The Norman Morison, a 529-ton Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) ship, made three voyages from England to Vancouver Island between 1850 and 1853. Sometimes called Victoria’s “Mayflower,” it carried workers and families who transformed Fort Victoria from a fur-trade post into a permanent settlement.
Voyage One: Workmen from Orkney (1850)
The ship’s first voyage brought mostly young Orkney men under indenture to the HBC. They provided essential labour and trades for the struggling outpost. Among them was Caleb Pike, later commemorated at the Caleb Pike Heritage Park. Another passenger, Dr. Sebastian Helmcken, married into Governor Douglas’s family and became a key political figure in British Columbia’s path to Confederation. Others, like farmer William Sims, helped build Victoria’s first farm in James Bay.
Voyage Two: The Stockand Family (1851)
The second voyage in 1851 again carried skilled Orkney tradesmen. Carpenter James Stockand arrived with his wife Isabel and daughter Dina, the only child on board. Their log home once stood where St. Ann’s Academy is today. Dina married fellow Orcadian James Johnston at 17 and lived long enough to witness Victoria’s transformation into a colonial capital. Her brother Samuel, born in 1853, was among the earliest children of European heritage born in the colony. Isabel, who died in 1867, was buried in the Quadra Street Cemetery, her headstone rediscovered decades later after being used as a garden ornament.
Voyage Three: Families for Settlement (1852–1853)
The third voyage marked the HBC’s first organized effort at community settlement. Entire families came from Scotland and Kent, including the Lidgates, McKenzies, and Deans. Elizabeth Lidgate later married Caleb Pike, linking the voyages together.
Kenneth McKenzie managed Craigflower and Lake Hill farms, leaving behind Craigflower Manor and Schoolhouse, now National Historic Sites. James Deans became known for ethnographic work, while Annie Deans’s letters and Robert Melrose’s diary captured the challenges of frontier life.
In August 1852, a child was born at sea: Eliza Norman Morison Wishart Anderson (Lyall), whose names honoured the ship, its captain, and his wife. In a partnership between the Victoria Genealogical and Old Cemeteries Societies, a commemorative historical marker has just been installed at her previously unmarked Ross Bay Cemetery grave.
Legacies of the Voyages
Together, the three voyages reshaped Victoria: Voyage One brought workers to strengthen the fort. Voyage Two introduced settler families. Voyage Three established a lasting community. From Helmcken Road to McKenzie Avenue, and from Craigflower’s historic buildings to Eliza’s gravestone, the legacy of the Norman Morison is still written into Victoria’s landscape.
Keeping the Stories Alive
The Norman Morison story is about families, resilience, and transformation. To share research and preserve this history, the Victoria Genealogical Society is considering forming a special-interest group focused on Victoria during the Hudson’s Bay Company era, the Gold Rush, and the road to Confederation. Please email [email protected] if interested.
