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1970: 1972 - Whiskey Cove Road

Whiskey Cove Road, located in Carr’s Landing, was established and paved in 1972. Only a short strip of the road in Whiskey Cove is public; the rest is private and it is a dead end street.

There is an island which is located a little offshore from Kopje Park in the area we know today as Whiskey Cove. It is documented in an old Indian tale to have been filled with air and as a result it moved from its original point, on the west side of Okanagan Lake across from Okanagan Centre, to where it sits today.

It is said that the island as it stands today would indeed fit into the area known as Nahun. This is where the Indians claim it floated away, as the rock formations in that area which resembles piles of sharp knives, are identical to those on the island.

This island was originally named Nahun Weenox by the early Indian settlers; the name when translated into English means “mother of a child”. Another Indian legend goes on to say that Indians living in the Whiskey Cove area used to store their food on the island. This was done to protect their supplies from the marauding bear population and others of the human species who would try to steal the food from the Indian women who were often left there on there own whilst the men went away for days to hunt.

The actual name Whiskey Cove is said to have originated during the late 1930s. It was at this time that Mr. Cools, an early pioneer who at that time was living at Okanagan House, bought the island for the measly price of two bottles of whiskey and the paying of the delinquent back taxes; so it became known as Whiskey Island. However in the mid 1980s the island was bought by an environmental organization, which in turn declared it as a bird sanctuary as it is home to many rare types of seagulls. The island was granted provincial status and was re-named Grant Island. Today Grant Island is home not only to various species of seagulls but is also an in-flight resting place for pelicans.

Although the island was re-named, the area just north of Kopje Park still bears the name of Whiskey Cove, and many who live in the area have called it that for many years.

Source: Shaw, Joan. The Calendar, Wednesday, June 26, 2002; and Lake Country Museum archives.