Salt Spring Island Archives

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Ships Servicing Salt Spring Island

Sue Mouat

Accession Number Interviewer Sue Mouat
Date Location Central Hall
Media tape cassette Audio CD mp3 √
ID 101 Topic

101_Sue-Mouat_Ships.mp3

otter.ai

20.01.2023

no

Unknown Speaker 0:02
Our speaker today really needs a little introduction to most of you, but for the benefit of those that haven't met Sue, it's my pleasure to introduce Sue Lloyd. A little brief history on Sue's life. Sue came to Salt Spring Island in 1946. I understand Sue was born in turbulence, and just a few years before that child bride and went to a into Saltspring she worked as a registered nurse that lady mental hospital, and then soon after that, married I had more in September of that year. Then their life, from what I've learned today was a continued movement. They lived in Victoria Nanaimo. acre lake in the Northwest Territories, Ottawa, Churchill, Manitoba, Saskatoon, and Edmonton. They returned back home to Salisbury in 1974. Sue is active on the board of filmmakers. Not anymore not anymore already done. A bit of you can correct me on this was a was a member of the islands Planning Association, worked for five years as a registered nurse at Greenwood's and is currently president of the Anglican Church women. And its chairman of the research committee on history on Saltspring Island. When Sue has spare time, you'll find her gardening. I think without further ado, we'll announce that soon subjects today will be on the early history of transportation, I think mostly to Salt Spring Island. So I give you Sue, thank you

Unknown Speaker 1:59
Madam President, members and guess transportation to and from Salt Spring Islands has been a major topic of conversation since first settlement 1859. For the first 30 years the Nanaimo Victoria sailing route on the east coast of Salt Spring was the lifeblood of the island. The building of the Esquimalt Nanaimo railway in 1886. I immediately cut down on the number of steamers passing Saltspring as one passenger wrote in 1887, a seat in the comfortable elegant passenger coach running at 30 miles an hour, and covering the distance between Victoria and the name on a few hours, is to be preferred to owing to numerous calls the depth of a steamboat when the day from sunrise to sunset is occupied and the trip between these two points. Shortly after the opening of the ENN the Victorian Sydney railway commenced offering operating and vessels students are running between Saltspring and Sydney. Concurrently, trains are coming through to Vancouver from eastern Canada, and shipping started from Vancouver to Saltspring. Aside from a few independent vessels, most of the steamer serving Saltspring at the end of the 19th century, Were those the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company, and Robert Dunn's Mears ENN railway. Both these companies were bought out by the CPR in 1905. The CPR realized the potential of the Gulf Islands with their growing population, increased breeding needs, they're expanding agriculture and the tourist potential. CPR ships from Vancouver students are Saltspring regularly. The sleek CPR boats were not suited for loading cars, tides, deck space and docks were all a problem. So in 1930, Sam maxim of the Vancouver Island coach lines, started a car ferry service between Swartz Bay and Fulford Harbour. His first ferry was the side pet in 1951. Maps and sold his ferry business to Captain mod to the Gulf Islands ferry company, a group of salts boundaries, which included a captain mod. Gavin Mowat, Joe Lachman does profit and another's. The new company increased the number of sailings but more ferries and started the Vesuvius craft and run. This company was purchased by the BC ferry Corporation in 1961. Residents have complained about the transportation since 1859, as I tell told you, and Jonathan beg at that time. Appeal So the governor of the college he wanted a weekly service to Bexhill which is now bring it as most of you know. At that time, there was no road connection between the North End and the SU Vyas. It was at the service that the steamer stopped, whistled if it had freight mail or passengers. And here two passengers were rolled out to catch the vessel. And 1880s And 1866 There were protests because the government steamer Sir James Douglas, raised their fair to $4 Return Victoria's and IMO in 1896, Reverend Wilson objected to the high freight rates and the poor scheduling of the Joanne so you see, vessels serving Saltspring have been the subject of endless conversation and still are, but I've been very fortunate to be able to obtain some of Dick Toynbee is excellent shipping pictures, and he's generously allowed me to make them into slides. And for this meeting, I hope you've enjoyed will enjoy them

Unknown Speaker 6:36
Are you gonna turn them for sure? No, that's fine.

Unknown Speaker 6:58
Okay, this first one shows the Salish canoe. They were used for hundreds, if not 1000s of years in the Pacific Northwest. They were very seaworthy. We were able to cross the Strait of Georgia.

Unknown Speaker 7:15
Yeah, I wouldn't mind that open a little bit. Just so I can read it without using a flashlight. That's great. No. That's fine. Everybody can see that.

Unknown Speaker 7:35
The early settlers relied on the sailors canoes for offloading the steamers that say at least the Saltspring on the Victoria and the nine will run. And this is Ellen from Cooper Island. She traded fish for fruits with Daphne Bradley's grandmother Mrs. Lane. This is Jim Anderson, an early black settler. He's shown here off a walker hook and his adaptation of the sailors to new a raft was usually the first form of transport built by the settlers to meet the steamer for their supplies. This is a much later photograph taken on loose canal. But it shows a more sophisticated but still hampered boat. The robot. Usually small sales were used on the robots. And I have here an excerpt from a diary of a shepherd working on for Mr. Musgrave at Musgrave landing in 1892 went over to college and this morning got the master and Mr. Lee came home and then took Mr. Lee random Burgoyne bay so that I have rode 14 miles today this is a nap the boat taken just before the turn of the century. And you can see the the back of the boat there. Sales are a common sight on every small boat in Ganges harbour with a breath of wind that went the sail to save labor, rowing or fuel with the boat was Napster powered. And that is the last of the steering wheelers. This is the RFP with an 1884 She was used on the Nanaimo Victoria run by the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company and opposition to the Amelia of the people's Navigation Company. A price was started and the fare dropped to 25 cents round trip. The Canadian Pacific Navigation Company was granted 25% of gross receipts to withdraw the return from the run which the they did when the ENA and railroad started service in 1886. The People's navigation company that owned the Amelia got into financial difficulties, and she was sold at auction in 1889 and later purchased by the Canadian Pacific National Company. That's all set on the original photograph was active pass so I Would

Unknown Speaker 10:03
miners be

Unknown Speaker 10:12
now here's the type of Doc everybody put up as soon as they could. This was the one at Fruitvale The one of many private dots and it was probably built by the Scott brothers to ship their fruit. This property had previously belonged to the Starks after they left their earlier preemption and near Vesuvius and go die on the Ganges harbor was so named as Mr. Stark when goats interesting side, this is a very early picture Vesuvius war bars I know the first government work on Saltspring the bit important store and houses shown on the right the word contract was left the Abraham Copeland an early black settler. After BC joined the eastern provinces it becomes the sixth Province of Canada in 1871. Pretty well because ex Kelly or you know the old road has moved back and this is another picture with probably after a better warp has been built and looked better built underneath from the previous one.

Unknown Speaker 11:37
That's probably the first picture of the Fulford harbour war.

Unknown Speaker 11:49
That's a very early photograph of beaver point war. It was originally built by Mr. Rocco in 1891, sold for $400 to the federal government in 19 103, or four transferred to the BC government in night in 1959. And put up as a government assets and unsold so it was burned in 1964. You can't see the Madison House. Now that was probably before before Captain good had a store there 19 for Billy Patterson didn't come there to make him 15 It happens. That I'm not sure maybe on the cards. I don't I don't know that when the seen that picture whether she could date it a little more accurately.

Unknown Speaker 12:48
And this is Musgrave landing more. Of course, the only contact they had was by boat for many years the settlers had really more contact with college in our Burgoyne than the rest of salt bring. Nature would roll out with male and passengers to the Victorian and Ireland Steamers. Here's an early picture of Ganges war for the oxen team in the left foreground there farmers buggies taken about 95 Malcolm Hurva store in the background. As Ganges gradually took over from Vesuvius as freight on Vancouver Island moved by train and as Vancouver overtook Victoria as a main VC port once the CPR had been completed

Unknown Speaker 13:36
this is yeah, this is an early picture of a service with a Joanne

Unknown Speaker 13:48
she replaced an earlier theory the Isabel in 1892. She was owned by Robert Dunn's man Nanaimo, who operated a very profitable mine. His shipping company was a subsidiary of isn't in that Esquimalt Nanaimo railway and there was an advertisement every month for the steamers and Reverend Wilson's home and parish monthly magazine

Unknown Speaker 14:11
and look alike neighbors. That wouldn't be verbal.

Unknown Speaker 14:15
No, no, that's the suit is. You didn't recognize it because there's no smoke in the background. It isn't indigenous.

Unknown Speaker 14:29
This is a fulcrum harbor with the Joanne in the dark sometime before 19 hungry. Joanne was later sold CPR Sodor to the Union Steamship Company and she was renamed the Billina and eventually she burned the union steamship vancouver.in Our whole became a barge for Vancouver dredging. And again, Joanna Fulford she was built in 1892, and she became the first car Are fairy in 19 Seven with two cars last year for debt, and you had to give two days notice if you wanted your car moved.

Unknown Speaker 15:12
This is a view of Ganges war from the stern of the city of Nanaimo. In 1902. She was built in Vancouver 1980 91 owner got into financial difficulties and James dungeoneer foreclosed on the mortgage. She was then operated by the ENN railway until she was brought by the CPR 95. She was replaced by the Marion 1911. And the city of Nanaimo who is only awake you can see what the how sound is the Bolina and later she became part of this union steamship lines as a chimp. This is the era cloth, she ran around between 1900 911 It's brand new Salisbury in conjunction with the Victoria Sydney railway. It was owned by Captain Sears and when she sank off Sydney, approximately 21 People were drowned and Captain series was stripped of his papers. The cargo had shifted in the storm and the euro car rolled over and saying the residents asked the CPR to provide service. So the city of Nanaimo ran for a year until look into this marriage over the route. And this is Ganges work on boat day where the men going didn't seem to think they were going for a drink. Because the purchasers apparently were fairly cooperative about letting the local residents go on board for drinking. A person had time but they don't really look like farmers again and here's Ganges wharf and 97 and motes boat again Jesus on the left and Betancourt's Victor in the center there

Unknown Speaker 17:03
on the Ganges harbour after 1912 With modes present store is shown in the background

Unknown Speaker 17:14
and this is Burgoyne war for the island Princess docking in the 1920s. It had been a wharf here probably by 1873. It is mentioned in the Saltspring municipal bylaws, in effect from 1873 to 1883. This is the Winamac owned by Reed Betancourt for the barge for livestock. The photograph is probably taken abovementioned 1214 This is the winter 1940s dip tells me she was sunk in the freezer this summer after a very long career. And this is one of the many locally built early boats this one by Alfred Russel. He's later sold when didn't know to who to whom. But she said he's scratching his head wondering how he's going to get the boat off the cart

Unknown Speaker 18:16
This is Dr. Sutherlands launch at a regatta on the spit Ganges harbor probably in 1920s. And you can see all the number of other boats who are around on the beach it's quite a party isn't much later picture but it's the only one I have a friend would war, the site of Bakersville with the first store and post office relocated. Voting mishaps were common. This one was on Atkins raw east of Walker hook. These tags the crest and the Kingfisher had been doing a boom of logs and bridal and they don't want to have to drive

Unknown Speaker 19:09
their cars together. And here's the princess pat on the left on excursion and Ganges and the Princess Royal on the right on her regular run. The Pat was a steel ship built in 1902 when a CPRS back to ships and hues on them the Vancouver Nanaimo run until 1928 and the Royal one on our regular run with a wooden ship built 1907 In this form all she was used on the Alaska run in the triangle because she had somebody to staterooms. She came to the island stick says and her gracious old age and she was the girl was broken up in 1933. But Ivan said that photograph was taken in July 1920

Unknown Speaker 19:53
by the 22nd. The one that's in store in the most small extent Richard

Unknown Speaker 20:12
I'm here as the princess being pulled out of beaver point by the Princess Victoria. Originally named the Daly the island princess was the Ninth Princess in the CPR fleet. She was bought for the Gulf Islands run in 1918 because the run was so popular, and she was replaced by the larger charmer 1927 The Iron princess was sold in 1932 Sam Matson who rebuilt it with diesel engines and renamed it was Cytec. And here is this is a charmer in Ganges harbor. She was built in San Francisco as the premier in 1887 for Canadian Pacific Navigation Company, and she was going to be on the Vancouver Victoria run. And she had it was in a collision with a towel his Puget Sound and night in 1892. She was refloated, apparently on election day in the States when everybody was busy. And her whole was boarded over quickly and she was towed to a spy mall and re registered as a charmer and she never returned to us waters because of lawsuits. But by the late 1920s, the CPR trips to the Gulf Islands were so popular. The charmer came to our run the some of the princess and the charmer have been rebuilt carry cars more easily. She ran here in the ninth 1927 and 1933. She was anchored off Newcastle Island, which the CPR purchased as a resort island. And she was thinking that there's sort of hotel, the normal Vancouver run ships would let off the passengers at the charmer when she was scrapped in 1935.

Unknown Speaker 22:13
And this is 1930 When Sam maps and open the docket Fulford. 3030 According to the books editor everywhere at least he was telling me he was there, there's a quit well

Unknown Speaker 22:36
now this is the side pet, a beaver point. Now after this is shown after her conversion, she continued to serve until 1960s under BC Ferries and then was eventually sold for use as a fish Packer. Edward Lacey was telling me she handled the footprint Swartz Bay run pretty well single handed in the 30s and the Warriors she was sometimes relieved by the Brentwood fairy when she went in for read that

Unknown Speaker 23:08
also you might add Wednesday trips have not always

Unknown Speaker 23:12
oh yeah lovely Wednesday trips that used to go off to the islands.

Unknown Speaker 23:16
This was one of the mobs

Unknown Speaker 23:22
I unfortunately haven't got a picture of the Mary but this is the Nora who often came in places a Mary for many years. And that's in her wartime grade. I've taken the guys as her during the war.

Unknown Speaker 23:50
Nor a little bigger than she might have been. She went on that route to Hornby and Denman and Comox however, in Vancouver, just this American because I couldn't get on the northern Marion Ganges harbour and go up to Union bay where my dad was working here and get off it's very nice. As you can see, they're not really built to carry cars. The tide was wrong. It was too steep for me, crane them on the bottom of the crane sometimes they Yeah, they could put a couple on this deck cargo if you get I think How long did you have to say you have to give them notice here

Unknown Speaker 24:28
today but the thing is they used to if the tide was right, it's easy to put them on in Vancouver at any but as the tide was right to get them off the hole and dry them off. But most times, it'd be switched off from before deck and they'd already have voted on. As you can see, they

Unknown Speaker 24:47
haven't got much debt for cars I just put this one in because I thought it was a fun features the old beavers it was right across that point. Yeah She came from England to that since Bay Company by sail in 1836. And on arrival her paddle wheel was put on and she became the first team around the Pacific Northwest. Get a crew of 31 Whatever they all flip for Stoker's and 13 Wood cutters to cut seven cords of wood needed for a day steam. She must pass off for many times, Hudson Bay business in Nanaimo.

Unknown Speaker 25:32
I just thought I shouldn't throw in the old Ganges although she I don't know whether she sailed by her or not. She was with the British fleet at his grandma's Pacific station at the time of the first settlement on Saltspring. So and so many of our place names are named for her that's I did have some more unfortunately, the males break it's interfered with them so I'm sorry maybe another time, another five or six of the older ships that I was finally able to get home. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed