Sam Bawlf | |
|---|---|
| Member of theBritish Columbia Legislative Assembly forVictoria | |
| In office December 11, 1975 – May 10, 1979 Serving with Charles Frederick Barber | |
| Preceded by | David Anderson Newell Morrison |
| Succeeded by | Gordon William Hanson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Samuel Bawlf (1944-06-07)June 7, 1944 Winnipeg,Manitoba |
| Died | August 20, 2016(2016-08-20) (aged 72) Saltspring Island,British Columbia |
| Political party | Social Credit |
| Spouse | Marnie Bawlf |
| Children | Chauney Natasha |
Robert Samuel Bawlf (June 7, 1944 – August 20, 2016) was a Canadian politician and author.
In 1972, Bawlf was elected toVictoria City Council, the youngest person ever to have been so.[1] In1975, he was elected to theLegislative Assembly of British Columbia for the riding ofVictoria as a member of theSocial Credit Party. He was soon appointed Minister of Recreation and Conservation by PremierBill Bennett. As minister, he oversaw the enactment of B.C.’s first Heritage Conservation Act. He subsequently served as Minister of Deregulation. He was defeated in the1979 general election.[2]
Bawlf's book,The Secret Journey of SirFrancis Drake, was published in 2003 and had sold more than 20,000 copies by the time of his death. Bawlf challenged the commonly held belief that fellow British explorerJames Cook was the first European to ever visit the B.C. coast when he sailed intoNootka Sound in 1778.[1]Bawlf died of cancer in 2016.[3]
Bawlf had boldly proposed that the Drake expedition sailing from southernMexico first sighted the northern continental coastline near the northern tip ofVancouver Island (as opposed to South of the island as commonly believed) and continued on exploring extensively the B.C. outer and inner passages coastlines. Drake would have sailed in a record time record distances within B.C. in spite of harsh conditions and huge risks while carrying a precious cargo. Under the cover of a "pirate" raiding Spanish galions during the course of an already ambitious worldwide circumnavigation project (the second ever afterMagellan), Drake would have managed to accomplish the B.C. coastal reconnaissance exploit under an elizabethan investors mandate to check the access to the western side of theNorthwest Passage. Bawlf's book claim was nearly as bold as his hero Drake, with unfortunately limited evidence to back up Drake's expedition whereabouts whether in B.C.,Washington,Oregon orCalifornia. Unsurprisingly,“The academic reception was mixed" according to his own publisher.[4][5][6][7]
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