Port Neville, off Johnston Strait in British Columbia, has long been a welcome stop for boaters to duck out of the weather. The dock facility at Port Neville, with the upland historic post office/store building, has served as a point of interest for boaters over the years. Storyboards in front of the log structure tell the fascinating history of the now vacant building.
Management of the Port Neville dock facility is currently under the Strathcona Regional District (SRD), which oversees land use planning and recreation within north central Vancouver Island, the Discovery Islands, and mainland area inlets. SRD has entered into an agreement to transfer ownership of the Port Neville dock facility to the Tlowitsis (pronounced Tla-oe-was-zees) First Nation upon the completion of a rebuild of the dock and wharf. The rebuild was begun in 2025 and completed in March 2026.
The Strathcona Regional District wishes to divest their interest in the Port Neville dock facility sometime in the fall of 2026; however, the final deadline of transfer per the agreement is March 31, 2027.
During the 2026 boating season, boaters enjoyed tying up to the dock and visiting this historic site that once served as an important stop during the steamship era. It is not known at this time if the Tlowitsis First Nation will provide moorage for the general boating public, which is not a requirement in the agreement of ownership transfer. The Port Neville wharf facility comprises the dock structure, pilings, and foreshore tenure of Crown land.
The Tlowitsis First Nation is part of the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples. Hanatsa IR No. 6 in Port Neville is the most populated of the band’s Indian reserves. The Nation recently acquired 60 acres nearby and considers the region the ‘core lands for treaty settlement.’
Photos Credit: Lorena Landon
