Camp Artaban has been providing Christian Camping on its Gambier Island site since 1923, making it one of the oldest camps in British Columbia. The site was chosen by a group of ministers and businessmen under the leadership of Bishop Heathcote and the first camp was held in 1923. The old house on the property was used as a dining hall, kitchen, and recreation room. Transportation from Vancouver was via Union Steamship, and campers and luggage were deposited on a small, floating dock in the middle of the bay. From there, they were rowed to the campsite, where they slept in tents or "chicken coops" (open air huts on the west side of the creek where the craft building now stands).