William Drewry and Land Surveying in British Columbia, 1887-1929
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An Agent of Change: William Drewry and Land Surveying in British Columbia, 1887-1929 by Darby James Cameron B.A., Malaspina University/College, 2000 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTERS OF ARTS in the Department of History © Darby James Cameron, 2009. University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii An Agent of Change: William Drewry and Land Surveying in British Columbia, 1887-1929 by Darby James Cameron B.A., Malaspina University/College, 2000 Supervisory Committee Dr. Richard Rajala, Supervisor (Department of History) Dr. Patrick Dunae, Department Member (Department of History) Dr. Eric Sager, Department Member (Department of History) Dr. Larry McCann, Outside Member (Department of Geography) iii Supervisory Committee Dr. Richard Rajala, Supervisor (Department of History) Dr. Patrick Dunae, Department Member (Department of History) Dr. Eric Sager, Department Member (Department of History) Dr. Larry McCann, Outside Member (Department of Geography) ABSTRACT In 1887, following the completion of the CPR to the Pacific, William Stewart Drewry took part in the Topographical Survey of Canada’s first experiment with photographic surveying, which he applied to the Rocky Mountain Railway Belt. He then surveyed the rich mining districts of BC during the Kootenay hardrock mining boom (1893-1909). In 1909, he became BC’s first and only Chief Water Commissioner and, in 1911, he returned to surveying as BC’s Inspector of Surveys. From 1913 until his retirement in 1929, he surveyed for government and in private practice. Throughout his career, Drewry operated between two land systems: first, a system based on customary rights and local obligations; and, second, a system based on private property and market exchange. Drewry implemented the latter capitalist system, attempting to empower the settlement society, which had the effect of ensuring corporate dominance and, to Drewry’s dismay, monopolization of the BC landscape. iv Table of Contents An Agent of Change:................................................................................................................................... i Supervisory Committee .............................................................................................................................. ii ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................vii Chapter I ................................................................................................................................................. 1 “A Great Silent Country”: An Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 Making Space: Theoretical & Methodological Problems and Direction ................................................... 4 Re-envisioning the History of Surveying: A Historiographical Review .................................................... 8 The Meaning of Space: Political and Philosophical Problems and Directions ......................................... 11 Structuring Space: The Scope ............................................................................................................ 14 Chapter II .............................................................................................................................................. 16 Drewry’s “Very Active Professional Life”: A Biography ......................................................................... 16 Drewry’s Early Life .......................................................................................................................... 17 “A Merited Appointment”: Experiment in Photo-topography ................................................................ 19 Photo-topographical Surveying in the Rockies and Selkirks ................................................................. 23 Triangulating “Mining Centres” ......................................................................................................... 25 Chief Water Commissioner ................................................................................................................ 31 Government Surveys & Private Practice ............................................................................................. 32 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter III ............................................................................................................................................ 35 “Correlation of Things”: How Drewry Envisioned Space ....................................................................... 35 “Possibilities”: Drewry’s Acculturated Vision ..................................................................................... 36 “A More Exact System”: The Scientific Gaze ..................................................................................... 39 “View From the Peak”: The Panoptic Gaze ......................................................................................... 47 “Country Capable of Development”: The Commercial Gaze ................................................................ 49 Upsetting “All Preconceived Ideas”: The Aesthetic Gaze ..................................................................... 59 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter IV ............................................................................................................................................. 64 The Art of Making Space: How Drewry Communicated His Classifications ........................................... 64 Making Spoken Space ....................................................................................................................... 64 Making Space Physically & Graphically ............................................................................................. 69 Making Printed Space ....................................................................................................................... 79 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 81 Chapter V .............................................................................................................................................. 83 “It should be to our advantage”: How Specific Interests Attempted to Control the Use of Space on the v Basis of Surveyors’ Classifications .......................................................................................................... 83 “For the Government Officials”: State-Building .................................................................................. 83 “My politics are the Slocan first, last, and all the time”: Empowering Capital ........................................ 89 “IN UNITY IS STRENGTH”: Empowering Anglo-American Associations ........................................... 99 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 105 Chapter VI ........................................................................................................................................... 107 An Agent of Change: Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 107 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 115 Primary Sources ............................................................................................................................... 115 Published ....................................................................................................................................... 115 Unpublished ................................................................................................................................... 115 Newspapers ................................................................................................................................... 116 Secondary Sources ............................................................................................................................ 116 Articles & Reviews ......................................................................................................................... 116 Monographs ................................................................................................................................... 118 vi List of Figures Figure 1: William Stewart Drewry. ......................................................................................................... 18 Figure