Biography
He was the eldest son of Robert and Joan Dunsmuir.
He travelled with his parents in the Mary Dare to Fort Rupert Vancouver Island.
He worked as a coal miner in his father's mine at Wellington BC.
He then served an apprenticeship at the Willamette Ironworks in Portland OR.
In 1874 after qualifying as a machinist he went to the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in Blacksburg VA to study mining engineering. In 08/1876 he was appointed as the Superintendent of the Wellington mine.
He married Laura Surles of North Carolina. Founder of Ladysmith BC.
He was elected as the Premier of British Columbia 1900-02. Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia 1906-1909.
He was the builder of Hatley Park state (later Royal Roads Military College).
Named Features
Dunsmuir Islands (Ladysmith Harbour) (BC)
References
- Lugrin, N. deB. (1928)
- Walbran, Captain John T. (1909)
- Reksten, Terry (1991)
- BCELP Geographical Place Names Cards Correspondence To/From BC Chief Geographer
- Gazetteer of Canada: British Columbia 2nd ed. (1966)
