Before you lies Victoria, first settlement on Vancouver Island. The Hudson's Bay Co., seeking a new western depot, built Fort Victoria in 1843. in the 1860's it prospered as a stepping-stone to mainland gold strikes. Protected by naval ships at Esquimalt, the fort grew from a distant outpost of empire to Canada's westernmost capital.
From BC's Stops of Interest
This plaque was reimagined by Joanne Hammond's project #rewriteBC (Republic of Archaeology) as: