Support The Mack Laing Heritage Society

Hamilton Mack Laing, a renowned Canadian environmentalist and naturalist, lived in Comox, British Columbia from 1922 to his death in 1983 at the age of 99.

He built Baybrook house from an Aladdin kit, on land he cleared in 1922. This house was sold in 1949, after the death of his wife, Ethel, and he built Shakesides, on the adjacent lot (now Mack Laing Park), also by hand, using the Baybrook house plan, with some changes.

Baybrook house (the property is now a public park) was demolished by the Town of Comox in August 2015. The Mack Laing Heritage Society went to BC Supreme Court to try and save Shakesides from demolition and gathered considerable community support for a project to convert the house into a nature house, per wishes expressed by Mack Laing.

However, the Town of Comox wished to demolish Shakesides. A variance of the Mack Laing Trust had to be approved by the BC Attorney General, before the Town could demolish Shakesides.

The BC Supreme Court approved the Town of Comox Trust application for a variance in April 2023, with conditions. The house will be demolished when those conditions are met and further conditions are met in the design of a viewing platform.

The MLHS will continue to fulfill its mission statement, to honour Mack Laing and educate about his life and works, as the Society has done since it was formed in 2014.

Two recently published books, both my Trevor Marc Hughes, 'Riding the Continent' and 'Capturing the Summit', use material from extensive Mack Laing manuscripts, photographs and letters stored at the BC Archives in Victoria. They highlight the importance of this respected Canadian naturalist. 

The MLHS is supported wholly by the donations of supporters.

Learn more about Mack Laing and the Mack Laing Heritage Society here:

Mack Laing Heritage Society website