Having declared that all mining property was crown controlled requiring staking and registration Govenor Douglas then made Thomas Elwyn magistrate and the first Gold Commissioner for the colony. Lilooet was still the major supply point and so Elwyn was located there though he did move to Quesnel Forks by 1862. Along with the preemption act Elwyn was responsible for general law enforcement and government decisions. For example, he made the decision that a pack trail had to be built from Quesnel Mouth to the new diggings along Lightning Creek.
Thomas Elwyn, First Gold Commissioner in BC, stationed at Lillooet 1859 (credit: BC Archives #G-06725)
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All text and images
© Quesnel & District Museum and Archives unless otherwise
noted. Thanks to the B.C. Archives for permission to show various
images. Thanks to the BC Encyclopedia for permission to quote information
on the roadhouse communities. Thanks to the Living Landscapes Project,
the Royal British Columbia Museum, Ministry of Community, Aboriginal
and Women's Services for their support of site development.
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