Pemberton Holmes Ltd.

It really all began in 1850. It had only been a year earlier that the British Colonial Office had suggested to the Hudson's Bay Company that it submit a proposal for the government and colonization of Vancouver's Island. This prospect must have caught the imagination of one Joseph Despard Pemberton because on December 9th, 1850, at the age of 29, he wrote to The Hudson's Bay Company seeking employment as "a Surveyor and Engineer of thorough business habits and energy with reference the Colonization of Vancouver's Island".