Henrietta, known as Hetty to friends and family, was born in Victoria to Dr. Henry and Laetitia Tuzo in 1873. The young family did not remain in British Columbia for long after Henrietta’s birth, and by 1881 the Tuzos had relocated to Warlingham, England. However, there is evidence that Henrietta visited Victoria with her mother and brother in 1891, which might have been when their calling card was left at Point Ellice House. Henrietta was an avid mountaineer. In 1906, she became the first settler person to ascend Peak Seven in Banff National Park, now named Mount Tuzo in her honour. In 1907, while still in Banff, she met and married John Armistead Wilson, and the couple soon moved to Ottawa. Henrietta’s life in Ontario, so far away from her beloved Rocky Mountains, provided little opportunity for her to continue her climbing career. However, she continued to work as an advocate for the advancement and protection of national parks until her death in 1955.
List of Calling Cards
The Point Ellice House collection contains hundreds of calling cards left for the O’Reilly family by visitors. This initial research was conducted by Public History students at the University of Victoria, and these biographies constitute only a portion of the individuals represented by the calling cards within the collection.