At the age of 25, Robert Dunsmuir left Scotland and sailed for 191 days in order to reach Vancouver Island. He initially worked as a coal contractor for the Hudson’s Bay Company. By the end of his career, he was a coal, shipping and rail tycoon and one of the wealthiest men in British Columbia. Dunsmuir spent a fortune to build this opulent mansion. Unfortunately, he died in 1889, about 1.5 years before construction of Craigdarroch Castle was finished.
