Parks Canada, with funding from BC Marine Parks Forever Society, has recently installed two new guest moorage buoys on the east side of D’Arcy Island. These mooring buoys make it much easier for boaters to visit this Marine Park Reserve. Anchorage is possible on the east side of the island but can be challenging due to the rocky bottom, tidal currents, and wind. With the installation of these new mooring buoys, boaters have a viable option to visit this fascinating island. 
D’Arcy Island, part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve offers primitive campsites, pit toilets, and natural worn pathways that cross the island. Of significant interest is a placard in memory of the lepers that died on the island and the ruins of the caretaker’s house. Yes, D’Arcy Island was a leper colony from 1891 to 1924, primarily for immigrant Chinese. The buildings that housed the lepers were burned in the 1960’s but the caretaker’s house can still be seen on the west side of the island. 
The infamous legacy all began when officials in Victoria found five men bearing obvious signs of leprosy hiding in a small shack behind a store on Fisgard Street in Chinatown. With Provincial support, D’Arcy Island was chosen to serve as a site to isolate people with leprosy away from others. Forty-nine people in total, all men of Chinese descent, were taken to the leper colony. The city built rowhouses for the lepers in which to live. Some of the leper residents later erected separate shacks of their own. A supply ship provided food, clothing, and, sadly, coffins every three months. For additional support, the residents cleared and planted a garden and collected their own water through a co-operative life style, caring for one another up to the time they died. 
While leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is not highly contagious and is only contracted over many months from someone with untreated leprosy through droplets from the nose and mouth, the ill effects and appearance of leprosy sent fear through the population of Victoria and BC. Leprosy is caused by a bacterium that damages the body’s peripheral nervous system and causes disfigurement. Swelling around the nose and throat can make breathing difficult. Unfortunately, little to any medical care was provided for the lepers on D’Arcy Island. Ironically, there was a hospital for lepers in New Brunswick run by the federal government with the necessary medicines to alleviate suffering. The patients in New Brunswick were Caucasian, while those at D’Arcy Island were all Chinese; prejudice against the Chinese in the 1890s no doubt played a role in the lack of care. Only after the medical profession reported deplorable conditions and suffering on D’Arcy Island did the federal government, with pressure from the BC government, take action. In 1906, the federal government took over operations on D’Arcy Island and provided medical care. By 1924, it was decided that D’Arcy Island was no longer needed. A new station was opened on Bentinck Island closer to Victoria. The five remaining lepers were transferred to Bentinck, and the colony on D’Arcy Island was closed for good. The placard on shore above the east cove, bears the name of 14 Chinese men and 4 other unknown names, who died on the island. 
D’Arcy Island is accessible only by boat and is surrounded by intimidating rocks, reefs, and shoals. Boaters with vessels 50 feet and under may use the buoys without charge for short-term stays while visiting the island. A fee is charged for overnight stays after 3 pm at $14 a night from May 15 to September 30. A self-registration payment box is located upland just above the beach. A big thank you to the BC Marine Parks Forever Society, a non-profit organization which helps fund mooring buoys, stern-tie pins, and property acquisitions for the benefit of the boating public. To learn more about the Society, or to donate to this important organization, go to www.bcmpfs.ca
New Mooring Buoys at D’Arcy Island
