Cowichan Bay (English:/ˈkaʊɪtʃæn/)[1] is a bay and community located on the west coast of southernVancouver Island nearDuncan, inBritish Columbia, Canada. The mouth of theCowichan River is near Cowichan Bay.Mount Tzouhalem with its hiking trails and ecological reserve stands to the north. The bay is known for itsfishing and scenic value. The area's main industries are fishing andtourism.
The area is served by the nearby coast-spanningIsland Highway andIsland Rail Corridor.
For many thousands of years Cowichan Bay was home toFirst Nations people who harvested the wealth ofsalmon andshellfish found in its many coves,tidal flats and swiftly flowing rivers. A rare steatiteanthropomorphic bowl was discovered on Cowichan Bay in the late nineteenth century. One of only about 50 so far found and estimated to originate from the Marpole Culture (400 BC-400 AD), it is now in theBritish Museum's collection.[2]
Cowichan Bay was the gateway for European settlement of the Cowichan andChemainus valleys from the early 1860s. A steamer service fromVictoria was the major link for goods and people before the coming of the railway.[citation needed] Bypassed by theEsquimalt and Nanaimo line and later by theIsland Highway, Cowichan Bay nevertheless was a thriving little community, based on sport and commercial salmon fishing, and log andlumber exports.
From the early 1900s Cowichan Bay attracted sportsmen from all over theBritish Empire for salmon fishing in the Bay and the Cowichan andKoksilah rivers. It was, for a time, the Salmon Capital of the World offering not just fishing, but fine sailing waters, an annual regatta and, next toWimbledon, the oldest grass tennis courts in the world.
The village of Cowichan Bay is a tourist attraction in the summer. The community began a transformation in 2004 when Jonathan Knight opened a European inspired bakery at the centre of the seaside village. His success spawned other businesses to open in the bay; an organic clothing store; a local-made cheese shop; an old-style homemade ice-cream parlour; an upscale restaurant; a pottery shop run by a local artisan; as well as many other eateries and knick-knack shops. Cowichan Bay offers visitors a chance to see their wildlife through kayak tours and rentals and whalewatching tours. Depending on the time of year it is not uncommon to see bald eagles, seals, herons or other wildlife in the area.[citation needed]
South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1887. It is one of the oldest lawn tennis clubs in the world and the oldest lawn tennis club in Canada.[3]
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A noted deepwater port where tankers and container ships can still be seen at anchor regularly, Cowichan Bay has been plagued by derelicts abandoned at anchor and left to rot — most notably the fuel-filledDominion, which dragged anchor during a winter storm before being towed away for scrap after a 5-year period, and the replicaBeaver, which replaced her, towed in by the same tug that removed the derelictDominion. Cowichan Bay's former economic base is declining, but being replaced with more recreational water activities, a revived interest in boatbuilding, an appreciation for the history and ecology of the Bay, and tourism.
Cowichan Bay services are provided by theCowichan Valley Regional District, with fire protection provided by the Cowichan Bay Improvement District which operates Cowichan Bay Fire Rescue. In 2009, Cowichan Bay became Canada and North America's firstCittaslow community.[4]
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