Lillian Hoffar Park
Lillian Hoffar Park, located behind Kiwanis Village through a gated lane off McDonald Park Road, is a 1.61 hectare waterfront park located on Tsehum Harbour on the east side of the District of North Saanich, close to the boundary of Sidney. The site is situated in an open grassy meadow with a beach below. It is surrounded by mature indigenous and introduced trees and shrubs, including a large Western Red Cedar that displays a commemorative plaque. Lillian Hoffar Park is named for the prominent Hoffar family, who willed the land to the District of North Saanich in 1978.
Lillian Hoffar Park is also valuable for its association with the Tseycum First Nation, one of four Saanich groups in the area and part of the North Straits Coast Salish language group. Traditionally the Tseycum First Nation moved to different resource areas throughout the year, settling in permanent homes in the Tsehum Harbour for the winter months. The site at Lillian Hoffar Park was part of the ancestral winter village of the Tseycum.
Character Defining Elements
- Location on the east shore of North Saanich, with views of Tsehum Harbour and Haro Strait;
- Picturesque setting amongst mature coniferous and deciduous trees;
- Remains of the Hoffar residency including shoreline concrete retaining wall, boat house foundation, remnant garden beds and rough cut rock wall surrounds fruit trees and perennial plants and boat launch/marine ways;
- Associated landscape features such as mature deciduous and coniferous trees and mature Western Red Cedar with a commemorative plaque.
