and changed over time. For all practical purposes, New Caledonia extended as far as the economic relationships enjoyed by its designated trading posts, which greatly expanded over the years. The eastern boundary had been considered to be the Rocky Mountains, the northern boundary the Finlay River, and the southern boundary the Cariboo or the Thompson River drainage. The region south of the Thompson River and north of the then Mexico border, the 42nd parallel north, was designated as the Columbia District. The Columbia Department was governed first from Fort Astoria, then from Fort Vancouver (present day Vancouver, Washington). Westward migration of American settlers by the Oregon Trail led to the Oregon boundary dispute. The signing of the Oregon Treaty in 1846 ended disputed joint occupation of areas west of the Rocky Mountains pursuant to the Treaty of 1818. The southern boundary of the district was shifted north to the 49th parallel, and administration shifted to Fort Victoria. Nonetheless, in popular parlance, the entire British-held mainland north of the US boundary and west of the Rockies was known as New Caledonia. In 1849, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia were designated a crown colony in their own right, the Colony of Vancouver Island. From New Caledonia to British Columbia New Caledonia continued over the next few years to be administered by the HBC, whose regional chief executive, James Douglas, also happened to be governor of Vancouver Island. This situation was manageable, so long as the European population remained small (about 100, mostly Company employees and their families). All this changed in 1858, however, with the discovery of gold north of Yale, prompting the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and the influx of twenty to thirty thousand people, mostly American. Douglas, who had no legal authority over the region, felt compelled to exert British sovereignty by placing a gunboat at the mouth of the Fraser River in order to obtain licence fees from prospectors seeking to travel upstream. The British colonial office was prompted into action, and legislation was passed designating New Caledonia a crown colony on August 2, 1858. The name given the new entity was the Colony of British Columbia, and a new capital, New Westminster was established on the southern reaches of the Fraser River. The name New Caledonia is still used in official and commercial names in the region (e.g., the College of New