Street names in Victoria can make us smile. Who wouldn’t want to be Young again, now that the New Year is here?

 

Young Street runs between Toronto and Michigan streets on the east side of James Bay. During the 12 years that he lived here, William Alexander George Young made quite an impression on the citizens of this town.

 

Young was born in England in 1827, the son of a captain in the Royal Navy. Following in his father’s footsteps, he enlisted at the tender age of 14, and worked his way up through the ranks. He was decorated for his services during the Crimean War, then moved to the Foreign Office and became secretary to the newly organized North American Boundary Commission.

 

He arrived in Victoria in June 1857 and made a favourable impression on his new boss, James Douglas, Chief Factor at the Hudson’s Bay Company headquarters. Douglas, who recognized a bright young fellow when he saw one, wasted no time in persuading him to stay. There wasn’t much social life at Fort Victoria, but naval officers were always welcome, and before long the new arrival was courting the Governor’s pretty young niece.

 

Eliza Cowan was the daughter of Douglas’s sister Cecelia. Eliza lived with her parents at “Belmont,” a large estate on Esquimalt Harbour. In 1858, three events conspired to create huge changes in the family’s fortunes: Goldseekers poured into Victoria en route to the Fraser River; Eliza’s mother died; and Eliza became the wife of the efficient young administrator who had become her Uncle James’s “right-hand man.” The Youngs set up residence on Superior Street, not far from the Douglas family home.

 

Shortly afterwards, Douglas appointed Young colonial secretary for British Columbia. Douglas’s duties took him away more often, and he was only too pleased to leave his son-in-law in charge.

 

Administrative responsibilities in two colonies gave Young considerable authority – and a salary from both. He invested his money wisely, purchased real estate in Esquimalt and up-Island, and campaigned successfully for membership in the Legislative Assembly.

 

When Douglas retired, in 1864, Young took a one-year leave of absence for a trip to England. On his return, in 1865, he found British Columbia in deep financial trouble. Then he fell afoul of mainland governor Frederick Seymour, who confided to the British government that the Victoria-based Young did not inspire his confidence in connection with mainland interests. Young was replaced.

 

In May 1869, the Youngs auctioned off most of their possessions and sailed for England. There, Young was knighted by Queen Victoria, then appointed Governor of British Guiana. He died in Accra, in 1885, without ever returning to these shores. But luckily for us, his story stays with us, thanks to that short street in James Bay.       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the years it’s been written both ways, and people often ask me which is correct: Medina Street or Medana Street? The answer is Medana!

 

Paul Medana–or Medina, as he was sometimes later called–was born in Italy in 1813, and arrived in Victoria during the heady, gold-rush era of the late 1850s. Unlike most of his fellow gold-seekers, he had money in his pocket, and wasted no time in investing in downtown real estate.

 

At that time, little was left of Fort Victoria, established at the foot of Fort Street by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1843, but the settlement was spreading to the north and west. On its south side, James Bay was a real bay–a shallow inlet extending east from the harbour to where the Church of Our Lord now stands, on the corner of Blanshard and Belleville.

 

Behind the first, wooden, pagoda-like parliament buildings on the bay’s southern shore, much of the peninsula was farmland. Paul Medana bought a huge acreage facing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and built a fine home (long since demolished) near the corner of Menzies and Dallas for his wife Mary and their large family.

 

Real estate ventures took up most of his time, and much of his James Bay land remained undeveloped. Over the years, Medina’s Grove, as it was erroneously labelled, became a firm favourite with local residents. It stretched from Simcoe Street south to Dallas, and from Menzies Street west to Pilot–a wonderful, wild, fence-free place, covered with trees and shrubs, with clearings ideal for picnics.

 

In November 1868, Medana suffered an aneurysm and died. His fellow freemasons accompanied the coffin on its journey to the Quadra Street Burying Ground, which since 1855 had provided a final resting place for many of Victoria’s early pioneers, and was rapidly filling up to capacity.

 

Four years after Medana’s death, when the city was looking for a location for a second cemetery, his James Bay property became the focus of debate. Local residents, horrified at the thought of losing their favourite pleasure ground, objected strongly, and fortunately the city turned its attentions to Ross Bay instead.

 

In 1880, Medina’s grove was subdivided. Trees were felled, land was cleared, streets were created. But Paul Medana has not been forgotten. One of the few remaining monuments in Pioneer Square, next to Christ Church Cathedral, bears the words “In Memory Of Paul Medana, Native of Italy, Died November 14, 1868, aged 53 years.” And at the eastern edge of what was James Bay’s favourite picnic area, a quiet, tree-lined street still bears Paul Medana’s name.