Mudge Island, with a land area of around three square kilometres and a handful of dirt roads, is perhaps the last place on Earth one would expect to find a vibrant car culture.
Residents of the Gulf Island were able this week to clear out the ruined remains of 40 vehicles that dotted the landscape, thanks to a visiting B.C. Hydro equipment barge.
For a community with a fulltime population that ranges between 50 and 70 people, this week's mass exodus of vehicle wrecks has given the Island a noticeable facelift.
"So far 37 [vehicles] have left and we've got a bunch more sitting there," said Mudge resident Chad Giesbrecht. "Unless any more get added to the lineup, in the end there's going to be 43 and a half — and one motorhome."
Tucked between Gabriola and Vancouver Island, Mudge has no shops, no school, no postal code and no dedicated ferry service. Nevertheless, residents have found reasons to import all kinds of vehicles to the Island.
"Over the years, they accumulate," said Giesbrecht. "You have to pay money to get them here on the barge. .. Some people just do not have the money to get rid of them."
Pickup trucks are the most common, but Mudge is also home to a modern Cadillac Escalade SUV, and a classic Mercedes Benz luxury sedan.
The island has its own mechanic on hand to tackle any car troubles and an annual fundraiser rolls out unique Mudge licence plates to help raise money for the local fire department.
B.C. Hydro crews worked to replace the power lines between Gabriola and Mudge this month.
A construction manager with the utility noted that a barge used to taxi equipment to the island would make the return trip empty and offered residents the chance to deport the wrecks.
"The people of Mudge have been great and patient with this work," said B.C. Hydro spokesman Ted Olynyk. "Ironically, taking old cars is our way of putting something back into the community."
Mudge resident Scott Flemming said many of the vehicles had "been in the weeds for quite a while.
"Vehicles used to sort of come here to die," he said. "I think we've moved away from the era of super beaters."
One person who is intimately familiar with Mudge's vehicular population is the local mechanic, Alex Hoffman.
His "summer car" on Mudge is a 1958 Mercedes Benz 220s luxury sedan, with less than 100,000km on the original, rebuilt engine.
"I've got a shop with a hoist and air-tools and everything," said Hoffman. "A friend of mine did a count at one time; he counted about 150 vehicles (on Mudge)."
That five-year-old estimate accounted for golf carts and broken-down vehicles.
Mudge resident and real estate agent Susan McGougan said a home purchased on the island usually includes furniture and often, a vehicle of some sort.
Many residents have continually resisted suggestions that bridge be built to link Mudge with Gabriola and possibly Nanaimo.
"We don't want a bridge. It's island life and we love it," said McGougan. "It's another world."
