View Royal farm receives Century Award for 100 years on Vancouver Island
A local farm and family are receiving a rare award from the province for operating their farm on Vancouver Island for more than 100 years.
The Pollock Family Farm, located in View Royal, B.C., has been in operation since 1921, and the family was awarded a Century Farm Award from the B.C. Government earlier this month.
The initial farm land was purchased from the Hudson's Bay Company near Six Mile Pub by brothers Neil and Malcolm Pollock.
The brothers then cleared the 24-acre parcel with horses, before building four greenhouses to grow crops in, according to the province.
The Pollock brothers Neil and Malcolm are pictured in a 1927 article. (Submitted)
The farm was in operation during the Second World War and the Great Depression, by which time it also included a barn, milk house and farmhouse.
Decades later, in 1970, Malcom's son, Earl, would sell the land that the original greenhouses were on and move most of the operation to the farm's current location along Atkins Road.
Earl would operate the farm until 1990, at which point his son, David, and his wife, Ingelise, were added to the deed and helped bring in apple and berry crops to the farm's operation.
David fully took over the farm in 2003, and he continues to operate it today.
"Although being in the spotlight makes us apprehensive, our family appreciates receiving the Century Farm Award as it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event," said David in a release Saturday.
"Our family has taken care to preserve both the historic features of our property and its viability as a farm, and I hope to one day hand it down to the next generation," he said.
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says the longstanding farm's history is a reflection of the Pollock Family and the surrounding community,
"Family farms are at the heart of our communities, and I want to thank the Pollock family for providing homegrown food to the Victoria area for over a century," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.