William Philip Daykin was the first lightkeeper of the Carmanah Point Lighthouse from 1891 to 1912. In books and newspapers he is either written as Phil Daykin or W.P. Daykin. He and his wife Helen Strelley Marriott Daykin had five sons, Charles Thomas Daykin, Edward "Ted" Daykin, William Taber Daykin, Roby Strelley Daykin and Philip Culme Daykin. He kept a meticulous lighthouse diary in which he recorded every ship sighted from his commanding view from the lighthouse tower.
West Coast Trail Shipwrecks
Alaskan at 4k Soquel at 5k Sarah at 7k Becherdass-Ambiadass at 8k Michigan at 12k Uzbekistan at 13.8k Varsity at 17.6k Valencia at 18.3k Janet Cowan at 19k Robert Lewers at 20k Woodside at 20.2k Uncle John at 26.2k Vesta at 29k Raita at 33k Skagit at 34.2k Santa Rita at 37k Dare at 39k Lizzie Marshall at 47k Puritan at 48.5k Wempe Brothers at 49.4k Duchess of Argyle at 58k John Marshall at 62.3k William Tell at 64.2 Revere at 69k Cyrus at 75k
West Coast Trail Campsites
Pachena Bay Campground Michigan Creek at 12k Darling River at 14k Orange Juice Creek at 15k Tsocowis Creek at 16.5k Klanawa River at 23k Tsusiat Falls at 25k Cribs Creek at 42k Carmanah Creek at 46k Bonilla Creek at 48k Walbran Creek at 53k Cullite Cove at 58k Camper Bay at 62k Thrasher Cove at 70k Pacheedaht Campground
Daykin's son Phil Daykin and David Logan of Clo-oose responded to numerous shipwrecks along this particularly brutal and notorious stretch of the Graveyard of the Pacific. They both arrived at the cliff overlooking the horrific scene of the Valencia, just moments before its 36 hour ordeal of being pounded by waves finally smashed her and remaining survivors into the sea. In R. Bruce Scott’s excellent book, People of the Southwest Coast of Vancouver Island, he writes about his interesting life during the years he manned the Carmanah Point Lighthouse. The Carmanah Point Lighthouse is located near the 44km mark of the West Coast Trail. It guards the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait opposite the Cape Flattery Lighthouse. If you look on a map the Carmanah Point Lighthouse is not that far from Victoria at 100km and Port Renfrew is just 25km away. Despite this relative closeness, was for decades the most inaccessible lighthouse along the British Columbia coast. No roads or trails existed to it and boats were often unable to be launched to reach the supply ship waiting offshore in stormy seas. Several weeks passed between supply drops during the stormy winter months and fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and other essentials had to be hauled in through brutal rainforest trails from Clo-oose. It was not unusual to have freight dropped off in Port Renfrew when winter storms prevented safe landing at Clo-oose. When storms subsided local First Nations people were hired to bring it in by canoe. The unreliable supply drops were only one of many challenges faced by Daykin and his family. Machinery often broke causing Daykin to manually operate instruments through the night. Coal to fuel the lighthouse was often poor quality and required him to laboriously clean the lenses. On top of all that there were frequent shipwrecks near the lighthouse that the Daykin's were often called to help.
Two of Daykin's sons suffered tragic deaths in two consecutive years. Edward “Ted” Daykin in 1893 and William Taber Daykin in 1894. Ted Daykin was just 16 years old when he went on a prospecting trip near the mouth of Nitinat River with his friend Edwin Duncan MacNaughton. They never returned. Their boat was found floating in Nitinat Lake with all of their camping gear, guns, food, etc. A massive search was undertaken though they were never found. The Daily Colonist newspaper ran a story on October 3rd, 1893 titled, "Anxious Hours of Waiting" followed by, "Grave Fears Entertained for the Safety of a Victorian and His Companion" and "Each Succeeding Discovery Strengthens the Belief That They Have Been Drowned".
The following year, Daykin’s 17 year old son William Taber Daykin was taking the trolley that ran from the lighthouse down to the shore. This steep, cable trolley was powered by a gas powered winch. One day as his son was riding the trolley down and a cable broke, throwing the boy off and down onto the rocks far below. Severely injured he was rushed to Victoria on the lighthouse tender Quadra to St. Joseph’s hospital. He died soon after arriving at the hospital on September 19th, 1894. He was buried in Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria.
He continued as lighthouse keeper at Carmanah Point until he was unable to physically keep up with all the rigorous tasks. He was replaced in 1912 and transferred to the Macaulay Point Lighthouse at the entrance of Victoria Harbour. This posting was much easier for him to cope with, with his failing health. He would eventually die of the flu, which he often suffered very badly from and was blamed on one winter night climbing the exposed stairs up to the top of the lighthouse.
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