Foul Point adopted 6 March 1934 in association with Foul Bay (now Gonzales Bay), and as identified on British Admiralty Chart 2840, 1861 et seq. Name changed to Harling Point 6 November 1934 on Department of National Defence sheet 415a, Victoria, as submitted 20 January 1934 by Hydrographic Service, and recommended by BC to the Geographic Board of Canada 24 January 1934 (letters, file S.2.33).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Named by H.D. Parizeau, Hydrographic Service: "Foul Point is a misnomer and has to be changed. I hereby suggest that the name should be changed from Foul to Harling Point, to commemorate the herioc act of the late Dr. Fred Harling, who so unselfishly sacrificed his life in an attempt to save two people from drowning on Monday, the 15th inst., in the vicinity of this point." (20 January 1934 letter from Parizeau to BC Chief Geographer, file S.2.33)

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

After Dr. Frederick Harling, who died from exposure while trying to save two lives off this point, 15 January 1934, age 47. Harling was born in Bradford, England, and came to Victoria in 1906. A prominent member of the YMCA before the war, he served as a mechanic in the Air Force during the war, and afterwards entered the North Pacific College of Dentistry at Portland, Oregon. He worked his way through school as a lifeguard at the Gorge during the summers. Harling resided on the shore of Foul Bay (now Gonzales Bay) for 23 years prior to his death. (see also Victoria Daily Times, 16 January 1934, p.1). See also Ken Roueche's article, "The Heroes of Foul Bay" in the Fairfield Community Association Newsletter, September 2003 (copy on file S.2.33).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office