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The Victoria Gas Company in its contemporary global context.

While the process of producing a flammable gas from coal was known from the late seventeenth century, the first large-scale commercial gasworks was not established until 1812, in London, England.

British and French natural philosophers—early scientists—discovered the flammable properties of methane (CH4), which they termed firedamp, as early as 1688. A letter from the Rev. John Clayton to the Royal Society, dated 1688, states,

With some sulphurous Spirits which I have drawn from Coals, that I could no way condense, yet were inflammable, nay would burn after they had passed through water, and that seemingly fiercer if they were not overpowered therewith. I have kept this Spirit a considerable time in bladders, and tho’ it appeared as if they were only with Air yet if I let it forth and fired it with a Match or Candle it would continue burning till all was spent. [1]

Natural philosophers continued experimenting with coal gases throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Lavoisier’s oxygen theory of combustion in the late 1700s caused a significant shift in the understanding that surrounded flammable gas. The work of these early scientists provided the theoretical foundation necessary for the emergence of gas as a viable product in the nineteenth century.[2]

Early, small-scale gasworks did appear in the eighteenth century, but were usually sufficient only to light a small building. The basic process of heating coal in a sealed vessel, called a retort, and then collecting the gases released from the coal, has been constant throughout the evolution of gas production; only the scale of production and some of the intermediary steps have changed.

Like in Victoria, many of the gas companies in England were created by government legislation. Acts of Parliament gave the companies the right to erect gasworks, tear up city streets, and lay gas mains. From 1860 on, the granting of monopoly also became commonplace.[3]

Baltimore was the first North American city to be lit with gas from a commercial supplier, in 1820. Closer to our area of examination, the San Francisco Gas Company was formed by the Donahue brothers (Peter Michael and James) in 1852. The Victoria Gas Company (VCG) seems to have been influenced by the emergence of gas in San Francisco in that John T. Little is said to have returned from there with the intent to serve Victoria with gas.[4]

In regards to the equipment used by the Victoria Gas Company, it seems that they were somewhat behind the times. Even though they imported their gasworks from Scotland in 1859, the Victoria Gas Company utilized a series of iron retorts. Although they were good conductors and were non-porous, iron retorts had a short working life due to the fact that they would usually become distended by the heat and pressure after about 200 working days. According to Stewart, retorts made of fireclay became the standard in Britain after 1853.[5]

Overall, the beginnings of the Victoria Gas Company were very analogous to those of many other nineteenth-century gasworks, in both North America and Britain. It does seem peculiar that although the VCG imported their equipment all the way from Scotland, they were sold equipment that seems to have been out-dated nearly a decade before.

The connections between the VCG and the operation in San Francisco and the reason that they used such outdated equipment both deserve further investigation.

Sources:

E.G. Stewart, Town Gas: Its Manufacture and Distribution. (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1958).

O'Dea, William T., The Social History of Lighting. (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958.)

Freeman, Dr. Larry, New Light on Old Lamps. (Watkins Glen, N.Y.: Century House, 1968.)

Nesbitt, James K., Early Days of the Victoria Gas Company: Our 100th year, 1860-1960. (Victoria: Public Information Dept., B.C. Electric Company Ltd., 1960).

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