Fernie & Elk Valley Culture Guide Fernie & Elk Valley Cultural Guide - Winter 18-19 | Page 12

Railway tunnel construction on the BC Southern loop at Michel (c1896). Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History
FERNIE’S FOUNDING FATHERS
Michael Phillips & William Fernie
In 1851, 14-year-old William Fernie
set sail from England for a new life in
Australia. There he began the career
that would eventually lead him to
Southeastern British Columbia and the
untouched coal fields that would be
his legacy. Lured to Australia by tales
of the Victorian gold rush, he quickly
found work in the booming mining town
of Bendigo but just 4 years later he set
sail again and for several years worked
as a quartermaster on the United
States Mail Steamer to South America.
He arrived in British Columbia in 1860
and worked in mining in the Cariboo
region, eventually being appointed Gold
Commissioner in 1873.
Serendipitously, 1873 was the year
that Michael Phillips made his first
significant foray into the Elk Valley,
and the first recorded trip along Michel
Creek through what is now known
as the Crow’s Nest Pass. Phillips
returned the following year with
Jim Morrissey and others on a well-
provisioned prospecting expedition.
The party crossed the Elk River and
discovered coal in abundance; however,
the treasure they sought was gold and
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coal was of little interest at the time.
“Woods and I went over the divide on
foot to the Michel Creek waters, but
could find nothing but coal and coal
everywhere. We spent many weeks
up Elk River, but failing to get out of
the coal formation we turned back and
went towards the head waters of the
Flathead River.”
Michael Phillips, also originally from
England, came to the region by a
more direct route than William Fernie,
arriving at the Tobacco Plains outpost
of the Hudson’s Bay Company in
the 1860’s. Although the company
pulled out of the region shortly after
his arrival, Phillips saw the potential
of the area and stayed, thoroughly
learning the Ktunaxa language so he
could communicate with the local
population. He married the daughter of
the Tobacco Plains Chief and eventually
started a ranch where they raised
twelve children.
Although Phillips maintained his
interest in gold and was a successful
trapper, rancher, and builder, he also
saw the potential in his coal discovery.