Soak up the culture and history of First Nations peoples along with the story of European settlement, logging, fishing, and maritime activities by visiting two fine museums in town.
Campbell River Museum
A sun mask offers a surprise welcome to visitors as they begin their tour of the imaginatively designed exhibition spaces at the Campbell River Museum – arguably one of the best on Vancouver Island alongside Victoria's Royal BC Museum, and the museums in Nanaimo and Port Alberni.
Exhibits
The First Nations exhibit is highlighted by the Treasures of Siwidi, an audio-visual retelling of a hero's journey through the supernatural underworld. It's a riveting story as spot lighting illuminates a collection of exotic masks carved by some of Vancouver Island's finest artisans.
The museum's flow then leads to exhibits dedicated to Campbell River's more recent history. Learn about the golden years of sports fishing, stand in the recreated lobby of the circa-1914 Willows Hotel, step aboard a 1920s' floathouse and explore artifacts related to pioneer life and the logging and salmon industries.
Cap off a visit by watching a documentary about the 1958 explosion of the notorious Ripple Rock, a deadly maritime hazard reduced to rubble by the many tons of TNT. The museum is five minutes south of downtown off the South Island Highway at Fifth Avenue.
Maritime Heritage Centre
The Maritime Heritage Centre, a National Historic Site, is within a five-minute walk of the museum near the Government Wharf and Discovery Fishing Pier. Its centre piece is the BCP 45, a BC Packers fishing boat (formally known as a table seiner) that was famously featured on the back of Canada's blue $5 bill during the 1970s and '80s.
Volunteers here offer guided tours aboard the restored and refinished vessel. For nearly seven decades it patrolled the seas from the Fraser River as far north as Alaska, using seine nets to haul in upwards of 5,000 sockeye at a time.
Elsewhere in a handsome exhibit space filled with light and airy spaces are displays of vintage radio gear and the fascinating maritime memorabilia collected by local optometrist Dr. Robert Somerville.
For a complete listing of museums in the area contact the Campbell River Visitor Centre.