In the heart of Victoria's Victoria was one of the town's most prominent buildings, the Kirk of St. Andrew's. To its members it truly was the heart of Victoria; its members drove its expansion and development. The impact that these members left on the church is evident by the impressive structure itself, a less apparent, but no less important, impact is the one members made on Victoria. The legacies of its members continues to be felt today.
The congregation at St. Andrew's comprised of a wide cross-section of residents in Victoria. While those of Scottish descent seemed to dominate the organization of the church and along with its congregation, the cross section of social and economic backgrounds extended from pioneer to premier to porter.
While a Scottish background was a common theme for many members, other themes reoccured within the congregation such as political involvement such as John RobsonJohn Robson was a highly active, early member of St Andrew's and later Premier of BC, Joseph HunterJoseph Hunter was a surveyor, son in law of Mr. Robson and politician in Victoria or a the dream of striking it rich during the Cariboo Gold Rush including Robert McMickingRobert McMicking was a pioneer in the field of telecommunications, Henry HeistermanHenry Heisterman was a reluctant member of Canadian Confederation and thus of St Andrew's as well., and Alexander Gray. The congregation included a number of successful businessmen from the household names of R.P. RithetMr. Rithet was one of the wealthiest residents of BC and Robert DunsmuirWas an early but inconsistent member of St Andrew's and a coal mine founder. to lesser knowns such as William Spring. With its political and business interconnections in Victoria, the congregation likely proved to be a useful networking and social hub for its members and Victoria in general.
It seems that Victoria's women were confined to the Victorian era's ideal of separating the world into spheres based on gender, private and public. Newspaper's from the era and historical manuscripts list almost exclusively events and activities of men in Victoria. While the 1881 rolls show that more women were members of the Communicant's Rolls in 1881 than men, in stark contrast to the majority men had in Victoria as a whole, women are poorly documented in terms of their personal lives. While women were key to fundraising efforts, sufficient information only exists on a small number of the women that were members of St. Andrew's. Two women documented here include the conservative Mrs. Margaret McMickingMargaret McMicking was the wife of Mr. McMicking and very active in her community and the groundbreaking Miss Agnes CameronAgnes Cameron was an educator activist and adventurer.