2932 Malaspina Promenade

Arbutus Cottage was built by Colonel Laurence Herchmer in 1911/1912 for his wife Ethel (nee Ashworth), and daughter Laurencia. They had first heard about Savary from Ethel’s brother George Ashworth and his wife Kate and Ethel’s sister and brother-in-law, Alice and C.R. (Bob)Townley. They travelled from Vancouver by Union Steamship to Lund, staying in the Lund Hotel where they were greeted by the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Thulin. A launch delivered them to the beach at Savary where they picnicked and met Louis Anderson, his wife and children, and fell in love with all Savary offered.

That winter, after the properties had been surveyed, they purchased lots close to where the wharf was to be built, at the bottom of the logging chute. Their home was constructed by a builder from Vancouver, likely John Elliot, and extensive gardens were laid out, in part, by Ashton Spilsbury. The rockery work was completed using stones that had been brought to the island during the earlier logging operation.

The photo below shows the Herchmer cottage with the original Savary Island Inn on the left. This photo of the first wharf has the float located on the left side with a ramp at the dock head to enable easier transport of goods from the steamships.

After Laurence Herchmer died the property transferred to his widow Ethel Jane Herchmer who lived on the island for several years with her young daughter Laurencia, keeping chickens, a cow and maintaining beautiful flower and vegetable gardens complete with asparagus, raspberries, and fruit trees which are still enjoyed today. She was not alone as during the war years many families lived on the island including her brother and sister and their families. Travel back and forth to Vancouver was made easy with the Union Steamship Line calling regularly.

In 1968, with the death of Ethel, the property ownership changed to Laurencia Rickard.

When Hugh and Laurencia Rickard retired, their second home, a Panabode designed by Hugh, was built in 1972, and the original cottage demolished. This home was planned to be a year-round home and was designed and built by Hugh, with many helping hands along the way. Woody Treadwell had just arrived on the island with his young family and was happy to help, as were Russell Mace and Drew Rose to name but a few. Hugh and Laurencia worked hard to bring back the original Savary garden back to life. The Panabode proved to be a very comfortable choice for year- round Savary living.  Their daughter Dulcie, husband Bruce Macdonald and grandchildren Alex and Erin were lucky to spend many happy summers at Savary.

Arbutus cottage has seen very few changes other than the addition of a sleeping cottage, and remains much the same. The Macdonald family, including daughters Alex and Erin, with their husbands and children, now 5th generation, return as often as they can.

Published 2024 

Arbutus Cottage Garden 

 2932 Malaspina Promenade 

We are incredibly lucky to have such a beautiful garden! I find great joy in harvesting flowers to make bouquets. Yes, it takes a lot of time and effort to plant and grow on the sands of Savary, but we would not be able to do so without all the gardeners that came before. 

Our first cottage was built in 1911/1912 for my grandparents, Ethel and Laurence Herchmer. They came to hear of beautiful Savary from Ethel’s older brother and sister, George Ashworth and Alice Townley. The Herchmers travelled by Union Steamship to Lund and then arrived at Savary by launch where they met Louis Anderson and his family who were the only residents on the island at that time. They chose three lots and Ethel writes; “The lots we purchased had been a logging run, and while heavy timber was gone, immense fallen logs lay three deep all about the cottage. Loggers from Lund cleared it and my husband marked two tiny Arbutus saplings in front of the home to be spared.  There was almost no shade so we had planted cedars all over the boulevard and had many vines, roses and jasmines covering the veranda for shade."  (Signs of the  logging chute can still be seen today.)

The Spilsbury family, who were tenting nearby, lived in our home for that first winter. Ashton built an extensive rockery using the granite stones that had been barged in to form a base for the donkey engine which operated the logging chute. This rockery, still in existence today, provided a frame work for an English style country garden and massive plantings occurred over the next several years. The cedar hedges, climbing roses, arbutus trees, acacia trees all thrived. It wasn’t long until a very substantial fence enclosed the garden to keep the deer out and the Jersey cow and chickens in! 

After my Grandfather's death in 1915, my grandmother, Ethel and my mother, Laurencia, lived primarily on Savary.  Ethel's diary for 1916/1917, written during the first world war, describes the supportive Savary Community. The Savary Inn was operating next door and the Keefers maintained a store. The Union Steamship was making scheduled runs back and forth to Vancouver making travel easy. 

Granny, with help, planted apple, pear and plum trees, red currents, thornless blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. Vegetables she mentions growing included asparagus, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cauliflower, cabbage, broad beans, lettuce, carrots, celery, and peas. This must have been an amazing garden. The cow and chickens provided eggs and milk and fertilizer to grow such varied crops.

Reading my grandmother's diary, life at Savary wasn't always easy, especially in the cold winter months, with only a wood stove and fireplace to keep them warm. The cottage was board and batten with no insulation. They harvested clams and oysters by lamp light at low tide, fished for cod and salmon, and hunted ducks and geese. They thought nothing of rowing to Lund to purchase whatever they could by ration. 

Along with noting how many dozen eggs were sent for sale to Powell River, Ethel's diary is a record of the women on the Island that were registered to vote in Canada for the very first time.  Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Mace, Mrs Keefer, Mrs. Spilsbury, and Ms. Stephens are mentioned.  Alice Townley, a true suffragette, and her sister, Ethel, recorded this exciting time in women's history.

This first garden was not sustainable as Ethel left the Island for employment as a teacher but the Savary property continued on as a family summer retreat.

In 1972 my mother Laurencia and father Hugh Rickard retired and moved to Savary with plans to build a new home designed for year round living.  The original cottage was recycled and taken down by Woody Treadwell who had conveniently arrived on the Island just at the right time. He was glad to take the lovely small paned double doors and windows which found new life in his and Nancy's first log home in Savary Shores. Hugh had designed a Panabode to fit on the second lot just beside the existing cottage and it was built over the summer with the interior being finished during the fall and winter.  The footprint of the garden now looked quite different.

Mom and Dad dove right in replanning the space and digging new gardens. The original fruit trees were still producing and some more were added. Dad, being an engineer, built perfect boxes for strawberries  and asparagus and trellises for raspberries, logan berries, gooseberries and currents. Mom planted roses, lilac, rhododendrons, and grew rows of vegetables. The garden was beautiful once again.  

I along with my husband, Bruce Macdonald and our two daughters Alex and Erin, were always welcome to spend the summer holidays. Then, when we retired, we were able to spend even more time to continue this special garden legacy. (Now made even easier with the help of our growing family.)

Hidden behind the cedar hedge, our garden still has the same rockeries and pathways, ivy hedges, lawned areas and view over the wharf and Keefer Bay, but the garden has changed again. Some of the original plantings still survive, like the fruit trees, raspberries and asparagus, but now our focus is flowers.  I plant a cutting garden, that together with the lovely old perennials, allows me to make beautiful bouquets.  One of my favourite things is to wander out in the quiet of early morning to pick an armload of blooms which will become a bouquet for someone's special table. 

Dulcie Macdonald