1. History
2. Organization
3. Project Background
4. Planning the Project
5. Undertaking the Project
6. Projected vs. Actual Expenses
7. Revenue/Grants Received
8. Volunteer Contributions
9. Publicity and Promotion
10. Evaluation
11. The Future
12. Appendix I:  Brochure
13. Appendix V: Information Sign

The Gabriola Historical and Museum Society, with other groups both on and off Gabriola, including the Council of the Snuneymuxw Nation, had become increasingly concerned about the condition of the Gabriola petroglyphs. The sandstone on which they were carved had been exposed to weathering, traffic, rubbings, and vandalism, and some had become much less legible as a result. It appeared that this irreplaceable legacy of the original inhabitants of the coast was unlikely to long survive the attention it had been receiving in recent years. The wide distribution of the petroglyphs, all over Gabriola and its adjacent small islands, made protection of the sites by shelters or staff prohibitively expensive. Instead, it was thought that if reproductions could be located in an easily accessible site, along with information about the originals and their fragility, then traffic could be diverted from the original sites. Those who wished to make rubbings could use the reproductions, and materials provided by the museum. It was hoped that those who continued on to visit the originals would do so armed with knowledge of their fragility and possessed of appropriate "site etiquette", which might prove contagious.

In the summer of 1995, several members of the Society, under the leadership of Jack Sickavish and Rufus Churcher, undertook a pilot project which, after consultation with the Royal BC Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum on methods, produced latex moulds of three of the smaller petroglyphs (the largest was 24"x 36"). MacKay Precast Products, of Nanaimo, volunteered to make casts from these moulds for the cost of materials only. The total cost of producing three casts was $195.00; and 25 hours of volunteer time. The casts were put outside the museum, for viewing and taking rubbings.

While this technique produced very accurate reproductions, there were a few problems. The grooves were often too shallow to permit good rubbings, and the rectangular casts were rather unattractive, compared to the originals. It seemed that accuracy was being purchased at some cost in aesthetics--the casts might not attract tourists away from the originals. However, the Society hoped to continue the project, using the expertise and experience acquired in the pilot project, and improving the technique, until moulds and casts were made of all the island's petroglyphs, and casts installed in an outdoor exhibit on the museum grounds.

In May of 1996, application was made to Heritage Trust for $5,750, over a three year period, to cover materials cost of reproductions and construction of educational panels. The Society planned to contribute $8,300 in volunteer labour to the project, and to assume responsibility for maintenance once the petroglyph park was installed. Promotion was planned to occur through local media, the Chamber of Commerce, and tourist information centres, as well as in the Heritage Map and on the World Wide Web.

Shortly after the application was submitted, the Archeology Branch raised objections to the technique (on the grounds that any contact with the petroglyphs risked removing lichens that might permit dating in the future, and could cause further degradation of the glyphs). Their objections were supported by Ian Wainwright of the Canadian Conservation Institute, who had visited the sites at our invitation at that time. Archeology Branch recommended that a conservator be hired to examine all the petroglyphs and report on the best approach for the recording of each. Latex moulds would be used only as a salvage method. Rubbings (taken in the past by museums and others) and photographs would be used as the source for most of the reproductions.

When the cost of a conservator was estimated, it proved to be greater than the amount of the original application. This seemed excessive. Instead, the museum decided to try several of Archeology Branch's suggestions--to find other sources of images, and hire an artist to create reproductions from these. Preliminary estimates indicated that only 30 reproductions could be produced using this method, as it required a hiring an artisan skilled in concrete work. As a result, the museum's volunteer contribution to the project would also be much smaller, and the generous contribution of McKay Casting would be foregone. A revised proposal, requesting $6,000, was agreed to by Heritage Trust, and project planning began in February of 1997.

Finding the images:
An islander with computer graphics experience volunteered to process images taken with his digital camera. These images could be copied at full scale onto material for transfer to reproductions. He also offered assistance in developing a web page for the museum, and to post it on his server at no charge. An approach was made to the Royal BC Museum to find out whether they had rubbings or photographs of Gabriola petroglyphs which could be copied. Mary Bentley, author of Gabriola: Petroglyph Island, and the discoverer of many of the island's petroglyphs, agreed to create full-sized tracings on plastic sheets, from her original rubbings (mostly made in the '70s and early '80s--in some cases more detailed than could be obtained now) to be used in creating reproductions. She also agreed to sell the reproduction rights to images made from these transparencies to the museum. The price of both tracings and rights was $1,000.

Copying the images:
Since reproduction from images, unlike casting from moulds, required artistic skills as well as skills in working with concrete, the job was tendered. Four responses were received, and reviewed by Jack Sickavish and Rufus Churcher. All appeared to have the requisite skills and experience. Two from the U.S. were eliminated, as they did not appear to possess skills beyond those of the two Canadian artists. Jared Hooper, a Gabriola artist who had the most relevant experience (and was willing to work for less than his usual rate of $30/sq ft, including materials, as a contribution to the museum) was awarded the contract. In the meantime, the computer graphics expert went out of business, and his equipment (including all the images of petroglyphs made from the digital camera) was repossessed by creditors. Several efforts to retrieve the image files proved fruitless. The project was revised to use only Mary Bentley's images of her petroglyph rubbings. These would be copied onto plastic sheets, which would then be copied onto wet concrete (destroying the copy in the process). The outline would then be carved, as accurately as possible, by Jared Hooper.

In March of 1997, the creation of reproductions began. Several museum volunteers (Jack Sickavish, Rufus Churcher, and Bernard White) traced Mary Bentley's transparencies onto 4 mil plastic. These secondary copies were then handed over to Jared Hooper for the next steps.

For an illustrated, step-by-step description of the creation of the reproductions, visit Jared Hooper's website.

The first petroglyph reproduction, a salmon, was completed on April 1, and tested by a number of museum volunteers. Rubbings were easy to make, and the oval shape of the artificial stone was attractive. Minor modifications to the grooves were made, to facilitate a better rubbing, and to permit water drainage, in order to prevent freezing and spalling.

Twelve smaller reproductions were made and installed in April. In May, eight larger reproductions (up to 4'x9') were made on site, and another ten in June, including a reproduction of the recently-discovered "Sun/Flower"--a glyph with a large central depression.

In June the museum installation was visited by two elders of the Snuneymuxw Nation, who also toured the island with members of the board to view other sites. At a lunch provided by the museum, they expressed considerable enthusiasm for the project, and offered to provide some of the legends that go with some of the glyphs. They left with rubbings for their educational centre.

Also in June, the board of the museum decided to contribute $1,280 of donations to the project, to cover the amount held back by Heritage Trust, and then to be used to reproduce two more 4'x8' panels (about six glyphs) when the current project was completed. In July, an information sign was designed by Jack Sickavish, Jared Hooper, Barrie Humphrey, and Rufus Churcher. After many revisions to layout, wording, and spelling, a final design was agreed to by the end of the month, and a two-sided 4'x4' sign, using vinyl lettering and hand- painted glyph designs, was installed in a frame on a concrete pad.

At the same time, a brochure with tips for making rubbings of the reproductions, and photographs of the original petroglyphs was developed (Appendix I). It was made available at the museum site and distributed to tourist centres on the island. The brochure stresses the fragility of the petroglyphs, and encourages good site behaviour.

Opening ceremonies were scheduled for September 16th. Invitations were sent to all contributors to the project, to the Snuneymuxw Nation, and, through local newspapers, to all islanders. The owner of one of the local newspapers agreed to act as master of ceremonies, and also provided considerable publicity in the month leading up to the opening. On September 16, 1997, the opening ceremony was held at the museum site, with about 50 people in attendance. A ribbon was cut by Mary Bentley and Geraldine Manson (representing the Snuneymuxw Nation).

Opening day--Mary Bentley on left, Geraldine Manson on right.

On the positive side, there have, unquestionably, been a number of benefits from the change of method. The museum is now able to take an uncompromising position of "no contact with petroglyphs", which would not have been possible had the original moulding method been used. As well, the reproductions produced by the artist are clearly much more appealing than those produced by the moulding method, and, with the native plantings installed several years ago, make for very attractive museum grounds. They also are less frustrating to make rubbings from, and this adds to the enjoyment of those who use them for this purpose.

Several unanticipated benefits have also resulted from the project. After its completion, Mary Bentley generously donated all her rubbings of Gabriola petroglyphs to the museum, where they will be a significant part of our collection. The contact we have had with the Snuneymuxw Nation in the course of planning the installation has also had benefits. They have asked us for assistance in displaying artifacts that were recently uncovered, and to assist them in planning their own small museum. Discussions continue about the stories that go with the petroglyphs--it is our hope that these may be put together in the near future, for the benefit of all who are interested in the glyphs.

Public response to the petroglyph park has been completely positive. Visitor frequency has increased, especially outside regular museum hours. School classes are taking field trips to the park. Almost all who stop read the sign, which tells them about the petroglyphs and the dangers to them. People tell us they are now aware of the fragility of the original petroglyphs--they had assumed before that rocks were durable. In one instance we have heard of, a visitor who went from the museum installation to one of the original sites used information from the museum to explain to others at the site why they should not walk on the glyphs. At least 20 groups or individuals have taken rubbings from the reproductions to hang in their homes or as gifts to others. (One group of tourists from the US planned to reproduce and sell the rubbings they took.) Local tourist facilities are now directing their customers first to the museum instead of to the sites of the originals.

The museum's contribution of $1,280 will permit the reproduction of six to eight more petroglyphs when the remaining $900 is received from Heritage Trust. The museum has ten rubbings from Mary Bentley which have not yet been reproduced. There are at least another six petroglyphs on Gabriola which should be copied, as well as five on DeCourcey Island, and at least five on Mudge Island. The museum plans to reproduce more petroglyphs over the next several years, using the techniques developed in this project, photographic images of the remaining petroglyphs, and funds raised by the museum to pay Jared Hooper to continue this work. As subdivision and development continue on Gabriola, we anticipate that more petroglyphs will be uncovered.

THE ORIGINAL PETROGLYPHS  Gabriola's petroglyphs were first "pecked", and then abraded, with a sharp rock, by people of the First Nations--no-one knows how long ago. The sandstone on which they were made was chosen because it is soft, and easy to work. This was a good thing for the carver, but not so good for the carvings--some of them have eroded since their protective moss covering was removed. Anything can scratch and wear them--shoes, bicycle tires, horse-shoes, a twig used to scrape out the grooves, even making rubbings for souvenirs. Every lost sand grain makes the glyph a little more blurred. Lichen, which has grown in the grooves for centuries, may some day help us find the age of petroglyphs--if it has not been rubbed out in the meantime.  The reproductions at the museum were copied from images made when the originals were first uncovered. They are less eroded than the originals are now, and their edges are sharper. They will give you a clearer image than the originals would. Please use them for all rubbings, and take only photographs and memories from the sites of the originals.

More information about Gabriola's petroglyphs can be found in two books available from island bookstores: Raspberry's at the north end, and Pages at the south.  Gabriola: Petroglyph Island, by Mary and Ted Bentley, second edition,. Sono Nis Press, 1998.  Guide to Indian Rock Carvings of the Pacific Northwest Coast, by Beth and Ray Hill, publ. Hancock.  Thanks to the members of the Rock Art mailing list [Rock-Art@ASUVM.INRE.ASU.EDU] for photography suggestions. (They've got a lot more!) ____________________  Copyright 1997  Gabriola Historical and Museum Society Box 213, Gabriola, BC V0R 1X0  (250) 247-9987  ____________________  The Society is a non-profit organization, incorporated in 1985.  Donations may be eligible for tax deduction  ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP  Family $10  Individual $6  Senior $5  ADMISSION  Members Free  Non-members $2

HOW TO RECORD  A PETROGLYPH  Tips on how to make rubbings  from the reproductions at the museum  and how to photograph the originals