People uprooted from Otter Bay (1)

Otter Bay, or Hayashi Cove, was the primary settlement for Japanese Canadians on the Pender Islands. In 1895, Captain S. Hayashi purchased 160 acres on Otter Bay; Japanese loggers and fishermen follow him to the area. He established a camp at the small cove on the north shore. Hayashi also shipped charcoal produced by Japanese Canadians in pit kilns to canneries and other businesses.

In 1918, the Matsumuras’ bought a fourteen acre parcel of land, and built a house and bathhouse on the northeast bank of Hayashi Cove. They ran a profitable chicken farm and shipped eggs to wholesalers in Vancouver. Mr. Matsumura was a fisherman, and by 1924, he had built cod fishing docks in the bay. In 1929, Mr. Matsumura and Hayashi sold property to Matsuyama Company who then developed a herring saltery. The saltery shore crew employed fifteen Japanese Canadians, and their quarters included a bunk house, bath house, and outhouse, located on the dock against the bank.