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Fintry is a beautiful provincial park on the west shores of Okanagan Lake, half way between Kelowna and Vernon. It has a past to be proud of... a present to delight campers, bird watchers, hikers, boaters, swimmers - and, with its very special heritage buildings, a future to enthrall history buffs!
A Brief History
Captain Thomas Shorts was the first white man to call the delta
home. In 1882, he preempted what was soon called “Shorts’
Point”, but he wasn’t really interested in improving
the land, as the official agreement required. He found it more profitable
to provide Okanagan Lake’s first commercial transportation.
He would row freight and passengers the125 km (78 miles)
from Okanagan Landing at the north end of the Vernon Arm all the
way to Penticton at the south end. When CPR sternwheelers splashed
into the lake in 1893, they put Shorts out of business. He sold
the delta and it passed through a number of hands until James Cameron
Dun-Waters appeared on the horizon. He fell in love with the area,
bought it, renamed it Fintry, after his home in Scotland and, with
amazing foresight and ingenuity, created a Garden of Eden in the
Okanagan.
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| Erin Nelson |
Some of Dun-Waters’ most impressive buildings are now under the care of the Friends of Fintry Society in partnership with BC Parks and the Regional District of Central Okanagan. One of the last remaining packinghouse that was serviced by sternwheelers on Okanagan Lake stands on the point and has recently (2007- 2008) undergone a stabilization process. The gracious Manor House and unique octagonal dairy barn are open for guided tours during in summer months. Contact
us for specific times. Special tours can be arranged.
Fintry References:
Dr. Paul Koroscil A Gentleman Farmer in British Columbia’s
Garden of Eden
Stan Sauerwein with Arthur Bailey FINTRY, Lives Loves and Dreams.
These books, as well as T-shirts, ball caps and other souvenirs and books are available from the Friends of Fintry Society at the Manor House.
The Provincial Park offers campsites, a day use area, a group campsite
with 2 large cooking shelters, 2 shower houses and almost 2 kms
of beautiful beach. (Visit BC
Parks for more information)
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