HOWE SOUND COMPANY - BRITANNIA DIVISION An inventory of their fonds in The Library of the University of British Columbia Special Collections and University Archives Division Prepared by Ann Carroll December 1993 TABLE OF CONTENTS Administrative history••••••••••••••.••.••••.••••••••••••• Page 1 Custodial history. 1 Scope and content note. 2 Arrangement note. 2 Series description. 3 Box file listing: Personnel records (1913-1962) •.•••••••.•••••••••••••••••• 10 45,46 Accident reports ( 1948-1958) • • •• • • • •• •• • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • 13 Accounting books (1905-1919) ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 17 45 Administration records (ca. 1946-1963) ••••••••••••••••••• 17 45 Committees - safety (1955-1957) •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 17 Correspondence - general (1932-1957) ••••••••••••••••••••• 18 Exploration and mineral claims (1891-1962) •.••••••••••••• 20 Insurance records (1943-1961) ••••••.•••••••••••••••••••.• 21 Labour relations records (1942-1962) ••••••••••••••••••••• 23 Legal records (1905-1958) ••••• ; •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 26 45 Meetings - supervisors (1945-1955) •••.•••.••.•••••••••••• 26 Payroll records (1919-1963) .•..••.•••••.••.•.•••••••••••. 26 Taxation records (1917-1962) .••••••••••.•••••••••••••..•• 30 Financial reports (1925-1962) •••.•••••••••••••••••••••••• 32 Equipment records (1922-1956) .••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 43 Snow Lake Division (1953-1957) •••••.•••••••••••••••••••.• 44 Britannia Beach Community Club records (1946-1953) ••••••• 44 ii Howe sound Power company Limited records (1910-1923) •••.• 44 Torbrit Mining Company Limited records (1929-1946) ....•.• 45 Shelf listing. 4 5 Appendix. A-1 iii Howe Sound Company - Britannia Division fonds 1891-1963 48 metres of textual records ca. 15 maps and plans 23 photographs Title based on contents of fonds. Administrative history Britannia had its beginnings in 1888 when a Dr. A.A. Forbes of Texada Island located several claims. Unfortunately forDr. Forbes he was was unable to raise the necessary funds to develop the them and it was not until 1898 that Oliver Furry, a local trapper, actually staked seven claims. Mining exploration began and operations started under the auspices of the Britannia Copper Syndicate headed by Howard Walters of Montana and J .A. Adams of Vancouver. By 1901 the Syndicate had acquired numberous claims along Britannia and Furry Creeks with 75 acres of waterfront where the town of Britannia Beach was eventually built. In 1903, the Britannia Smelting Company was organized to operate the smelter at Crofton. In 1905 the Howe Sound Company was organized as a securities holding company forthe Britannia Smelting Co. Ltd. and the Britannia Copper Syndicate Ltd. restructed in 1908 as subordinate units of the Britannia Mining & Smelting Company. Howe Sound Company was also a securities holding company for Britannia Power Co. Ltd. and Howe Sound Power Co. Ltd. By 1930 all Britannia companies had merged and the organization then became known as the Britannia Mining & Smelting Co. Limited. In 1959, the company became the Britannia Division of Howe Sound Company. Early in 1963 the Britannia property was purchased by The Anaconda Company (Canada) Ltd. In 1974 mining operations ceased. At the peak of its operation in the late 1920s the mines were the largest copper producers in the British Empire employing over 1200 people at its Barbara, Empress, Townsite, Victoria, Incline and Beach camps and producing a maximum- of 6,000to 7,000 tons per day. For a more in-depth study of the company please refer to: Hovis, Logan. Technological change and mining labour: copper mining and milling operations at the Britannia Mines. British Columbia 1898-1937. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1986, Unpublished MA thesis in History. LE 3 B7 1986 A8 H68. Custodial history The records of the Britannia Mining & Smelting Co. Limited were created and housed at its Beach site administration and engineering buildings and at its Mount Sheer minesite until 1958 when the Howe Sound Company took over operations. Records from the minesite were brought down to be maintained with the other records at the Beach site. When the mine was closed down in 1974, all of these early records remained on site. Eventually, 127 boxes were selected by the British Columbia Archives and Records Service in Victoria. No personnel records were selected. The Britannia Beach Historical Society I gained clear title to the property and buildings in 1986. During that period the Department of History of UBC proposed the encoding of the Britannia records for the purpose of clarifying information about their employment history. For that purpose, employment records were transferred to Special Collections, Main Library, UBC. In addition, some other records that were not selected by BCARS were donated. Scope and content note Fonds consists of records of Howe Sound Company - Britannia Division and the Britannia Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd. The records document the functioning of the company in the areas of personnel, payroll and accounting, financial and income tax reporting, accident reporting, insurance planning, mineral exploration and negotiations with the International Mine and Mill Workers' Union and the International Mine Metal and Smelter Workers' Union (IMMSWU). The fonds is comprised of the following series of records: Accident Reports (1948- 1958), Accounting books(1905-1919), Administration records, (ca. 1946-1963), Committees- safety (1955-1957), Correspondence- general (1932-1957), Exploration and mineral claims (1891-1962), Equipment files (1922-1956), Financial reports (1925-1962), Insurance records (1943-1961), Labour relations (1942-1962), Legal records (1905-1958), Meetings of supervisors (1945-1955), Payroll records (1949-1963), Personnel records (1913-1962) Snow Lake Division (1953-1957), Taxation records (1917-1951). In addition there are three small subgroups of records: Britannia Beach Community Club (1946-1956), Howe Sound Power Company Limited (1910-1923) and Torbrit Mining Company Limited (1929-1946). Araniement note The archivist has imposed an order on the records as the original filingscheme could not be reconstituted. Over half of the records of the company are held elsewhere (at BCARS) thus preventing the archivist from establishing the relationships between the records. In addition, an index to one of the company's filing classification schemes which accompanied the records turned out to be unhelpful in determining original order as it refers to only a fewfiles of records in this fonds. Accordingly, the fileshave been arranged into series based on the activities documented by the records. Old file numbers in the few instances where they appeared on the original files, have been retained as part of the title, [eg. Union Activites (245)]. The series are arranged in alphabetical order. 2 series description Accident reports. --1948-1958. -- 1.8 metres Records relating to the reporting of accidents by the company and by its employees. Files consist of Employee's Report of Accident, Supervisors' Accident Report, employee's handwritten statement, Report to the Chief Inspector of Mines and District Inspector of Mines of accident to employee, Employee's Subsequent Statement and in some cases plans of the site hwere the accident occurred. Box 49-52 Accounting books. -- 1905-1919. -- 49 cm Records documenting the daily and monthly transactions of Britannia Mining & Smelting Co., Limited, Howe Sound Power Company Limited, Barbara Theatres Limited, the Britannia Beach Community Club and the local hotels. Title based on content of series. Shelf and Box 53 Administration records. -- ca.1946-1963. -- 8 cm Records created for the organization and functionning of the office. Documents include an organizational chart, company letterhead, a notebook on office practice and an index to a file classification system. Title based on content of series. Shelf and Box 52 committees - safety. -- 1955-1957. -- 6 cm Minutes of meetings and related reports and correspondence. Box 52 Correspondence - general. -- 1932-1957. -- 66 cm Copies of letters sent and letters received by various company officers. This series is organized into three subseries according to file numbering on the origial files. Box 53-55 Equipment files. -- 1922-1956 -- 3.6 metres Records documenting puchases and possible purchases of equipment by the company. Documents include purchase orders, maintenannce booklet, blueprints, warranties and brochures. The 3 files are arranged alphabetically by name of company or occasionally by type of equipment purchased. Box 84-95 Exploration and mineral claims. -- 1891-1962. -- 40 cm Records documenting Britannia Mining & Smelting Co., Limited involvement in exploration and mineral claims. The series is divided into six subseries. Title based on content of series. Exploration records. -- 1956-1962. -- 6 cm Documents consist of agreements and correspondence mainly of J.E. Nelson, Secretary Treasurer of Britannia Mining & Smelting Co., Britannia Beach. Title based on content of sub-series. correspondence with Exploration Divisions. -- 1955-1957. -- 6 cm Title based on content of sub-series. certificate of assay registers. -- 1910. -- 3 cm Records documenting the amount of gold, silver, copper, iron, silica and zinc found in the ore. Claims journals. -- 1891-1924. -- 4 cm Records documenting the recording of claims. The lot number, acreage, person located by, recording number, transfer and assessments and associated dates are noted. Claim records. -- 1931-1933. -- 14 cm Forms