Renowned whale museum lost to fire in B.C.'s Telegraph Cove was a 'labour of love'
CBC
Mary Borrowman is mourning the loss of the Whale Interpretive Centre in Telegraph Cove, B.C., a popular tourism attraction that helped fuel the local economy and drew visitors from around the world.
The centre, which housed a large collection of marine mammal skeletons, was destroyed during the Dec. 31 fire that levelled parts of the Vancouver Island resort village.
"We had probably the largest marine mammal skeleton collection hanging in Western Canada, and it is just as world renowned now," Borrowman said.
"We didn't actually get going as an on-land entity until 2002, but my husband Jim has been collecting marine mammal skeletons for over 40 years."
Telegraph Cove has a population of 20 people, and is located about 200 kilometres northwest of Campbell River.
No one was injured in the fire — which happened during the resort's off-season — but the flames destroyed numerous local businesses, including The Killer Whale Cafe, the Old Saltery Pub, the offices of two tour companies and the Whale Interpretive Centre.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
When the interpretive centre began, the owners of the resort gave Borrowman and her husband a small space on the waterfront boardwalk. Their first year in operation was such a success that they expanded their space several times in the years that followed, and saw visitors arriving from around the world.
"It's a labour of our heart, it's not a job. It's a volunteer labour of love for both Jim and I," Borrowman said.
She went down to the cove from her nearby home after the fire broke out and saw the building engulfed in flames.
"That was hard to watch," she said, fighting back tears.
Borrowman said the centre was created in response to a government recommendation that such a space be built somewhere on the North Island to complement the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve, which was established in 1982 as a sanctuary for killer whales.
Emily Gatto, a former employee of the interpretive centre, spent many summers working there with her sister.
"It was our passion," she said.
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