The British Colonist Newspaper

On December 11th, 1858, in the midst of a gold rush, Amor de Cosmos inked up an old hand press and launched a newspaper -- the British Colonist -- into the world.    Published in Victoria, Canada, it became the leading paper in the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia.  From the extraordinary discoveries of gold and outbreaks of war, to the mundane shipping news and advertisements for insomnia cures - “In every thing that concerns British Columbia we shall take a deep and permanent interest” said de Cosmos.

The website BritishColonist.ca published online this historic newspaper from 1858 to 1950.  At various times named the British Colonist, the Daily British Colonist and the Daily Colonist, it is still published today in Victoria as the Times Colonist. The most recent addition to the online archive (1941 to 1950) covered some 67,000 pages. The Times Colonist is the oldest newspaper in Western Canada and contains a wealth of information for anyone researching Victoria, Vancouver Island and the surrounding areas. The database can be searched by keyword and access is free.