Robert Samuel Bawlf (June 7, 1944 – August 20, 2016) was a Canadian politician and author.

Biography

In 1972, Bawlf was elected to

Victoria City Council The Victoria City Council is the Local government, governing body of the City of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.. The council consists of the mayor plus eight councillors. A deputy mayor is appointed wikt:Monthly, monthly. The councillors a ...

, the youngest person ever to have been so. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

for the riding of

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 ...

as a member of the Social Credit Party. He was soon appointed Minister of Recreation and Conservation by Premier

Bill Bennett William Richards Bennett, (April 14, 1932 – December 3, 2015) was a Canadian politician who was the 27th premier of British Columbia from 1975 to 1986. Early life Bennett was the son of Annie Elizabeth May (Richards) and former premier W. ...

. As minister, he oversaw the enactment of B.C.’s first Heritage Conservation Act. He subsequently served as Minister of Deregulation. He was defeated in the 1979 general election. Bawlf's book, ''The Secret Journey of Sir

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

,'' was published in 2003 and had sold more than 20,000 copies by the time of his death. Bawlf challenged the commonly held belief that fellow British explorer

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

was the first European to ever visit the B.C. coast when he sailed into

Nootka Sound Nootka Sound () is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of ...

in 1778. Bawlf died of cancer in 2016. Bawlf had boldly proposed that the Drake expedition sailing from southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

first sighted the northern continental coastline near the northern tip of

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 ...

(as opposed to South of the island as commonly believed) and continued on exploring extensively the B.C. outer and inner passages coastlines. Drake would have sailed in a record time record distances within B.C. in spite of harsh conditions and huge risks while carrying a precious cargo. Under the cover of a "pirate" raiding Spanish galions during the course of an already ambitious worldwide circumnavigation project (the second ever after

Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the Magellan expedition, 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered t ...

), Drake would have managed to accomplish the B.C. coastal reconnaissance exploit under an elizabethan investors mandate to check the access to the western side of the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

. Bawlf's book claim was nearly as bold as his hero Drake, with unfortunately limited evidence to back up Drake's expedition whereabouts whether in B.C.,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Unsurprisingly, “The academic reception was mixed" according to his own publisher.https://sbawlf.com/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bawlf, Robert 1944 births 2016 deaths 21st-century Canadian historians British Columbia Social Credit Party MLAs Canadian urban planners Conservation architects Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Politicians from Winnipeg Real estate and property developers Victoria, British Columbia city councillors 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia