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Royston
Royston is located on Vancouver Island 7 km (4 miles) south of Courtenay
and 21 km (13 miles) north of Fanny Bay
on Hwy 19A.
Seaside
Village
Royston is a small seaside village that is situated on the west
shore of Comox Inlet directly across from Comox.
First settled by Europeans in 1862, the Royston area was well-known
by the local First Nations for thousands of years as a place of
extreme wealth with a bounty of clams, mussels, herring, oysters
and salmon, all found along Comox Harbour.
Comox
Valley Logging Industry
In time the Europeans started clearing and processing the vast amounts
of timber that grew throughout the Comox Valley. Eventually, a port
facility for log barges was put in along the water by the Comox
Logging and Railway Company - a subsidiary of Canadian Western Lumber
Company - to export them to Vancouver for processing at Fraser Mills.
Cumberland
Many large farms were also created in the surrounding community
of later-day Royston to produce food that was required by Robert
Dunsmuir to feed the men working in the coal mines found north of
Royston at Cumberland. Eventually,
the Royston area became popular for townsfolk of Cumberland and
they started acquiring property along the Comox Harbour waterfront
to have cabins to visit during the summer months.
'Roy's
Town'
'Roy's Town' or, eventually, Royston, was named after William Roy
who bought land once owned by the coal baron, Robert Dunsmuir, in
1890. William Roy teamed up with businessmen, Harry Idiens and Frederick
Warren, who were, at the time, a couple of Vancouver Island's biggest
land promoters and subdivided it, selling 25 acres' worth of deeded
lots and creating Royston in 1910.
'Royston
Wrecks'
Royston's harbour is very unique in that it has a breakwater that
is made from a number of hauls of derelict ships. Known as the 'Royston
Wrecks' this ship graveyard was made from a number of old decommissioned
Canadian warships and freighters to form a breakwater to help protect
the log booms that were waiting for transport to Vancouver
by tub boat.
Kingfisher
Oceanside Resort & Spa
For people who love being pampered in a spa atmosphere, Royston
is home to the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa. Often considered
as one of British Columbia's best spa experiences - the Kingfisher
Oceanside Resort & Spa that is situated on a beautiful oceanfront
location along Comox Harbour in a building style in a very traditional
West Coast style.
Royston
Businesses
Other businesses operating in Royston include Royston Mini-Mart,
a couple of gas stations and two very good restaurants specializing
in seafood, the Kingfisher Seafood Restaurant which features a Sunday
buffet and the Seaside Restaurant.
Backstreet
Pub
For entertainment and pub food, you can try visiting the local watering
hole, the Backstreet Pub located on Hwy 19A. For other nearby places
located south of Royston by 9 km (6 miles) on Hwy 19A in another
seaside village of Union Bay is the Highwayman Pub, another local
favourite.
Unique
Community
Other things to see in Royston include the beautiful mural that
was put on the side of the Royston Hall depicting its heritage.
Then if you have time, travel up to neighbouring Cumberland and
visit this unique community and its historical association with
Royston and discover nearby Comox Lake where, with the appropriate
fishing licence, you can find some excellent fishing opportunities.
Sandy
Island Marine Provincial Park
Royston is in close proximity to a number of great boating and swimming
areas including both Denman
Island and Hornby
Island. For wilderness camping and exploring, there is Sandy
Island Marine Provincial Park or the First Nation name Jáji7em
and Kw’ulh Marine Park which is situated off the north tip
of Denman Island. At Sandy Island and nearby Seal Islets, you can
find a sensitive eco-system made up of endangered birds and a fragile
plant system comprised of various wildflowers and very unique fauna.
Information
on Royston
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