Fisgard Lighthouse
Take a virtual tour inside Fisgard Lighthouse to discover what it was like to be a lightkeeper in the 1860s.
Fisgard Lighthouse is located on a small island at the mouth of Esquimalt Harbour. First lit in 1860, it is the oldest lighthouse on the West Coast of Canada.
Tap to explore
Esquimalt Harbour
The jagged coastline of Southern Vancouver Island has many rocky outcrops and small islands close to shore. The Esquimalt Harbour is a well-protected natural harbour with a small mouth and deep, calm waters.
The Xwsepsum people have lived in Esquimalt Harbour since time immemorial. Their direct descendants are now known as Esquimalt Nation.
Rainbow over Fort Rodd HillParks Canada
"We are the Lekwungen people. We consist of two nations, the Songhees and Esquimalt. Look out over Esquimalt Harbour. The ocean is an important part of our homelands. We believe the ocean is sacred to all living creatures in the water and on land.
Our ancestors have cared for this place since time immemorial. It connects our past, present, and future. Today, we continue to preserve and care for the land, the ocean and our history."
Melissa Barhard and Cecelia Dick
In 1848, the British Royal Navy began to station naval vessels in Esquimalt Harbour. The following year, Britain claimed this area as the Colony of Vancouver Island. Naval traffic increased quickly, as did shipwrecks and drownings.
Travel was treacherous at night for navigators unfamiliar with the rocky coastline and unpredictable weather. The area of the west coast of Vancouver Island and Washington State became known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific”.
Esquimalt Harbour, while less exposed, was heavily traversed and its rocky formations presented its own hazards. Governor Sir James Douglas wrote to the British government asking for money to build lighthouses to make maritime navigation safer.
Top of the Fisgard LighthouseParks Canada
Britain was eager to increase trade in their colony and to mark the north side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca as British territory.
The first lightkeeper, George Davies, travelled from England to supervise the construction and operate Fisgard Lighthouse. Lightkeepers had a demanding routine of chores and maintenance.
Historic exterior shot of Fisgard LighthouseParks Canada
Take a virtual tour inside Fisgard Lighthouse to discover what it was like to be a lightkeeper in the 1860s.
The kitchen
The kitchen occupies the first room inside Fisgard Lighthouse. It has a coal stove and some food staples.
Tap to explore
Keepers did not shop at the local market. That would involve rowing across Esquimalt Harbour every time they needed groceries. Instead, lighthouse keepers received shipments of food, fresh water, and other supplies every three months.
SuppliesParks Canada
Games room
Lighthouse keeping was a difficult job to do alone. Many keepers brought their families to help with the lighthouse, and other household tasks. The families that lived at Fisgard were key to the lighthouse keeper’s success.
The next room features items that lighthouse keepers and their families used in their daily lives. Most of the items on display were not necessary for the upkeep of the lighthouse. Rather, the items made life more comfortable for the keepers and their family.
Tap to explore
The items range from books and games to toiletries. When not doing the work of light keeping, time was spent on household chores, handicrafts, reading, and games like marbles, checkers, pick-up sticks, and cards.
Lights and reflectors
This room, with all the lights and reflectors, was once the keeper’s bedroom. Today, the room highlights the history and science behind some of the lights and lenses used in lighthouses—from spinning lenses with running lights to fixed lenses with flashing lights.
Tap to explore
When Fisgard Lighthouse was first lit, it was fitted with an oil lamp and a Fresnel lens to amplify the light. The light was fixed (not spinning) and flashed on and off.
The lantern had some red shades so the light would appear red when boats needed to change course to avoid navigational hazards. The lighthouse keeper lit the wick and the oil would burn slowly throughout the night. It was simple and effective technology.
Top of the Fisgard LighthouseParks Canada
The lamp is now an electric light
but a Fresnel lens still amplifies the light at Fisgard Lighthouse.
The staircase
This staircase leads up the tower to the lantern. It is made of iron and was cast in San Francisco, California.
Although it seems like a fancy choice, the reason the lead lighthouse architect selected cast iron was because it was more durable than a wooden staircase and less expensive than a stone one.
Tap to explore
Fisgard’s lighthouse keeper or the assistant lightkeeper climbed these stairs regularly every night to check on the lamp.
Wide angle photo of Fisgard Lighthouse at nightParks Canada
A lighthouse keeper's main job was monitoring the light from sundown to sunrise so that it was visible to mariners. It was important to keep the light constantly visible so that it was unmistakable.
This meant lighting the lamp at sunset and raising the flame gradually, until it was at full power when it was dark. Then, at sunrise, the flame was gradually lowered until it was extinguished when it was full daylight.
During daylight, the lighthouse tower was a navigational aid for marine traffic. Each lighthouse had a unique colour and pattern. Sailors used the lighthouses as landmarks, to determine where they were relative to where they were going.
The lighthouse keeper was responsible for ensuring the tower was easily identifiable to mariners. The lighthouse keeper kept the tower clean and freshly painted so it would be easy to recognize. This was no easy feat, as Fisgard Lighthouse is 17 meters (56 feet) tall.
This red brick building is a reproduction of a similar building that was constructed in 1864 to provide a place to store coal and oil. Coal was used almost daily, for lighting the lamp, heating the lighthouse, cooking and warming water for laundry or baths.
By the 1880s, Fisgard’s lighthouse keepers received 12 tons of coal annually. However, it was not always like this. During Josiah Gosse’s time as lighthouse keeper, the government decided that providing coal for lighthouse keepers was unnecessary.
If Gosse wanted coal, he had to purchase it at $5.00 per ton out of a salary of $360.00 per year. Gosse decided to use driftwood to heat the lighthouse instead and was reprimanded for it.
The boathouse and slipway were built in 1878, to store and maintain a rowboat on Fisgard Island. Having a boat allowed the lighthouse keepers at Fisgard the freedom to leave and go into the town of Esquimalt.
Fisgard Lighthouse was operated from 1860 to 1928 by a dozen different lighthouse keepers, all with their own lives and stories. It was hard, often thankless work.
Fisgard Lighthouse and boathouseParks Canada
The lighthouse was a cold wet uncomfortable place to live, but thanks to the dedication of lighthouse keepers many mariners lives were spared.
Fisgard Lighthouse at nightParks Canada
Fisgard Lighthouse is now an automated lighthouse
It continues to shine every night, as it has for over 160 years.
