Qualicum Bay

Qualicum Bay (49˚24'00" 124˚38'00" Between Nanaimo and Courtenay, E side of Vancouver I), Qualicum Beach (49˚21'00" 124˚27'00" SE of Qualicum Bay), Qualicum River (49˚24'00" 124˚37'00" Flows E and N into Str of Georgia, just SE of Qualicum Bay). The name is an adaptation of a Pentlatch First Nation word for chum salmon (sometimes also spelled Quall-e-hum or Quallchum in early accounts of the region). The Pentlatch people—a Northern Coast Salish group occupying traditional territory on the E coast of Vancouver I and on Denman and Hornby islands—were decimated in the 19th century by disease and inter-tribal warfare. Their language became extinct by 1940 and lingers on only in a few place names such as Qualicum. The town of Qualicum Beach got its start as an agricultural settlement around the mouth of the Little Qualicum R in the 1880s. It developed as a resort area and in the early 2000s had the highest proportion of senior citizens of any community in BC: 35% of the population is over 65. E