George McMorran was just two years old when his father brought the family to Vancouver Island in 1890 from Ontario.  His father had applied for, and won the job as foreman for Robert Rithet to clear land of timber at his Broadmead farm.  The McMorrans lived in a farmhouse on Rithet’s land for nine years, and once the job was completed they moved to a 12-acre home on Cedar Hill Road.  The family also spent many of their summers on the beach at Cordova Bay, a popular area for beach cottages.

At the age of 21, in 1909, George went into partnership with a man named Dougall to form a real estate company which was known as Dougall & McMorran.  The two men began to purchase and then sub-divide land in the area of today’s Doumac Avenue in Cordova Bay.  Unfortunately real estate took a down turn in 1912 and the company was dissolved.  Later, George went off to war, serving as gunner from 1914-18.  Not quite knowing what to do with his life upon his return, a friend suggested he should ‘open up a store.’  A one-room, 6 x12 feet ice cream parlor on Cordova Bay Road was the result, and just the beginning of great things to come.  In 1921 he erected a larger building next door and called it McMorran’s Tea Rooms.  Eventually, this establishment became famous for the dances held there every Saturday night.

In 1923, George married schoolteacher, Ida Richards, and the couple had four children: Eric, Bruce, Richard and David.  In 1926, George became the first postmaster in Cordova Bay and he was also responsible for bringing in most of the utilities and services to the area.  Upon George’s retirement from the business, sons Eric and Bruce took over, updating and expanding McMorran’s.  George himself died in 1978, and today the McMorran Beach House is a landmark building along Cordova Bay Road, having remained family owned and operated for over 80 years.
(Excerpts from Saanich News Jan.2006 by Valerie Green)