Photo from the Oliver & District Heritage Society Collection.

For over 10,000 years the Sylix Okanagan Indigenous peoples have inhabited and used the land and waterways in Oliver and the Okanagan Valley for hunting and gathering purposes, and this continues today.

One of the earliest records of ‘’settlers’’ engaging in agriculture and irrigation within the Okanagan Valley dates back to the 1890’s with Chung Wu, an immigrant from China. He built a waterwheel alongside the Okanagan River to water vegetables in his garden; these vegetables were sold at the nearby mining towns of Fairview and Camp McKinney. Chung Wu left the area after a flood affected his crop, leaving him unable to restart his business.

The Irrigation Canal (‘’Ditch’’) Project was initiated by BC. Premier John Oliver (1918-1927) and his government to help support returning World War One veterans who were often unemployed and impoverished. The Oliver region has a dry, semi-arid climate, and Premier Oliver sought to harness the agricultural potential of the land. Veterans would be provided with work constructing the canal in exchange for discounted land to farm, supporting the drive to grow more fresh produce in post-war BC. The plan became known as the South Okanagan Lands Project (SOLP). The ‘’Ditch’’ started just north of Gallagher Lake and stretched south towards the US border; upon completion it was over 40 km long and was gravity fed by utilizing the natural slopes of the land. Nine labour or ‘’Ditch’’ Camps were established for construction workers to live in, providing all the necessary amenities. The camps each housed up to 150-300 men. Very few women are recorded as being employed on the canal, with none on physical construction.

Read more, and watch the full video, here.