history

Jonas Paulette of Ndilo, 1977. Jonas was a well-respected staker and line-cutter who worked across the North. This photo was taken at Thor Lake, east of Yellowknife, in the early days of its development.

John Larson was a well-known miner and driller in early Yellowknife. He lived in a small shack in Willow Flats until shortly before his death in the 1990s.

Burwash, across the bay from the city, was the site of the first gold discovery in Yellowknife Bay in 1934. A small mine grew up there, but was abandoned after a few years. The buildings remained on the site until the 1980s, when the last of them was torn down.

At the beginning of a lot of things: Yellowknife in 1948 It was a cold evening in February 1948, when Patrick Bourke stepped out of a taxi on Franklin Avenue and onto a forgotten page in Yellowknife’s history. 1948 was a watershed year for the northern boom town. The war was just over and miners

Judges at the annual fall fair – Aggie Brockman, Alice Legat and Helen Balanoff, examine some of the entries. 1989.

Performers Pied Pear lead a parade of festival goers at the 1989 Folk on the Rocks.

The Wool Bay fish plant, 15 km from Yellowknife, was a busy place for decades. It closed about 10 years ago. 1984.

Muriel Betsina of Ndilo sewing in her tent, 1987.

The Old Town float in the Canada Day parade featured Slugger and a boat-full of local residents. 1985.

Commissioner John Parker and wife Helen dropped the starter’s flag at the 1989 Commissioner’s Cup sailboat race across Great Slave Lake.

Duncan Grant was one of Northern Canada’s most legendary bush pilots. Yellowknife 1993.

View north from Pilot’s Monument in Old Town in 1975. The point is where Air Tindi is located today.

Jeff Rocher, founder and chief pilot of Latham Island Airways.

Yellowknife’s first floating mobile home, anchored on an island in Yellowknife Bay in 1982. Chris Holloway, Dave Smith and Mark Scott enjoy the evening sun on the deck.