British Columbia / B.C. Postal History / Jolly Roger Inn Ltd, SECRET COVE, B.C. - 24 December 1968 - HALFMOON BAY, B.C. (cds cancel / postmark) to Victoria, B.C.

Jolly Roger Inn Ltd.
SECRET COVE
R.R. 1, Halfmoon Bay P.O., B.C. - (corner card cover)

The former steamship landing of SECRET COVE in British Columbia is the site of several busy marinas today.

SECRET COVE is located on the west side of Sechelt Peninsula, northwest of Halfmoon Bay and northwest of Vancouver. The entrance to this sheltered cove is hidden behind Turnagain Island. Several marinas are located there, as well as a range of other tourism facilities. The Sechelt First Nation name for the cove is Stl’ítl’kwu. LINK - www.knowbc.com/limited/Books/The-Encyclopedia-of-Raincoas...

A sheltered harbour north of Sechelt near the entrance to Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park, SECRET COVE is a popular summer resort retreat, with the remote feeling of an island and all the convenience of a mainland coastal community. Secret Cove boasts some of the best sport fishing charters available in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. LINK - britishcolumbia.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/vanc...

SECRET COVE Post Office, located just north of Halfmoon Bay, operated from (first opening) - 15 March 1916 to - 31 August 1917, (second opening) - 15 October 1946 to - 14 January 1950 and (third opening) - 19 April 1990 to 1993.

LINK to a list of the Postmasters who served at the SECRET COVE Post Office - recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record...

The HALFMOON BAY area was originally occupied by the shishalh Nation who have lived and thrived in this region since time immemorial. Settlers Charles & Clara Priestland arrived in Vancouver in 1889 and were married in Vancouver on October 10, 1889. In 1892, Clara Priestland left her husband and headed alone for HALFMOON BAY which was to be her home for more than 40 years. She built a log house on the site and became postmistress, a position she held for many years. In her early days at the Bay, the Post Office was known as Welcome Pass. The Bay was surveyed in 1910 and the name "HALF MOON BAY" first appeared on a Admiralty Chart published in 1912. The spelling was changed during the next few years and the post office name was officially changed in January 1915 to the HALFMOON BAY Post Office. There was no wharf in HALFMOON BAY in those days and the postmistress' duties involved rowing out to Welcome Pass in all weather to meet the coastal steamers which carried the mail. With the post office went a single line government telegraph, with each station having a set time each day to relay and receive its messages.

- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - WELCOME PASS (PRIESTLAND), a small post settlement at the foot of Half Moon Bay, Strait of Georgia, in Burrard District, B.C. 40 miles from Vancouver, on the C.P.R. The region is well wooded, and there is good fishing and hunting in the vicinity. Sechelt lies 10 miles to the east, and Nanaimo is 16 miles distant across the Strait or Gulf. The post office and general supply store is one. The population in 1918 was 18.

(from - Wrigley's 1918 British Columbia Directory) - HALFMOON BAY - a post office, summer resort, and logging district, located on Half Moon Bay, Gulf of Georgia, in North Vancouver Provincial Electoral District, reached by Union S. S. Co's boats from Vancouver, distant 40 miles. Has telegraph office, and population of 100 in 1918. Local resources: Logging and summer resort.

Welcome Pass Post Office opened - 1 January 1894; closed - 30 November 1898; the Post Office re-opened - 1 July 1904. Re-named HALFMOON BAY Post Office - 1 January 1915 and closed - 21 November 1989. The Halfmoon Bay (RPO) opened - 11 January 1990 and closed - 19 April 1990.

LINK to a list of the postmasters who served at the HALFMOON BAY Post Office - recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record...

- sent from - / HALFMOON BAY / 24 XII / 68 / B.C. / - cds cancel - (RF C).

Addressed to - The Commissioner / Social Service Tax / Victoria, B.C.

Jolly Roger Inn - On the Sunshine Coast - British Columbia's Finest Fisherman's Resort - Located 50 miles (80 km) North of Vancouver B.C., on the Sunshine Coast, this harbor is one of the most beautiful natural settings on our coast. Many boaters on their way to Princess Louisa Inlet or Desolation Sound stop and spend time Salmon fishing and then anchor in the protected harbor. Secret Cove has a history of the Buccaneer's using Secret Cove for a secure hiding place and refuge for their Pirate ships. Secret Cove and Smugglers Cove were used as pick up points for unemployed Chinese workers from Vancouver after completion of the C.P. Railway. The Chinese weren't allowed entry to the United States so were smuggled by ship across the border. During the 1920's and the Prohibition era, both these Coves were also a hiding place for liquor made on Texada Island. LINK - cohofishing.fortunecity.ws/jolly.htm

The original Jolly Roger Inn was owned by John Brynelson and was completed in the Spring of 1966. It fell fate to a fire - 16 February 1976 and the existing Resort was built in 1979 with the main building being 6500 sq. ft. with 30 unattached Townhouse 2 bedroom and 1 bedroom units. Overlooking Secret Cove, the Jolly Roger Inn has a breathtaking view of the Harbor and Malisapina Strait.

In line with Johnny Brynelson's romantic line of thought about Secret Cove, he has followed the pirate theme, calling the cocktail lounge the Smugglers' Lounge and the dining area, the Buccaneer Room. His dancing spot is called the Reef Room and for those who want to use the washrooms they head for the "Jollies" (women) and the Rogers (men). If you ever want to discover this place by land and not by sea, it's on the Sechelt Road that leads up the peninsula toward Earl's Cove.

LINK to a Jolly Roger Inn advertisement from July 1966 - www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-jolly-roger-...

LINK to a newspaper article on the first owner of the Jolly Roger Inn John Brynelson - www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-jolly-roger-inn-s...

LINK to a newspaper report of the Jolly Roger Inn fire on - 16 February 1976 - www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-jolly-roger-inn-s...

LINK to an advertisement of the rebuilt Jolly Roger Inn from 1980 - www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-jolly-roger-...

Taken on: September 29, 2023

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