The name Von Donop Marine Provincial Park was derived from that of Von Donop Inlet (Klahoose: ha̓θamɩn[3]), which drains NW towards Sutil Channel from the northwest end of Cortes Island. The inlet was named in 1863 by Captain Daniel Pender for Victor von Donop, who was a midshipman on board the 21-gun HMS Charybdis, under Captain the Hon. George Keane RN. The vessel had arrived at Esquimalt from China on March 23, 1862, with orders to protect the British colonies of the region at a time of mounting hostilities between England and the United States growing out of the Mason and Slidell affair resulting from the Trent Affair.[4] Donop was later Sub-lieutenant of HMS Duncan from 1865 to 1866. The 81-gun Duncan was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir James Hope of the North American Station, after whom Hope Island had been named in 1862. Donop later served as Lieutenant-Commander on the gunboat Cromer, from 1875 to 1877.[5]
Victor von Donop came from a distinguished naval and military family and was the eldest son of Captain Edward von Donop. While serving as Lieutenant in command of the gunboat HMS Decoy, Donop was drowned on 12 February 1881 after being swept off the bridge when the ship rolled heavily in a violent storm.[6][7]
The park was renamed Háthayim Park in 1995, followed by a further change to Háthayim Marine Park in 1997 to honour the Coast Salish First Nations name for the area.[1][8]
^John T. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names, 1592-1906: their origin and history (Ottawa, 1909; republished for the Vancouver Public Library by J. J. Douglas Ltd, Vancouver, 1971)
