is a
Municipality in the
Capital Regional District on
Vancouver Island
in the province of
British Columbia ,
Canada . It is an upscale suburb east of the city of
Victoria . The population is about 18,000. The current mayor of Oak Bay is Christopher Causton, re-elected in 2005 by acclamation. Oak Bay has a reputation throughout Victoria as a hold-out for older residents and wealthy people, because of a combination of a few things:
- The upscale area of the Uplands, Victoria , with underground wiring and many multi-million-dollar houses, many of them Arts & Crafts and Faux Tudor style,
- A large number of retirement homes and communities (in fact, many of the municipality's most controversial issues have involved the construction and/or renovation of upscale retirement condominiums),
- Travelling to Oak Bay, within Victoria is referred to as "going behind the tweed curtain", a reference to Oak Bay's association to the United Kingdom . Oak Bay has multitudes of English-style tea rooms, restaurants, antique shops, and other establishments geared towards seniors, and
- A long-standing opposition to large commercial development.
The center of Oak Bay is the Oak Bay Village. The name "Oak Bay" is derived from the original name of
McNeill Bay , which is located in the south of the municipality. It, in turn, took its name from the
Garry Oak s, which are plentiful throughout the region.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Oak Bay was home to the local
Coast Salish people of the
Songhees First Nation . Evidence of their encampments has been found along local shores, including Willows Beach. Following the establishment of
Fort Victoria on the Inner Harbour, the
Hudson's Bay Company established Cadboro Bay Farm to supply food for the small settlement. Cattle Point (where the cattle would reach shore after being pushed off the passing cargo ships), between Cadboro Bay and Willows Beach recalls the early history of this area. Early European settlers of the area included John Tod, whose home still stands and is reputed to be haunted.
Oak Bay was incorporated as a municipality in 1906. Its first Council included
Francis Rattenbury , the architect who designed the Legislative Buildings and Empress Hotel located on the inner harbour in Victoria. Rattenbury's own home on Beach Drive is now used as the junior campus for Glenlyon Norfolk School. In the 1920s the former farm lands of the Hudson's Bay Company were subdivided to create the Uplands area, but development was hampered by the
Great Depression . After
World War II development of expensive homes in the Uplands was accompanied by the construction of many more modest dwellings in the Estevan, Willows and South Oak Bay neighbourhoods. In addition to being an attractive retirement area, Oak Bay has also long appealed to families with young children. Two public elementary schools and Oak Bay High, a comprehensive public high school, are located within Oak Bay, as well as the private junior schools for Glenlyon Norfolk and St. Michael's University School. Oak Bay boasts a sandy beach (Willows Beach), the Oak Bay Marina and the Royal Victoria Yacht Club located on the shore of Cadboro Bay.
Half the expansive campus of the
University Of Victoria (founded in 1963) is located within the boundaries of the District of Oak Bay. The other half is found in the adjacent District of
Saanich, British Columbia .
The Victoria Golf Club is located in South Oak Bay. It was founded in 1893, and is the second oldest golf course west of the Great Lakes. It is a challenging 6000 yard links course which hugs the oceanside, and is considered the Pebble Beach of Canada.
- Gonzales
- Uplands
- Willows Beach
- Windsor Park
