Strandby is adjacent to the mouth of the Strandby River at the west end of Shuttleworth Bight, near the northeastern extremity 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 ...

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 ...

Name origin

Cache Creek, the former name, derived from the stream, which, according to an 1892 report, afforded shelter at its mouth for craft drawing not more than . Historically, cache means something of value in a hidden location. One theory claims this referred to the creek itself, which enters the bight at such a sharp angle to be almost invisible from the sea. Furthermore, gold has been detected on the creek, foreshore, and Irony Creek, near the eastern end of the bay. Another theory alludes to buried treasure. Once a month, early resident Daniel O'Connell would row his boat to Shushartie for supplies, but allegedly paid with $20 gold pieces of unknown origin. He drowned on one such trip. To avoid confusion with the other Cache Creek, the post office opened in 1911 as

Strandby Strandby is a coastal town in Denmark, located in Region Nordjylland. Its population was 2,301 as of 1 January 2025. In due course, the stream was called Strandby River, but when officially renamed in 1947, it was misspelled Stranby. The error was detected by local historian Ruth Botel, and officially corrected in 2005.

Early community

Danish settler Soren Christensen, who came in the late 1890s, resided at the mouth of the creek. East of the settlement was Burnt Hill, later renamed Soren Hill. His sister Marie joined him in 1903. About 1905, Henry (Harry) Shuttleworth arrived, marrying Marie in 1908. He had previously spent the winter of 1896

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly ...

for gold on the creek. In their new home, the couple extended hospitality to all travellers between Cape Scott and Shushartie. Their 20 or 30 head of cattle foraged the rainforest, and the descendants still roam wild. Their few domesticated cows provided milk, and Marie made butter and cheese. Harry was community leader and justice of the peace, and at various times served as road foreman and postmaster. In 1910, a trail linking east to Shushartie was funded. To avoid travel by small launch in choppy waters, residents soon demanded an upgrade to a wagon road. Westward however, little more than a trail could ever become a reality. Near Daniel O'Connell's place, Peter Wold lived on Burnt Hill, a name evidencing an earlier forest fire. Other permanent residents included Pete and Karl Sovik, the Gundersons, and the Eaglestads. In 1911, the Alec Sims and their twin babies came, soon followed by Harry Shuttleworth's brother Robert with his wife and five children. Robert's family temporarily lived in a new house by the creek before moving west to Sunny Bay. J. Tom & Dorothy Lockwood and their three sons completed the year's arrivals. The family was musical, and Tom was an Anglican lay preacher. He took over the general store, and was postmaster 1913–1917. Later settlers were drawn by a land promotion on Burnt Hill, but the soil was poor, and the immigrants soon relocated to the fertile foreshore. From 1914,

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

enlistments decimated these communities. Strandby River Cape Scott

The installation of government telephone lines along the trails connecting Holberg to Cape Scott, San Josef Bay, Sea Otter Cove and Shushartie was completed in 1915. Little evidence of this line through Strandby remains. That year, Soren Christensen died. The next year, Robert Shuttleworth left for

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

to work in a munitions factory. In 1917, the family joined him, promising to return in the spring, but like many, they never resettled after the war. By 1921, Harry & Marie Shuttleworth alone remained at Strandby. The Gundersons, Nockens, and Eaglestads were at Christensen Point, also named after Soren. Just inland from this western point of Sunny Bay lived the Dykes. Outliving Marie, Henry (Harry) Shuttleworth, then the sole resident, died in 1941.

Tourism

By the 1970s, apart from a shelter for the stranded, only collapsed abandoned buildings remained. The

Cape Scott Provincial Park Cape Scott Provincial Park extends from Shushartie in the east, then westward around Cape Scott and south to San Josef Bay. This coastline comprises the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The provincial park is about northwest ...

extends along the northern tip of Vancouver Island from Shushartie Bay in the east, then westward around Cape Scott and south to San Josef Bay. The individuals who once inhabited almost every cove have long gone. Nowadays, the North Coast Trail, which links east to west, borders Shuttleworth Bight, where Strandby occupied the western end. Camping spots exist on the foreshore, and back in the forest when extreme winds. A house/lodge stands on the private property adjacent to the river mouth. To pass this obstacle, the trail skirts inland, crossing the river on a two-person aerial cable.

References

{{Reflist Northern Vancouver Island