A legacy of inclusive design

During the Union Steamships era, the Fraternal Order of Eagles sponsored fishing camps for the blind. This captured the attention of Captain M.C. Robinson, who was the CNIB director for British Columbia and Alberta. He had become blind at the age of eighteen while serving in the First World War and understood the problems of adjusting to a new way of life. Robinson became the moving force behind the idea of developing a recreation centre for the blind and low vision on Bowen.

When the Union Steamship company property came on the market in the early 1960’s, Robinson’s project began to take shape. The CNIB acquired three acres of waterfront in Deep Bay to build their new facilities.