Vancouver Island Board of Education, 1865 - 1869
The Vancouver Island Board of Education first convened on 2 June 1865. Operating under the authority of the Common School Act, 1865 [28 & 29 Victoria, No. 6] the Board was responsible for accrediting teachers, prescribing textbooks, and approving the curricula of the colonial schools. The Board also provided direction to the Superintendent of Education, Alfred Waddington.
Initially, the Board consisted of the following people:
- Dr. William Fraser Tolmie (chairman)
- Dr. Israel Wood Powell
- William J. McDonald
- Thomas Trounce
- John Wright
- Edward Graham Alston
- Capt. David M. Lang
- John James Cochrane
In November 1866, following the union of Vancouver Island and the mainland colony of British Columbia, it became the British Columbia Board of Education.
In June 1867, Dr. Powell succeeded Dr. Tolmie as chairman of the Board of Education. About the same time, Messrs. Wright, Alston, Lang and Cochrane were replaced by
- David W. Higgins
- Lumley Franklin
- Francis Garesche
- Thomas L. Wood
In 1869, when the Common School Act was rescinded and replaced by the Common School Ordinance, the Board was abolished.
The last meeting of the colonial Board of Education was held on 9 March 1869.
