Accession Number

2023.003.022

Description

One handwritten letter by Laura Miller Surles (Mrs. James Dunsmuir) to her grand-niece Georgiana Holme-Sumner dated Monday, January 6 (1936). It is one piece of paper with writing on both sides. At the upper right corner of the front side is machine-printed upper-case lettering: HATLEY PARK VICTORIA.BC.

Narrative

This letter is from Laura Miller Surles (Mrs. James Dunsmuir) to her husband’s sister’s daughter’s daughter, Georgiana Holme-Sumner (Mrs. Robert Dunlop Stewart). Mrs. Dunsmuir writes that she has been feeling unwell, and that things are quiet, with her and daughter Elinor Dunsmuir being the only family members living in the Castle. She is glad that Hatley Park was not sold (to a motion picture production company) as had been contemplated. 

There was interest in Hatley Park as a film production centre as early as 1927 when it was reported that “Matheson Lang interests in London have secured an option on the magnificent Dunsmuir residence and gardens at Victoria for picture purposes”¹. The sale of Hatley Park that Laura mentions in her letter was reported in some B.C. newspapers in October of 1935².  The Lasky Group, a film production company, planned to use the castle as a hotel for casts and crew while building multiple production stages on the property as needed.

This proposed purchase was likely motivated by the British Cinematograph Films Act of 1927. The act was an attempt to jumpstart the British film industry and prevent dominance of American made films on British screens. By 1935, the act required that one in five films for UK audiences had to be British-made. This could include films shot in British Dominions, such as Canada or Australia. Victoria’s proximity to Hollywood made it an ideal location for films using some American casts and crews. 

The sale obviously did not complete, as Laura continued to live at Hatley Park with her daughter, Elinor, until Laura’s death in 1937.

¹ Film Daily, August 4, 1927, p.5.
2 Vancouver Sun, October 14, 1935, p.1

History of Use

This letter was used by Laura Miller Surles (Mrs. James Dunsmuir) at Hatley Park in Colwood, B.C. and in England by Georgiana Holme-Sumner (Mrs. Robert Dunlop Stewart) and then by Georgiana Holme-Sumner’s son, who donated it to Craigdarroch Castle in 2023. He had been using it at his home in Scotland.

Date

January 6 1936

Dimensions

21.3 x 16.1 cm

Material

Paper