Archivist: Katherine Gish
I started by asking our oldest member of the TBCA, Gordon McGillivray if he knew anything about it. He just knew that it was there before the development of Tunstall Bay and the TBCA began which was around 1970. The two of us then thought that maybe it was part of the old Vancouver Sun boys camp. Nope.
But then I happened to remember this movie made in Tunstall Bay in 1966. It starred Oliver Reed and is called “The Trap” which is a rollicking tale of fur traders and adventures. They created an entire village on Tunstall Bay beach and the totem pole is actually a prop. You might have noticed that the totem is only one half of a totem with one half of it being the image of the face you see in the photo attached.
The best part?! The full movie can be viewed on You Tube! When you watch the movie remember that it was made over 50 years ago…pretty incredible! You will see Tunstall Bay and surrounding islands in all her glory. Should we have a viewing of the movie in the fall down at the clubhouse??!!
To top it off we’ve learned that at least 2 Bowen Islanders were in the movie….Bobby Helinius and Lisa Burube were cast as small children.
Wouldn’t it have been fun to be on Bowen Island then…maybe not a lot going on so I can easily imagine the stir the movie must have caused and I hope lots of curious Islanders had a chance to see some of the making of the movie.
Next time you’re at the clubhouse maybe take a moment to have a good look at our Famous Totem Pole!