ucluelet.com

About Ucluelet

Pronounciation: you-clue-let

Population: roughly 1650 year round, and more during the
spring and summer months.

Native History:
The name Ucluelet is derived from a Nuu-chah-nulth word meaning a place of safe harbour. The Nuu-chah-nulth are a group of first nations whose traditional home is in the Pacific Northwest on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Their presence in the area has been dated back to at least 4300 years ago by Archaeological evidence. The word Nuu-chah-nulth means "all along the mountains and sea." One of their primary teachings is "Hishuk ish tsawalk" which means everything is one and all is interconnected.

In the Ucluelet Inlet there is two native reserve lands, the Ittatsoo and the Toquaht. The Ucluelet First Nation has roughly 605 members with locations on Effingham Inlet, Nahmint River valley, and the main community at the Ittatsoo Reserve. The Toquaht first nations are a smaller band of around 115 members, with the main community on the Macoah Reserve located in Toquart Bay on the north side of Barkley Sound. Their reserve lands go into the Ucluelet Inlet and beside the Ittatsoo Reserve.

European History:
Just above Ucluelet, about 100 km north, Captain James Cook first landed at Nootka in 1778 while searching for the Northwest Passage to the Orient. Next to arrive in 1787 was Captain James Barkley who was in search of sea otter pelts and landed in Barkley Sound, just outside of Ucluelet. The fur sealers settled in the area around 1870 and a trading post was established in Ucluelet. More settlers began coming to the area in the 1890's with the hopes of gold, excellent fishing, and a pending road from Port Alberni. On Florencia Bay gold was found, but in very small quantities and in the end it wasn't profitable. The town soon recieved a Mission House, a school, and a doctor. More developement brought services like a frieght boat, whaling station, lighthouse, telegraph office, and lifeboat station. During World War II the government established a seaplane base in Ucluelet and a land base at Long Beach to protect Vancouver Island from potential invasions. The road to Tofino was finished, and in 1959 the road to Port Alberni was completed. In 1952 Ucluelet became incorporated, and then in 1997 its status was changed to a District to reflect its increasing population.