Businesswoman Helen Beirnes, who has died at age 85, travelled Canada and the U.S. to promote tourism in Victoria, served on city council and was an early advocate of restoring the city’s historic character.
Beirnes died May 14 after fighting cancer for eight years.
She set an example for women in the workplace and had a high profile in Greater Victoria for her professional and volunteer efforts. Beirnes was the first woman president of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, serving from 1971 to 1972. Breaking that gender barrier saw the Daily Colonist run the headline: Chamber Picks Woman. It also marked the first time a woman was elected president of a chamber in a major Canadian city. Being elected chamber president was initially a surprise to Beirnes, who said she believed she was elected as a person, not for her gender. At that time, she was chairwoman of the chamber’s Victorian Day committee, which launched a festival in 1971 to boost tourism.
Former chamber manager Brian Small recalls Beirnes making a grand entrance at the Chamber’s national convention in Quebec City in a black-and-silver, ornate Victorian-style dress with a large hoop skirt to promote Victoria’s British connection. In a 1980 interview, Beirnes recalled she was the only woman among 1,500 delegates.
Small and other chamber officials travelled with Beirnes to promote the capital region across Canada and in the U.S. In Ottawa, they left daffodils on the desks of every MP.
Born on a farm in Saskatchewan, Beirnes moved with her family to the Okanagan, then left as a teenager for New York to pursue modelling. She worked in Rome, Paris and Israel, eventually returning to Canada in 1948.
She was predeceased by first husband Ammi Cooper of Israel and later married Conrad Watling, now deceased. Son Lawrence Watling said Tuesday that his mother had been in Palestine when the state of Israel was being created.
Watling and Beirnes raised their four children in Victoria. A 1962 edition of the Daily Colonist shows photographs of Beirnes modelling and also panning for gold in Sooke.
At the same time, she ran the National Charm and Modelling School, considering it mainly to be a self-development program. Beirnes ran charm courses through local department stores and up-Island. She coached contestants in the Miss Victoria contest and worked with fashion shows.
She was also the first woman president of the Oak Bay Rotary Club.
Beirnes served on Victoria city council from 1976 to 1977 and was the first woman elected in 16 years.
She argued for clean industry in the city, saying: “We don’t want smelly pollution-belching factories here.” She was against Victoria’s ban on Sunday retailing and favoured improved communication between city hall administration and staff.
As a member of council, Beirnes said Victoria’s old buildings gave the city an “exciting image,” and called for them to be preserved and cherished.
Many locals and visitors saw Beirnes and business partner Floss Prior at the Captain’s Palace restaurant, which they ran for many years until financial troubles hit in the 1990s, Watling said. The two were among founders of the organization called Women in Tourism and Hospitality.
Beirnes wrote a weekly column for the Victorian, a local publication. She hosted two local television shows, one on Channel 6 and another on Channel 10.
Her volunteer activities included the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Victoria, the advisory board for the Princess Marguerite, B.C. Cancer Society and the Crystal Garden Investigative Committee for Restoration. “One of the things she enjoyed doing was helping people with the knowledge that she’d gleaned over the years, and giving them a leg up,” Watling said.
When it came to her own family, she encouraged her children to have strong characters, he said. “She was there for all of us, all the time. She was super supportive.”
Beirnes is survived by four children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held later.
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