Wilmer Gold was born in Victoria, B.C. in 1893 but was raised in Alberta.
He was bitten by the photography bug at an early age, his first photo was taken
at the age of 9. He eventually apprenticed as a photographer in Edmonton.
In 1915 he moved to Banff where he met his future wife Margaret. In 1934,
Wilmer moved with his wife and son Holt to Vancouver Island and settled
in Youbou where he continued as a professional photographer focusing on the logging industry of
Vancouver Island.
He had a portable developing lab custom built from a
Willys' Overland chassis
which he towed from place to place behind his car. This trailer has been
restored and now forms part of the Kaatza Museum collection.
He used the latest equipment available at the time: a New Century 5x7 glass plate camera and a 5x7 Graflex field camera. He also carried a tripod, light meter, focusing cloth, sensitized plates, plenty of film and developing chemicals. When the first compact camera arrived he bought a Rolieflex and used it for years.
His work appeared in Time, Life, Look and MaClean's magazines. He also authored the book "Logging As It Was" containing many of his photographs, which traced the lives of the loggers and evolution of logging on Vancouver Island. Wilmer died on April 14, 1992, just a few weeks short of his 99th birthday. He has left behind a legacy of photographs and information that will continue to educate and entertain all who are intrigued by the logging industry.
The Wilmer Gold Photo Collection contains approximately 1,000 photographic negatives. Although the museum already has some Wilmer Gold pictures on display, this addition significantly increases the size of the collection. Our goal is to preserve the collection by digital means so that it may be easily viewed by both the general public and researchers. You may view many of the pictures at the Museum but in the meantime here are some sample pictures...
We also
have available in our gift shop IWA Canada 1-80 a 60 Year History 1937-1997
containing many of Wilmer's photographs.