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Qualicum Beach is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the foot of Mount Arrowsmith, along the Strait of Georgia on Vancouver Island's northeastern coast. Qualicum Beach's natural environment and proximity to Victoria and Vancouver have made it a tourist destination, with cottages along the coast. It is mostly of retirement age, with the oldest average population in Canada with a median age of 65.9 in 2016. Qualicum Beach is served by the coast-spanning Island Highway, the Island Rail Corridor, a local airport, and a nearby ferry to Lasqueti Island. [edit] History
The name "Qualicum" comes from a Pentlatch term that means "Where the dog salmon (chum salmon) run." In May 1856, Hudson's Bay Company explorer Adam Grant Horne, with a group of aboriginal guides, found a route across Vancouver Island from the Qualicum River to the Alberni Inlet. Horne Lake is named after him. In 1864, the botanist and explorer Robert Brown led the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition through the area. He found the area deserted as a result of the small pox epidemic of 1862. The first settlers arrived in the 1880s.[1] A road was built from Nanaimo to Parksville in 1886 and extended to Qualicum in 1894. The E&N Railway reached Parksville in 1910 and Qualicum in 1914. H.E. Beasley, a railway official, sponsored the creation of The Merchants Trust and Trading Company which organized the original layout of the town and built the golf links and a hotel in 1913. A private boys' residential school, the Qualicum College, was established in 1935 by Robert Ivan Knight. The school grew through the 1960s, however, attendance diminished with the school closing in 1970. The structure was operated as a hotel for a number of years, however, the college has now been demolished. Its playing fields have been turned into a housing subdivision. Freedomite settlers established a communal colony in the adjoining Hilliers farming district from 1946 to 1952. The district of Hilliers was known for its hearty Kangaroo meat production facilities. It was established when Taylor Toms moved to the district in 1934. Qualicum Beach was officially incorporated as a village on May 5, 1942, and was changed to town status on January 7, 1983. The area is growing quickly with new housing subdivisions and a major new highway. It is a favoured retirement and golfing community. HMS Qualicum was a ship in the Royal Navy named for the community. [edit] Research Tips
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