Updated

3/22/2023

History
The property now called Dunecroft has quite a history. The name Dunecroft was found attached to the main gate to the property when we purchased the place in 1964. It was stored away in the pump room in the basement for many years. When rebuilding the fence and gates in 1998 I refinished the sign and it hangs in the archway over the main entrance gate.

In the mid-1930s, there was a rezoning of the area taking away the original road from Fulford to Ganges which ran along the water, moving it further up the land to a more level and more secure area. The area was divided into lots ranging from 1 or 2 acres up to the 30-acre range. The Armour property and the Newton Property are two of the largest in the Walter Bay area. The Newton Property was purchased in the mid-30s by Gwen Newton’s Father. (Clark)

In 1941 Dr. Frederic Brodie purchased the property (lots B and C ) and built the present house on Lot B. Lot A was owned by the Danials. The house was completed in 1942. At the same time, a 1 car garage was built, and a boathouse at the water's edge on the east side. The garage was close to the west side of the property. Access from Douglas Rd was gained by a long driveway to the garage which was 15 ft from the property line.

Dr. Fredric Brodie was a medical Doctor. He served in the Medical Corps in the Canadian Army in WWI. Some of his uniform is still in the basement of the house. His military record is online. His address at the time of signup (Oct 1917) was 718 Granville Street. (most likely his medical office in the Birk‘s building). His Brother Francis Brodie is listed in this document as his next of Kin. This document states that Dr. Brodie had former military experience of 2 years with the RAMC, Royal Army Medical Corp. There is no documentation of this possibly due to the loss of many of these records in a Bombing in 1940. In the BC Archives, there is a Marriage certificate listed for Frederic James Brodie married to Florence Mabel Reade Dated 1921/09/23 in Vancouver.

Dr. Fredric Brodie's brother, Francis Brodie, founded and owned a company making and selling Brooms and Brushes. The Brodie Brush company. The Brodie Brush Company was situated at 800 Cambie Street. In the early 50s in West Point Grey as a child I can remember the door-to-door salesman from the Brodie Brush Company coming by. Of course the Fuller Brush Company too. Those were the days when there were a lot of sales done door to door. Twice a week we had the Chinese vegetables, daily the Milk, and the Iceman with his horse and cart down the back lane. The scissor sharpener. once a month, vacuum cleaner salesman, well you name it.

I have been told that Dr. Brodie moved from his private practice to become a medical professor at the University of British Columbia and when he retired in the late 50s he was the Dept head, however, I can find no records of this in the UBC Archives.

Dr. Brodie must have come from a wealthy family. I found his address in the Vancouver archives, It was in the Shaughnessy district in Vancouver, one of the wealthiest in the city. His address was the only number in the whole city block. Ie, it must have been a mansion and almost an acre in size.

I am told he owned the property in Vancouver and was very seldom there after his retirement. He kept a maid at the Vancouver property to look after the place. He owned this property here on Saltspring and his wife, Florence, lived here. He also owned property in the Canary Islands. Majorca, and Palm Springs, California. I am told he had a mistress at each of these other locations and would spend 3 months of the year at each location. Mrs. Brodie lived here from the time the house was built until her death in 1956.

Mrs. Brodie had two wonderful black Scottie dogs here on the property to keep her company. There is a listing in the 1950 Telephone directory for Dr. Frederic Brodie Beddis Rd., Tel. # 50Q. When we took possession of the property we found the telephone wires (14 Ga copper) still all in place and the batteries still in the basement. The phone was missing from the wall in the dining room. A similar replacement has been installed in the same place.

In 1946 the Danials decided to subdivide their property. They divided it into 3 lots. 2 lots on the waterfront and one higher up where their house was. 10 ft of the driveway and property line was acquired for access to the two new lots. It was named Zander Road. The lot closest to the creek was sold to the McDonalds who moved a house by barge from up the coast to the property. The second waterfront lot was purchased in 1953 by Mrs. Brodie and converted to an orchard. with mostly Plum trees. She was fed up with the loggers and kids coming down the road and parking there to party and drink. This made easier access to the garage as well for a turnaround. at the bottom of the driveway.

The Brodies' deaths. Now, this is where we have had conflicting stories. We were first told that He was killed in a car accident in California in 1962, and shortly after his wife was killed in Crofton in a car/train accident. We have also been told the two of them were killed in a car accident on Vancouver Island. I found an article in the Saltspring archives of a Driftwood article announcing the accidental death of Dr. Brodie at age 82 when he walked across a busy street, got confused, and stepped in front of a car in Stockton California. Date March 1964. A search for the death of Florence Brodie comes up with her death on July 2nd, 1956 in Bowser BC. (Qualicum Beach) Her death certificate states it was an instant death from head and chest injuries in a highway accident, a car-train collision on the island highway in Bowser. BC. The fact remains, they both died of unnatural causes.

Driftwood article 1964. - Click to enlarge

The estate came up for sale on the market and Mrs. Clark (Gwen Newton's mother) convinced my Mother, Mrs. Coulthard. to talk my dad into buying the place. It looked like a good investment at the time so my mom and dad went for it. They purchased the property in the spring of 1964. The property became our “summer home”. The family spent all of the summer months here from mid-May to Sept when my dad was not working at what he called the “Think Factory” UBC. During the majority of the winter months, we would travel over here on Friday evenings Queen of Nanaimo ferry leaving the car parked in Tsawwassen and using our island car, a red Volkswagen 1600 wagon.

In 1995 I retired from the Broadcast industry and moved here full-time. This place has been a second home for me practically all my life. It is now a permanent home and a fun place for my wife Sue and I, and our families to live. There are lots of things to do on this island.

In my early days coming here, I often encountered some things I could not explain. There was always some feeling of someone present in the room. This happened occasionally in the master bedroom but more often in the upstairs bedroom and study. The presence was also felt by my children later when they started coming here. The last feelings of this happened to Sue shortly after she arrived in yr 2000. One evening she felt someone hug her from behind while she was at the computer in the study. Since then there have been no indications until January 2013 when our new puppy Marley sat next to me at the computer in the study and growled at a dark corner behind the door.

When I retired from CBC North in Yellowknife my youngest daughter, Caitlyn and I moved here full-time. I had a small reserve of severance pay and the kitchen and main floor bathroom were in need of renovation. I searched the contractors and Carol Wright, who I knew from Deep Cove in North Vancouver was contacted. She and a couple of her colleagues tore out the kitchen to the outside walls and all new everything was installed. The old stove, sink, fridge, and some of the cupboards were reinstalled in the basement, alongside a newer and smaller laundry tub and washer and dryer.

Henry, a friend of Carol's was contracted to build us a greenhouse, More on this on another page HERE

More stories to come as I get the time.

Marv Coulthard

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