Gilbert Malcolm Sproat (19 April 1834 – 4 June 1913) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

businessman, office holder, and author.

Biography

Born in Brighouse Farm Borgue near

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire. His ...

, Scotland, he arrived on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

in 1860, where he helped to found the first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. Port Alberni currently has a total popu ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. On 24 July. 1863 he was made a justice of the peace for the

Colony of Vancouver Island The Colony of Vancouver Island, officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies, was a Crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia. ...

. When the sawmill burnt down in 1865, Sproat returned to England, but maintained his interest in the affairs of the colony, which was united with the mainland in 1866. Sproat's fascination with the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

people he encountered on Vancouver Island, led to his best remembered book, ''The Nootka:Scenes and studies of savage life'', which appeared in 1868. In 1870 he wrote ''Education of the Rural Poor'' which argued for the extension of elementary education to all, including agricultural laborers. Following British Columbia's entry into

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

in 1871, Sproat became the new province's agent general in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, a position he held from 1872 until his return to the province in 1876. Beginning in 1883, Sproat began travelling to the

Interior of British Columbia The British Columbia Interior, popularly referred to as the BC Interior or simply the Interior, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While the exact boundaries are variously defined, the British Columbia Interior ...

, especially to the Kootenay region, where he held several regional offices. After 1898, Sproat returned to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, where he spent the majority of his time writing. He died there on 4 June 1913.

Legacy

Sproat Lake Sproat Lake is a lake on central Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was known as Kleecoot, meaning "wide open" by local indigenous people. Roughly cross-shaped with four arms, it is over 25 kilometres in length, and has 90.8 kilom ...

and

Sproat Lake Provincial Park Sproat Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park near Port Alberni in British Columbia, Canada's Vancouver Island. Its name derives from a lake named after 19th century entrepreneur and colonial official Gilbert Malcolm Sproat. Petroglyphs One ...

on Vancouver Island are named in his honour by

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sproat, Gilbert Malcolm 1834 births 1913 deaths Colony of Vancouver Island people People from Dumfries and Galloway Canadian businesspeople Canadian non-fiction writers Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia

Biography

Legacy

Further reading

References