by Lori Treloar
You will not find Halhed Road on a current Shawnigan Lake map but it was one of the first roads named in the area. Halhed Road, after the Halhed family who arrived at Shawnigan in 1892, was for some reason renamed West Arm Road (probably when the road was extended) and then eventually, Renfrew Road. The original road headed west from the Old Victoria Road (now Shawnigan Lake Road) near the outlet of the lake and led as far as the Halhed property.
Richard Beauchamp Halhed, like many of his contemporaries, came to Canada seeking a lifestyle that was less restrictive than life in England. In those days, most wives had very little say in major decisions, so Mrs. Halhed was left to pack up the household, including the three children and a maid, and then follow her husband to Vancouver Island. Halhed travelled ahead of the family to find a house and be settled before they arrived. When Mrs. Halhed found out that she was pregnant, her trip was made sooner than later. Although she was told that the family would live in Victoria she was shocked to find that, instead, her husband had bought property in the middle of nowhere – Shawnigan Lake. As the new house wasn’t ready when she arrived, they rented in Victoria until it was finished. Her fourth child was born there.
Mrs. Halhed, an intelligent woman and a brilliant pianist, was used to a busy social life in England. Therefore, she was devastated to find that her new home was on a rocky point across the lake from the train station and could only be reached by boat. There were no roads, no neighbours and no shops. For Mr. Halhed it was the ideal place to live for the hunting and fishing. The Halheds’ had frequent guests, but these were mainly men who came to hunt and fish. It would have been a lonely life for Mrs. Halhed.
The children were brought up as properly, for English children, as was possible in the BC wilderness. There was a nanny, and the children took their meals in the nursery. In the evenings, the family dressed and gathered for music and books. Richard even insisted on the great British tradition that the children go to the seaside every summer. To that end, the family packed up and moved to Mill Bay where they camped on what is now the Brentwood School property.
The Halhed house, known as “The Hall”, is believed to be the first house built at Shawnigan Lake and it survived late into the 20th century. When the Halheds left Shawnigan Lake around 1900 they sold their house to the King family. The King family lovingly kept “The Hall”, for the most part, preserved the way the Halheds left it. Today, the old house is gone, the huge property has been subdivided and Halhed Road no longer exists.
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