QUIMPER PARK

Whiffin Spit

Spanish Sub-Lt. Manuel Quimper, in command of the sloop Princesa Royale, took possession of the land at the entrance to Sooke Harbour in June of 1790, naming it Puerta de Revilla Gigedo, after the Viceroy of Mexico. Spain’s tenure was brief and in 1794 the land was under British rule. In 1990 the people of the Sooke region invited representatives from Spain to visit Sooke and celebrate a re-enactment of Quimper’s voyage from Port Renfrew to Sooke.

The two monuments located at Whiffin Spit commemorating the arrival of the Spanish in 1790. On the left is the incoming Princesa Real and on the right is a T’Sou-ke Chief looking out at the water. These two panels were designed by T’Sou-ke artist Darlene George and were carved out of yellow cedar.

The commemorative park at the base of Whiffin Spit was dedicated on that day, 23 June 1990, with the participation of Spain’s Ambassador to Canada.

In 1991, the four-masted Spanish flagship Juan Sebastian de Elcano sailed to British Columbia, and Spain’s gift, a bust of Manuel Quimper, was unveiled to join the earlier commemorative monuments at the park

This park, now named for Quimper, is maintained as a designated Regional Heritage site by SEAPARC. The actual site where Quimper planted the flag of possession is located on the opposite East Sooke shore, but because the land is privately held and accessible only by water, the decision was made to place the commemorative park where it could be enjoyed by the public