Joseph Despard Pemberton
| Joseph Despard Pemberton | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 23, 1821 Dublin (Ireland) |
| Died | November 11, 1893 (aged 72) Oak Bay, British Columbia |
| Children | Sophie Pemberton |
Joseph Despard Pemberton (July 23, 1821 – November 11, 1893) was a surveyor for the Hudson's Bay Company, Surveyor General for the Colony of Vancouver Island, a pre-Confederation politician, a businessman and a farmer. He was born in 1821 in Dublin, Ireland and died in 1893 in Oak Bay, British Columbia. Joseph Pemberton laid out Victoria's town site, southern Vancouver Island and townsites along the Fraser River. He married Teresa Jane Grantoff and they are the parents of Canadian painter Sophie Pemberton. The town of Pemberton was named after him.
After some study and teaching experience in engineering and surveying in his native Ireland and employment in the booming railway industry there, Pemberton took employment with the Hudson's Bay Company as the surveyor and engineer of the Colony which, at the time, was the main settlement area of present British Columbia. He arrived at Fort Victoria June 25, 1851. During the first three-year term of his contract, he laid out the land survey of the Victoria district including the urban and rural areas. His role included development of the settlement by setting sales policy for the lands in addition to survey layout. After completing his work for the Victoria district, he surveyed the coastline of Vancouver Island between Victoria and Nanaimo. Additional duties included supervision of road and bridge construction. He designed the first school and the church in the colony.
In 1857 as Surveyor-General for the Colony of Vancouver Island, Pemberton successfully explored from Cowichan Bay to Nitinat returning by boat down the coast from the Alberni Inlet.
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