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Some Old Sailing Vessels in Victoria Harbour

by Robert Hanna and John MacFarlane 2019

Empress Boat Co.

The Empress Boat Co. shed on the Victoria waterfront (Photo from the Robert Hanna collection.)

Robert Hanna came across some photos taken by his grandfather (S. P. Hanna) about 1935 in Victoria harbour. His grandfather was an industrial arts teacher at Lampson Street School and Mount View High School and enjoyed collecting salvaged hardwoods from the many old buildings, houses and ships that were wrecked in Victoria after the Second World War.

Robert looked up G[eorge] W[ashington] Hale, the builder’s name on the floathouse nameboard. George Washington Hale 1872–1942 was born in Oakville, ON was a ships carpenter and worked for Elliot Ship Builders in Nelson, BC before returning to Victoria and establishing a shop on the waterfront.

The Robert Kerr

The Robert Kerr with Robert’s father as a small boy in the foreground. At one time his family had a pair of teak fife rail posts which his father said had come from the Abby Palmer/, aka Star of England. His grandfather cut at least one post up for woodworking projects has a little piece of one yet! (Photo from the Robert Hanna collection.)

The Nauticapedia says that the Robert Kerr was built in 1866 as a barque at Quebec City, Canada East. She was 190.6’ x 38.4’ x 23.7’ wood 1191gt. In 1866–1884 she was owned by Ross Shipping. In 1887 she was taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway, Montreal QC as a coal barge. After stranding off the west coast of Vancouver Island she was purchased by Captain Soule then the Manager of the Hastings Mill Stevedoring Co. Somewhere in her history she was converted to a coal barge.

The Nauticapedia indicates that the Robert Kerr had an interesting career. "In 1866 she was in the Liverpool to India trade. In 1874 she was in coastal trade in the UK. In 1887 she was operated by the Hudsons Bay Co. between the UK and the west coast. In 1903 while being towed by the tug Mystery from Vancouver to Union Bay she struck rocks at Ballinaes and was damaged. She was towed in a leaking condition to Union Bay where she was repaired. She was wrecked near Danger Reef while in tow of the tug Coulti from Ladysmith to Vancouver with a cargo of coal. Afterwards she was coal hulk in Vancouver harbour. She provided refuge for people in the Great Fire of 1886 at Vancouver BC. David Griffith (British Columbia Nautical History Facebook Group 09/07/2017) states that "Joe Fortes was the Robert Kerr’s cook when she first arrived off the city. He went on to become the fondly remembered "Lifeguard of English Bay." Bob McAuley (British Columbia Nautical History Facebook Group 09/07/2017) states that "she sank while transporting coal on the night of March 4, 1911 SE of Miami Islet located at Stuart Channel in the Gulf Islands. She lays just north of Thetis Island and is located on a line between Ragged Islet and Miami Islet. The Underwater Archaeology Society of British Columbia has installed a plaque on her. The wreck of the Miami is very close by." "

The Star of England

The Star of England (Photo from the Robert Hanna collection.)

The Nauticapedia says that the Star of England was built as the Blairmore, renamed as the Abby Palmer. She was later renamed as the Island Star (I) and ended her life as the Crown Zellerbach No. 4. In 1893 she was owned by Thomson Dickie and Co. (More Line). In 1896 she was sold to Robert Sudden, San Francisco CA USA under US Registry as a repaired wreck. She was sold in 1906 to Alaska Packers Assocociation. She was laid up in 1928 at Alameda CA. In 1928 she was sold to Ed R. Grieve. She was purchased at auction in 1935 by Island Tug & Barge Co. from the Alaska Packers Association. Converted to a barge she was placed in service between Vancouver Island and a pulp mill in Port Angeles. In 1947–1949 as a non–powered barge she was owned by Island Tug & Barge Co. Ltd., Victoria BC. In 1961 she was owned by the Canadian Tugboat Co. Ltd., Vancouver BC.

She was an ill–starred ship – no pun intended – and was knocked on her beam ends by a squall in San Francisco in 1896 while lying empty and with insufficient ballast – an economy no doubt popular with many ship owners at the time. Her mastheads must have touched the harbour bottom and prevented her turning completely over. Apparently six men were trapped in an air bubble within the hull and could be heard calling and banging on the hull plating for help. The would–be rescuers in those days before cutting torches attempted to chisel a hole through the exposed side of the hull for the trapped men to escape, but only the trapped air escaped, the ship settled and the trapped men were promptly drowned. Her hull plates must have been at least three quarters of an inch of wrought iron and cutting through that with sledgehammers and cold chisels while standing on an upturned, weed-covered hull likely to sink at any moment is not something many of us would attempt today.

The Abby Palmer was later raised and refitted. In 1903 she was dis–masted off Cape Flattery and towed to port by the steamship Vermont. In 1906 she was chartered by the U.S. Shipping Board for service in the Hawaiian sugar trade. She made her last Alaska voyage in 1928. In 1928 she was laid up at Alameda CA USA. In 1928 she was being refitted by Ed Grieve for a round–the–world voyage but he ran short of funds and committed suicide. In 1961 the deteriorated hull was broken up.


To quote from this article please cite:

Hanna, Robert and John MacFarlane (2019) Some Old Sailing Vessels in Victoria Harbour. Nauticapedia.ca 2019. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Victoria.php

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