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The woman may be Jessie Dunsmuir or Sarah Byrd Dunsmuir

L to R: Marion, ?,?, Muriel

L to R: Marion, Elinor, Kathleen

L to R: unidentified, Marion, Muriel, front: (possibly) James Jr., unidentified man, Kathleen

Maude Shoobert married Robin Dunsmuir in November 1901. Robin was the eldest son of James and Laura Dunsmuir.

Silhouettes were a common way to capture a portrait before photography was widely used. This silhouette may be Laura Dunsmuir or a friend of the family.

The woman in the centre is unidentified

L to R: Kathleen, Laura, Marion, James, Kathleen

The house was built in 1899 by Samuel Maclure for Col. J. Peters.

L to R: Muriel, Kathleen, Byrdie, James, Marion

This photo in the Dunsmuir collection is not the Dunsmuirs under quarantine, but friends of theirs. The sign on the fence reads:
“Scarlet Fever- This house quarantined until Oct. 31 by order of George Duncan.”
There was a small outbreak of scarlet fever in the fall of 1895, the possible timing of this photo. At the time, the city health officer, Dr. George H. Duncan, was praised for his swift action to contain the outbreak of contagious disease.
The women pictured are five of the six daughters of Joseph and Eva Loewen, who lived in a home called Rockwood on the Gorge waterway. They were not far from the Dunsmuirs, who in 1895 were living at their grand home on the Gorge, Burleith. The Loewen and Dunsmuir girls were friends and often played together on sports teams and performed in local concerts, several of them being accomplished musicians.
The Loewens sold Rockwood in 1908 and the house soon became associated with scarlet of a different kind. The new owner, Estella Carroll, was better known locally as “the Rockwood Madam” where she operated a house of ill-repute. The Dunsmuirs by this time were living at Government House and awaiting completion of their new home at Hatley Park.

The Crimson Paradise was a film by Kenneth Bishop. It was filmed in part at Hatley Park and the production was financially supported by Kathleen (Dunsmuir) Humphreys. Filming for the Crimson Paradise began in October 1933 and it opened in theatres just six weeks later, billed as Canada’s first all talking motion picture. Unfortunately, the film was reviewed as a 'real turkey' by the manager of Victoria's Capitol Theatre, where it premiered late at night and only ran for three days. The brochure was created for people attending the premier performance. The centre pages are signed 'To Agnes' in ink by the producer, Kenneth Bishop and the main stars, Lucille Brown and Nick Stuart, as well as Kathleen Dunsmuir. An ink spill visible on most of the pages is attributed to Nick Stuart's pen.

Upon Laura Dunsmuir’s death in 1937, she left instructions in her will that the estate and all its contents were to be sold. This was a long and difficult process and the estate was managed in the meantime by a skeleton staff of about 10 people. There was a monthly transfer of $1500 from the estate of Laura Dunsmuir to cover the cost of running Hatley Park. In late May 1939, King George the VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Vancouver and Victoria on the western leg of their cross-Canada tour. They spent a full afternoon at Hatley Park and picnicked on the property. In the following days, June 1-5, a week-long auction for the contents of the house was held and most of the contents were sold off at bargain prices. The catalogue cost 25c to purchase and included admission to the auction held onsite at Hatley Park. Many locals took the opportunity to come and tour the property for the first time rather than make purchases in the auction.