Hornby Island British Columbia

The Jewel of the Gulf

This website serves two purposes. On the left are links to information for prospective visitors. On the right are links to some selected local issues that do not get covered elsewhere.

The site grew out of an advertising site for a B and B, long closed. Then we added information for visitors because there seemed to be insufficient information on the commercial sites. And then we expanded to provide a place to air local issues because there seemed to be no other place to do so. This has been neglected while attention was diverted to the new clinic, but links will reappear on the right as items are updated.

Hornby Island is located in the Gulf of Georgia, an inland sea on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. This popular vacation destination is noted for its sand beaches, bicycle trails, festivals and its musicians, artists and artisans.

With a population of about 1000, the island hosts 50,000 or more visitors each summer. A failed farming and logging community in the 1950's, Hornby was discovered by the back-to-the-earth hippies in the 1960, and then by land developers in the 1970's, until further development on the Gulf Islands was curtailed in mid-decade. In the 1980's and 1990's it became increasingly a retirement community, but there is now a resurgence in upscale agriculture, specifically wineries, a meadery and a distillery.

The image at the top of the page shows the approach to the island by ferry on a spring afternoon. This distinctive tiered silhouette can be seen from the north, west and south, from Qualicum Bay to Comox, and out in the Gulf. This is Mount Geoffrey with an elevation of 1000 feet. This face of the mountain is part of the Mount Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park.

This is our new medical clinic which opened in April 2011. This replaced a building half the size which was built for a different era. The population has changed and the visitors have changed.

The building was financed and built by the residents and friends of Hornby Island, because no one else would do it. The budget was somewhat in excess of half a million dollars, but it was built for 2/3rds that amount and a lot of sweat. We estimate that up to 40% of the 1000 permanent residents of the island participated in this project in some way. It has been named the H I COMMUNITY Clinic to honour that effort. The building is completely paid for and we are already adding medical equpment which we never had before.

Hornby Island is located in the Gulf of Georgia, an inland sea on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. This popular vacation destination is noted for its sand beaches, bicycle trails, festivals and its musicians, artists and artisans.

With a population of about 1000, the island hosts 50,000 or more visitors each summer. A failed farming and logging community in the 1950's, Hornby was discovered by the back-to-the-earth hippies in the 1960, and then by land developers in the 1970's, until further development on the Gulf Islands was curtailed in mid-decade. In the 1980's and 1990's it became increasingly a retirement community, but there is now a resurgence in upscale agriculture, specifically wineries, a meadery and a distillery.

The image at the top of the page shows the approach to the island by ferry on a spring afternoon. This distinctive tiered silhouette can be seen from the north, west and south, from Qualicum Bay to Comox, and out in the Gulf. This is Mount Geoffrey with an elevation of 1000 feet. This face of the mountain is part of the Mount Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park.

Spray Point from Little Tribune Beach on a misty February morning.