Heritage Register
James Bay

432 Heather Street
(ex-5 Prince(s)/Princess St, 432 Helmcken St)

Built 1891
Heritage-Designated 2008

For: William & Mary Cullin

Builder: William Henry Cullin

ARCHITECTURE:

This mirror image of 428 Heather St (see description), is diffeent in that there is no attic vent in the front gable and there is a recent one-storey extension at the rear. William Henry Cullin built this house for his parents.

ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:

1891-1935: William Cullin (b. Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, IRE, c.1826-1899) and Mary Ann (née Johnston, b. Dublin, IRE, 1841-1936) came from Ireland to Toronto in the mid-1800s. They married and had their children there. They moved to Winnipeg with son W.H. Cullin and his wife Mary in 1881, and then followed W.H. and Mary to Victoria in the late 1880s. William worked as a compositor for the Colonist. They lived side by side on Humboldt until W.H. built these two houses in 1891.

After William’s death, Mary Ann continued to live here with her offspring. She resided in the Aged Womens Home at 857 Rupert Tc, Fairfield, at the end of her life.

1905-1963: In 1905 their daughter Winifred Ethel (b. Winnipeg, MB, 1882-1963) married Master Mariner George Douglas Robertson (b. Egremont, Cheshire, ENG, 1873-1958), and they lived in the house with Mary Ann. George worked on the CPR Princess line ships. The Robertsons owned the house until their deaths. Their grandchildren then lived in the house, Bruce Clark until 1976, then his sister Heather Nygaard until she sold the house in 2007.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & IMAGES:

• James Bay History

• James Bay Heritage Register



• This Old House, Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods,
Volume Two: James Bay