Graeme Menzies talks Archibald Menzies
Graeme Menzies interview segment
Produced by Trevor Marc Hughes
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“He really was a product of the Scottish Enlightenment,” says Vancouver author and historian Graeme Menzies. Although he isn’t related to George Vancouver’s former botanist and surgeon aboard the HMS Discovery, Archibald Menzies experienced extraordinary times, times that Graeme Menzies felt had to be shared. The result was the book Bones: The Life and Adventures of Doctor Archibald Menzies, in which Graeme Menzies tells of how the doctor used reason and his senses, as well as his familiarity of the Scottish clan system, to understand what he found as the lone scientist on board that British vessel of exploration.
There is a bust of Archibald Menzies in the rose garden at VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, and, a few years ago, when Graeme Menzies learned that it was the only one in existence, he got the wheels turning to ensure there was a replica made for Castle Menzies, the seat of the Menzies clan.
You’ll find Archibald Menzies name in the Latin nomenclature of the Douglas fir and the Arbutus tree, and various plants that he described for an eagerly awaiting British regent, an enthusiastic gardener, lovingly referred to in certain circles as Farmer George. But what Graeme Menzies was fascinated by, beyond the science and adventure in the life of Archibald Menzies, was the open-minded attitude he brought with him on Vancouver’s voyage in the 1790s.
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Trevor Marc Hughes was a freelance arts reporter at CBC Radio from 1997 to 2007. In and around that time he worked as a researcher and associate producer on documentary and current affairs programs that aired on Knowledge Network, The Discovery Channel, and Discovery Health, and were produced by Transatlantic Films, the UK’s oldest independent film production company. His own documentary projects include The Young Hustler, a film he produced and directed, about his grandfather’s days operating a Fraser River tugboat during The Great Depression. He has recently uploaded his interviews with Henry Yu, Yasuko Thanh, Rodger Touchie, Vanessa Winn, and Robert Amos.
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The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an on-line book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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