim Lowery. Lowery had started the Calgary-based
Home Oil Company in 1925. - the largest independent oil company
of its time.
R.A.(Bobby) Brown Jr. engineered a takeover of Home Oil. Lowery
suggested that Brown buy the Money property in Qualicum Beach
as a summer and weekend home, which he did in 1952. The Brown
family enjoyed the property for over forty years. Bobby Brown
had annual fall weekends there with his directors and special
invited guests. The Browns entertained there extensively.
In 1955, fearing that the golf course might be sold to developers,
Bobby Brown purchased it to protect his view. Brown died in
1972. The executors of his estate put the golf course up for
sale, and after considerable negotiation it was sold to the
Town of Qualicum Beach for $1,000,000, considered to be about
25% of its market value, due to the Brown family's love for
the community. In 1995 the Brown Family Trust put the house
and 5 acre property up for sale.
In May, 1996 the Brown Property Preservation Society
was formed to raise the funds to buy the forested property
consisting of 50 acres, and excluding the house and adjacent
grounds of 5 acres. In 2001 the house and grounds were sold
to Ron Coulson of Comox, who is restoring the original house,
plus undisclosed further development.
The History of the Brown Property Preservation Society
The Brown Property comprises approximately 50 acres of Coastal
Douglas Fir forest, including a significant stand of over 300
year old trees. It has been assessed as being of outstanding
ecological significance because it is relatively undisturbed
by human activity and contains many species of endangered and
rare plants. The Society and Town successfully purchased 32
acres of the property in the Spring of 1999. At that time an
option on the property was negotiated and the society entered
its second phase of fund raising.
This property, by definition, is not an old growth forest.
It is an older forest with some old growth Douglas Fir. The
current executive relies upon a joint sensitive-ecosystems study
conducted by Environment Canada (Canadian Wildlife Service),
Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and B.C. Environment, Land and
Parks when it describes this forest as an "older forest
(older than 100 years)….rare in this region."
The second phase concentrated on raising an additional $910,000
to purchase the remaining 15 acres. The Society and Town of
Qualicum Beach had an Option to Purchase the remaining 15 acres
for that price until July 31, 2002. Through hard work and public
support, the Society succeeded in raising an additional $450,000
which was used in March 2002 to purchase 7.5 more acres of this
forest. Since then, the Society raised an additional $183,200
and, together with a bank loan of $282,922, the remaining 7.5
acres have now been purchased. The vision of the Society is
to preserve the property as a park, dedicated to the appreciation
of nature, accessible by boardwalk trails to minimize disturbance
of habitat, with signs to identify various plants and their
role in the ecosystem.
The Brown Property Preservation Society was formed in May,
1996, when concerned residents of the community of Qualicum
Beach learned that a plan was being set in motion to develop
the forested (undeveloped) area of the Brown property, privately
owned. A campaign was started to raise public awareness of the
situation, and by September, 1997, the Society had over 300
members.
The Brown Property is of special ecological significance because
the 50 acres consist of forest that has been relatively undisturbed
by human activity. A conservation evaluation of the property
in October, 1996, by Andrew P. Harcombe, R.P. Bio, P.Ag., B.C.
Conservation Data Centre, states that "the remaining natural
part of the property be protected for its conservation values.
The two main plant communities are ranked as red listed (endangered)
and blue listed (sensitive or vulnerable). The stream and flood
plain have high fisheries value. It is clear looking at an aerial
photo that the property will provide important green space in
an area entirely impacted by residential and golf development.
The size of the property and its having 300+ year forests intact
both contribute to its high conservation value.
The old growth forest was once common only to the narrow strip
of lowland of the east coast of Vancouver Island between Bowser
and Victoria and to the adjacent Gulf Islands. It is now one
of the most endangered ecosystems in North America, with less
than two percent remaining. The Brown Property is an outstanding
remaining example of a type of landscape once common on the
coastal plain but now severely altered on the east coast of
Vancouver Island. The property's ecological value is enhanced
because of its size. It is large enough that much of the interior
quality of the plant communities have not been compromised by
excessive light penetration or exotic species invasion. Acquisition
of the Brown Property will provide the public with a unique
opportunity to appreciate an endangered ecosystem in an urban
setting."
Numerous local volunteers and businesses have been invaluable
in increasing public awareness of the Brown Property itself
and the need to save it, and in organizing various fund raising
activities ranging from door-to-door canvassing, concerts, house
and garden tours, jazz festival, craft fair, construction sale
and even an "Antique Road show" and auctions. The
project became a community issue and has received significant
positive attention in the local media in editorials, articles
and letters to the editor, as well as exposure on provincial
radio and television.
The following is a representative list of donors:
|
|
2000 individual members of the public in
Qualicum Beach and area have donated to the Society, with
donations ranging from $2 to $10,000; |
|
|
3 residents of Qualicum Beach anonymously gave donations
of $200,000, $55,000 and $25,000; |
|
|
one resident (now deceased) left his entire estate of
$180,000 to the Society; |
|
|
a woman from California donated $5,000 US, and other Americans
have sent donations after touring the property; |
|
|
in the summer of 2000 local residents transferred the
value of their shopping points at Qualicum Foods, a local
food store to the Society, raising $5,900 and the store
matched these donations with an additional donation of $5,900;
|
|
|
in July 2002 Qualicum Foods again permitted residents
to transfer the value of their shopping points, raising
a further $10,000; |
|
|
on 2 occasions, 24 local home owners opened their homes
and gardens, and 1800 people have attended home and garden
tours at $20 a ticket, raising $44,000; |
|
|
1000 people attended an Antiques and Garden Art Show,
generating $12,000; |
|
|
40 people donated items for auction, and 400 people attended
a benefit concert and auction, raising $20,300; |
|
|
A limited addition art sale generated $12,000; |
|
|
Quality Foods gave another $10,000 Donation; |
|
|
$200,000 Dash
On October 29, 2003 a new campaign began to raise the remaining
$210,000 owing on the bank loan. This campaign was known
as the $200,000 Dash and it would run until August 30, 2004.
Each increment of $200 received through personal donation,
or function proceeds, was recorded on a Board kept at City
Hall. |
|
|
The final weeks of the campaign saw many donations flow
in from the community. In those last weeks 3 local residents
generously donated individual sums of $20,000, $14,000 and
$10,500. |
On the last day of the campaign the BPPS was only $26,567 from
achieving its goal. By the time the Town of Qualicum Beach assumed
ownership the loan was approximately $15,000. By the summer
of 2005 only $10,000 was outstanding. Donations continued to
come in and by October 2005 it was reduced to $9,200.
The Society feels that the number of persons who donated and
their efforts to raise sufficient funds shows the extent of
the community’s desire to preserve this urban old growth
forest.
Some BPPS members celebrating after eight years
of campaigning.
