Lisa Wilson, Curatorial Assistant (Point Ellice House Museum & Gardens)
For October, our Artifact of the Month was an item that reminds us of spending time outdoors during the fall. This three-piece Thermos set was likely owned by Frank or Jack O’Reilly and used to bring warm beverages and snacks on hunting and fishing trips. It may also have been used by their sister Kathleen for equestrian adventures, or by Jack’s wife Mary for her own hunting trips. The set from our collection was manufactured in Germany during the 1910s-1920s and consists of a leather carrying case, a metal thermos bottle and a food storage container.
The Thermos brand has a long history. Thermos dates back to 1904 when two glass blowers from Germany decided to make and market vacuum-flask technology. Together they brought their beverage bottle out of obscurity and made it a household name – you might have a Thermos in your own cupboard!
We imagine the Thermos set at Point Ellice House (PEH) has seen many hunting trips. Hunting was a common activity of colonial government officials on Vancouver Island and we know that Peter O’Reilly was an avid hunter. He likely passed this interest down to his children. In fact, before Frank studied civil engineering in England, he had dreams of becoming a hunting and fishing guide.
The land where PEH and greater Victoria is built is territory of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples. The Lekwungen peoples, today known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, hunted, fished, foraged and managed the land in this area for thousands of years. Animals hunted would have been the same as those hunted by the O’Reilly’s into the 20th century: blacktail deer, elk, black bears, cougars, wolves and game birds such as blue grouse, willow grouse, geese and ducks.