A Quiet Farewell to the Goldstream Inn (Ma Miller’s)
Ma Miller’s
Even if you didn’t grow up in the West Shore, chances are you still know this building. Anyone who’s lived around Greater Victoria long enough has driven past it, stopped in for a pint, or heard stories from someone who did. The Goldstream Inn — later known to nearly everyone as Ma Miller’s Pub — has been part of the Island’s landscape for more than a century.
The site first opened in 1864, making it one of the oldest pub locations in British Columbia. Back then it served travellers along early settlement routes. The name changed in 1923, when May “Ma” Greening-Miller took over and ran it with enough personality to stay etched into local memory. Over the decades it survived fire damage, rebuilds, and generations of regulars. And whether you were there for live music, fundraisers, family meals, or just a post-game beer, it was a familiar stop.
For me, it was usually a pit stop on the way home from rugby road trips — one of those “we always end up here somehow” places.
The pub closed in 2021, and the building has been sitting empty ever since. The roof is softening, the windows are boarded, and moss has taken over the signage. It’s slowly being reclaimed by the trees.
So I took the drone out for a short flight.
Not because the building is beautiful — it isn’t anymore — but because it’s part of local history. A lot of people have memories tied to this place, and it felt worth documenting from above before nature eventually erases it completely.
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