Why you'd want to live in Esquimalt

The township of Esquimalt is located in Greater Victoria on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Esquimalt’s original native inhabitants knew it as “the place of shoaling waters”, derived from a native Indian expression Es-whoy-malth. Esquimalt has a long and significant history, with a legacy of heritage buildings, historic sites, structures and cultural landscapes. Coast Salish Native people had inhabited the area for over 4,000 years before the arrival of European settlers. There has long been a village site near Ashe Head on the eastern shore of Esquimalt Harbour, where the Esquimalt Band makes its home today. The Songhees had lived on the west shore of Victoria Harbour prior to establishment of their nearby reserve in 1911. Spanish explorer Don Manuel Quimper first arrived in Esquimalt Harbour in 1790, naming it Puerto de Cordova. Hudson’s Bay Company Chief Factor James Douglas visited Esquimalt Harbour in 1843 on a mission to seek a new site for their operations north of the 49th parallel. Establishing the new fort on the shore of Victoria Harbour, Douglas signed a series of treaties with local native people to acquire the area for the HBC, later establishing three farms to supply Fort Victoria and other HBC forts in the northwest with agricultural produce. The municipality of Esquimalt, incorporated in 1912, has many heritage buildings and beaches with excellent views of Victoria Harbour and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Essentially one large peninsula, Esquimalt is bounded on the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, on the west by Esquimalt Harbour, and on the north by a long fingerlike inlet of tidal water called the Gorge. The west coast base for the British Royal Navy as early as 1837, Esquimalt Harbour now houses Canada’s own Pacific Naval Fleet. The Naval Base was formally authorized on June 29 1865, and was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1910. via britishcolumbia.com