As nurses, artists, teachers, and changemakers, the women of Bowen Island have undoubtedly always been up to extraordinary things. From homemade documentaries to photographs and interviews, we’re honoured to hold this history in our archives. Now, we’re honoured to share it with you, in this online exhibit.
While people like Captain Cates and George Cowan may have received more widespread fame in their day, Bowen has a proud history of extraordinarily hardworking women. As historians, we can continue that pride by telling their stories here, where you can read and share them! Here you’ll find the stories of Rosa Helenius and Norma Dallas, who once ran the post office and docks.
There are also accounts of Ellen Dorman and Muriel Neilson, who were instrumental in the health and education of Bowen. From marathon swimmer Frances Cannon, to Ladies Auxiliary president Annie Laurie Wood, we have tried to show the wide range of professions that women have had on Bowen over the years.
The Archives strives to record the lives and stories of Bowen residents and associated visitors. We collect biographical stories, photographs, obituaries, oral histories, and all sorts of other documents. We encourage you to come tell us your story, or the story of an extraordinary Bowen woman you know. You can reach us here!
Explore the stories below!
Ellen Dorman
During the 6 decades she spent on Bowen, no-one was more central to the island’s community than Ellen Dorman. Born Margaret Ellen King in 1910, Ellen planned from childhood to train and work as a nurse. By 25, she was running McKay Private Nursing Home…
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Annie Laurie Wood
Annie Laurie Wood, born Annie Laurie Parker in Nova Scotia and known to some islanders as “Granny Wood,” came to Bowen early in her life. She was orphaned when still very young and grew up in Minnesota, but she arrived on the island in…
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Muriel Neilson
Muriel James Neilson was born in 1909 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A brilliant student, she earned degrees in English, Chemistry, and Math. However, upon graduation the Great Depression hit, which made job prospects few and far between. So Muriel took a job as…
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Frances Cannon
Frances Cannon (nee. Caldwell) was an inspirational record-breaker in the world of open water swimming. Born in Trail, B.C. in 1941, she began swimming at a young age. She drew inspiration from Marilyn Bell, trained under Ann Meraw, and completed swims like…
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Rosa Helenius
Born in 1934 in Masset, Haida Gwaii, Rosa Fanny Harris saw a good deal of B.C. before moving to Bowen. Until the age of five, she lived with her Haida mother and English father in Masset. They then moved to Prince Rupert, then Hazelton, then back to…
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Gail Taylor
Gail Taylor (nee. MacLeod) was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1943. She completed school there, and started her career on a high-flying note – as a stewardess on Canadian Pacific Airlines. Unfortunately, bouts of motion-sickness cut that…
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Norma Dallas
Born Norma Ann Currell in 1939, Norma Dallas ’s connection to Bowen Island is lifelong. Though she first set foot on the island at two years old, her family’s history on the island stretches back much further, to when her aunt Lena Farrell’s family began travelling to…
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Lilian & Maisie Adams
For all their years on Bowen, the Adams sisters were as inseparable as they were essential to the community at Tunstall Bay. Lilian Eleanor and Mary Bethel “Maisie” Adams, born approximately 1908 in Vancouver’s West End. They grew up comfortably in town with…
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Judi Gedye
Judi Gedye is the longtime chair of the Bowen Island Heritage Preservation Association (BIHPA) and a frequent volunteer across many committees and community groups. In 1980, she moved to Bowen in search of a quiet home to decompress from…
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Kae MacNeil
Kae MacNeil met her husband Charlie when he came down with an ulcerated throat while she was working as a nurse. Initially, she didn’t intend to remain on Bowen. She moved to the island in 1946 to take care of her mother, who had delivered Bowen’s papers…
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Helen Holte
First arriving on Bowen as a summer vacationer with her family in the ’30s, Helen Holte returned to the island later in life when she married the taxi driver, Ralph Holte. In her spare time she became a founding member of the Historians. However, Helen’s primary focus…
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Peggy Proudlock
Margaret “Peggy” Proudlock, raised on the Proudlock property on Grafton Road, made friends in every corner of Bowen over the course of her life. She lived on the island for most of it, working at Doc Morgan’s, the Pub, and Canadian Institute for the Blind. Later in her…
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