MEMBER LOGIN
His colleagues say he is a man of integrity whose authenticity and genuine interest made his connections to Stó:lō elders possible. His family says his work was guided by their ancestors, and his acquaintances defer to his understanding of their shared history.
For more than four decades, Albert “Sonny” McHalsie committed himself to learning Stó:lō history and sharing it with both the Stó:lō and Xwelítem (the hungry people, the Halq'eméylem word for white settlers). Now, he is finally retired.
Read the full article here.
Labour history in the Kootenays began in 1895 when Rossland became home to the first Canadian local of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). Thanks to the WFM’s efforts, in 1899 the provincial government passed a law forbidding miners from working more than eight hours underground. In the West Kootenays, where 10-hour shifts were commonplace, mine owners and businessmen were outraged, and the WFM in Rossland were sharply criticized as “American agitators” and troublemakers. However, a petition signed by 3,000 district miners indicated widespread support among the workers, and several WFM union locals were established throughout the area.
Read the full article by Tressa Ford, Archives Assistant at the Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery.
Listen to this podcast featuring rare recordings of three feisty union women who worked as conductors, motormen and transit drivers in Vancouver beginning in 1943.
When many men were in Europe during World War II fighting fascism, 200 women worked as streetcar conductors in Vancouver, later becoming motormen and drivers. Unlike other women who worked during the war in shipbuilding and aircraft assembly, these women were able to keep their jobs after the war, thanks to their union.
The union insisted the women had the same rights, privileges, and wages as the men. It played an important role in supporting the women, including helping one get her job back after she was fired for becoming pregnant.
A lover of history, who showcased and safeguarded the heritage of Maple Ridge for decades, has passed away.
Val Patenaude, who was the director of the Maple Ridge Museum from 1993 to 2020, passed away on Friday, May 16, at the age of 72, following a stroke.
A celebration of life will be held in the fall in Maple Ridge.
The Marion was a 61 ft. passenger/freight vessel built near Golden in 1888. Built for the Upper Columbia River service, this vessel was transferred in 1897 to service Kootenay Lake. Photo: The Nauticapedia
An excerpt from the summer issue of British Columbia History
When thinking of shipbuilding in BC, you’d probably picture coastal cities and towns where, indeed, most BC ships have been built. The last place you’d imagine is the rugged Interior. However, look at the extensive array of lakes and rivers that subdivide this province and the major north-south transportation routes they represent—there must have been local vessel construction to serve these important travel and trading routes.
Ship construction in the Interior has seen cycles of activity over time, beginning with the gold rushes in the Yukon and in BC in the late nineteenth century, and then again when the oil exploration boom and potential pipeline construction in the 1960s and 1970s in the Northwest Territories resulted in vessels being built for operation in the northern rivers of BC and Alberta as well as in the Mackenzie River system.
Limiting this discussion to “commercial” vessels (as distinct from the numerous successful small pleasure-craft builders located in the Interior of BC), a review of shipbuilding activity in the BC Interior shows the following numbers and types of vessels recorded over the past 165 years.
The Lytton was a 131 ft. passenger/freight vessel built in 1890 for the Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company, in Nelson. In 1890, it was in service between Revelstoke and Little Dalles, WA. From 1897 to 1904 it was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Photo: Royal BC Museum and Archives
Passenger and freight vessels
Clearly the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s resulted in the most significant number of vessels built per decade, mostly on the shores of Bennett Lake. These vessels were described as “passenger/freight vessels” or “freighters,” and they ranged in length from about 30 to 160 feet (9 to 48 metres). Many vessels were also built in this period for other routes as the population in the Interior expanded. The busiest routes were on Okanagan Lake, the Columbia River, the Arrow Lakes, and the upper and lower Fraser River.
Images of vessels typical of this era clearly illustrate that many (but certainly not all!) were quite sophisticated vessels.
The Clifford Sifton was built in 1898 on Bennett Lake for the Dominion Steamboat Line. In 1900 the vessel was taken through the Whitehorse Rapids. In 1904, it was wrecked in an ice jam near Klondike City. Photo: The Nauticapedia
Freight-carrying vessels, mostly sternwheelers, dominated those early years; however, as steel construction became more widespread after the 1950s, many barges and smaller workboats were built in BC for local and northern projects. Interior fabricators were able to offer lower prices than conventional coastal shipyards, especially for simple vessels where “shipwright” skills were unnecessary. Barges generally only require good panel-welding capability, and no compound curvature or other “ship complexities” are involved. Many barges and a few simple tugboats were built by and for Streeper Brothers Marine Transport, who operated a shallow-draft barging service out of Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson into the Athabasca and Mackenzie River systems.
The images show larger working vessels that were built in the Interior during this busy period. Later, in the 1990s, a number of large logging truck ferries were built for trips across Babine and Williston Lakes.
The Argenta was a 92 ft. vessel built in 1900 at Mirror Lake, south of Kaslo. From 1900 to 1910, it was in service on Kootenay Lake. The vessel was broken up in 1910 and machinery and fittings sold. Photo: The Nauticapedia
Coastal vessels with roots in Salmon Arm
One interesting aspect of the Interior shipbuilding story is the construction of at least six west coast trollers in Salmon Arm between 1964 and 1969 by Ernest Wahl of the famed Wahl family, who built many dozens of highly regarded west coast fishboats from their yard in Prince Rupert. According to Ryan Wahl, “Indeed Ernest had a shop in Salmon Arm on the Shuswap. The boats were built and transported in sections and assembled at the coastal location, including Steveston, I believe.” [1]
The reason for this apparent anomaly is documented in Legacy in Wood, written by Ryan Wahl about the family's boat-building enterprise. The Wahl’s boat-building shop in Prince Rupert burned down in 1966 and to continue the business, Ernest Wahl purchased an old building in Salmon Arm: “It was a two-storey high chicken coup (sic). Like a place for raising chickens. And then he just ripped the top floor right out of it. It was probably 50 or 60 feet long and 20 feet wide.” [2] Boats were built there in sections, then trucked down to the Lower Mainland for final assembly and outfitting.
The Slocan was built in Rosebery in 1897. It was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was rebuilt in 1905 and operated until 1928. Photo: The Nauticapedia
Not built in the Interior
In addition to these “local” builds, many vessels which served in the Interior were built on the West Coast (or on the Great Lakes) and transported by truck or rail, usually in sections, then reassembled on the shores of the BC lake or river in their service areas. Despite the historic significance of some of these vessels, for the purposes of this article they don’t qualify as built in the Interior! This applies in particular to a number of ferries with long service histories in the Interior.
The Arctic Eagle (now RDV/Gator) was a pusher tug built in 1975 in Fort Nelson. Photo: The Nauticapedia
Sandy Point, a west coast troller built by Ernest Wahl in Salmon Arm in 1967. Photo taken in Nanaimo, 2020. Captain Ernest Greenaway (1929-2017) restored the Sandy Point in the 1990s and owned it until 2017. Photo: Shelley Greenaway
Inland vessels currently preserved for public display were all built elsewhere and shipped to BC for assembly and operation. Though, thankfully, these vessels have been saved as a testament to the inland vessel operations in BC, unfortunately the builders have not been similarly acknowledged. However, even these vessels’ longterm survival is by no means assured.
The inland vessels which are currently preserved for historical purposes include the following:
The Moyie is a sternwheeler built in 1898 for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that operated on Kootenay Lake from 1898 until 1957. Designated as a national historic site in Canada and on the BC Register of Historic Places, the Moyie is dry-berthed in Kaslo.
The SS Moyie had a lengthy career on Kootenay Lake, but has now been a museum longer than it was in service. Photo: Greg Nesteroff
The Moyie is the world’s oldest intact passenger sternwheeler, with registered dimensions of 161.7 ft. x 30.1 ft. x 5.1 ft. The hull was built by Bertram Iron Works of Toronto.
The upper works were built in BC by the CPR under the direction of J. Bulger at a build cost of $41,275. The SS Moyie is in the custody of the Kootenay Lake Historical Society. Given the vessel’s status as a National Historic Site, its long-term preservation is somewhat assured, but maintaining an old wooden vessel fully exposed to the elements is a significant challenge.
The Naramata is a steel-hulled, steam-powered tugboat commissioned by the CPR and prefabricated in 1913 in Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay), Ontario, at a cost of $40,000. Assembled at the Okanagan Landing shipyard, the Naramata served the farmers and communities of Okanagan Lake towing barge-loads of fruit and other local produce to local markets and distribution centres, until being retired in 1967. It was subsequently dry-berthed in a sand berm in Penticton but has experienced hull deterioration. The tug was recognized in 1975 as a designated provincial heritage site.
Today the vessel’s caretaker, the SS Sicamous Marine Heritage Society, is focused on the preservation of the Naramata by raising the entire vessel out of the wet sand so the hull can be repaired and properly coated for long-term protection from the elements. Currently that work is not funded or assured.
The Naramata. Photo: Greg Nesteroff
SS Sicamous is a steam-powered sternwheeler built for the CPR in 1914 and used to transport passengers and cargo to communities along Okanagan Lake. The ship continued in that service until 1936.
Measuring 228 ft. x 40.0 ft. x 8.0 ft., the Sicamous was built at Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company shipyard in Port Arthur, transported by rail in sections, and reassembled at the Okanagan Landing shipyard. Today it is dry-berthed in Penticton and is functioning as a museum cared for by the SS Sicamous Marine Heritage Society. It is regrettably NOT recognized as a national historic site in Canada, so its longterm preservation rests on the goodwill of the City of Penticton and the patrons and supporters of the vessel.
The SS Sicamous was one of the three largest sternwheelers to ply inland waters. Photo: Greg Nesteroff
An historic vessel on a smaller scale is the coastal gillnetter Merriwake. The connection to the Interior is its historic association with the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, and the fact that it is now kept in the Kootenays as a tribute to its builders and original owners, from whom the boat was seized.
The following extract from the “Statement of Significance” by the Slocan Valley Historical Society well describes Merriwake’s story:
The Merriwake is a 9.4 metre single-screw Japanese Canadian gillnetter fishing boat of wooden construction. The heritage value of the Merriwake resides in its nationally important historical associations and in the physical properties of the vessel itself. It is valuable for being a rare surviving example of one of 1,137 coastal fishing boats owned and operated by Japanese Canadians that were confiscated by the federal government during World War II. It is also valuable for demonstrating the skilled craftsmanship within the large pre-war Japanese Canadian boat building industry. The boat was built on the BC North Coast in 1929 and was known as S.C. 73 and Sucia 2 before taking the name Merriwake. It was most likely built in Cow Bay in Prince Rupert, a centre of Japanese Canadian boatbuilding.… The construction of the boat has been attributed to the Matsumoto Family, one of the main fishing boat builders in 1920s and 1930s Prince Rupert. During Internment in the Slocan Valley during the Second World War the Matsumoto family used their carpentry skills to build many of the shacks that housed their fellow Japanese Canadians. [3]
After a life on the coast, Merriwake is currently owned by the Slocan Valley Historical Society.
The Merriwake prior to its restoration. Photo: Slocan Valley Historical Society
Register of historic vessels needed
This brief look into the once significant role that shipbuilding has played in the development of the interior of BC, and the lack of remaining evidence of that work highlights the absence of a central, focused department within the provincial or federal governments to preserve or even to document and celebrate the maritime history of this province. At present only the amazing database that is The Nauticapedia identifies the vessels that have helped to build this province. It is hoped that the creation of a formal register of historic vessels of BC and western Canada will go a long way to remedying that unfortunate situation.
Where are they now?
Given the extensive list of vessels built in the Interior, it is worth questioning what has become of them. The notes about many of the gold-rush era boats indicate quite clearly that the lives of these boats were typically short as they were lucky to survive the rugged and demanding river and lake service for even 20 years. After that, if the vessel was not wrecked, many became “barges” for miscellaneous cargoes, but frequently the records indicate the vessel was dismantled and the machinery reused. It is not apparent that any Interior-built vessels from before 1950 still exist.
Notes
[1] Ryan Wahl, personal communication with author, March 2025.
[3] “Statement of Significance,” Slocan Valley Historical Society, 2020.
Robert G. Allan is an award-winning, third-generation naval architect, following his father and his grandfather, who began working as an independent consulting naval architect in BC in 1928. Robert is executive chairman of Robert Allan Ltd., the most senior company in its field in Canada, and well-regarded internationally. A graduate of the University of Glasgow, Robert is a registered professional engineer (retired) in BC, a Fellow of both the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. He is a recognized authority on escort tugboat design and has authored numerous papers and several texbook chapters on the subject of tugboat and workboat design.
An excerpt from the Summer 2025 issue of British Columbia History.
One of many posters and memes circulating on Canadian social media in defiance of the trade dispute with the US. Photo: CanadaMemes.com
A British wartime slogan has been rebooted during the Trump trade war launched against Canada. The original slogan, “Keep Calm and Carry On,” appeared in 1939 to raise morale as Britain faced the threat of invasions and bombings during the Second World War. It was one of three posters created by the Information Ministry and saw limited use at the time, but it was “rediscovered” at a bookstore in 2000 and quickly co-opted as an advertising slogan. Today it’s appearing in social media posts to promote buying Canadian products in reaction to punishing tariffs and threats to Canada’s sovereignty. Variations include “Keep Calm and Move to Canada” and “Keep Calm, I’m Canadian.”
Katzie house post created by Carlyn Andres features a frog motif. It is one of four house posts in the main exhibition hall created by local First Nation artists. Photo: Mary Forsythe
The ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new museum and cultural complex came two years later than expected, but Fort Langley’s salishan Place by the River is finally in the hands of its staff, who are now moving the collection across the street from the old museum. The facility is a collaboration between the Township of Langley and local First Nations: Kwantlen, Matsqui, Semiahmoo and Katzie. The opening of the three-storey, 39,340 square foot (3,654 square metre) arts, culture, and heritage centre was delayed due to construction deficiencies. In the coming year salishan Place by the River will begin sharing settler and Indigenous stories. An Indigenous drum motif stamped into the floors welcomes visitors and symbolizes the human heartbeat. The new complex includes a Fraser Valley Regional Library branch and anchors an impressive cultural district that includes the BC Farm Museum (with its own expansion plans) and the Fort Langley National Historic Site.
Whale Interpretive Centre at Telegraph Cove, before the fire. Photo: killerwhalecentre.org
The largest public collection of marine mammal skeletons in the province was incinerated when fire tore through the Whale Interpretive Centre (WIC) at Telegraph Cove. The fire on New Year’s Eve also destroyed part of the Telegraph Cove Resort, which owns the museum space. However, their cabins and hotel remain standing and they are operating this summer. About a third of the historic boardwalk and other businesses were lost; both the resort and Whale Interpretive Centre are in the midst of rebuilding campaigns. The WIC’s collection of articulated skeletons was gathered and conserved over a 45-year period, highlighting local species like humpback, minke, killer whales, otters, and sea lions. Mary Borrowman, director and manager at the WIC says, “We are taking it one step at a time but we do plan on working with the owners of Telegraph Cove Resorts to rebuild.…The support from the North Island community has been amazing and also from all over the world. It is what is encouraging us to carry on and come back stronger.” Find campaign information for WIC at CanadaHelps.org: https://tinyurl.com/fyzun85w.
Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria website banner. Photo: oldcem.bc.ca
“Learn about the famous, the infamous, the cruel, the gentle, the rich and the poor.”— Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria
A wander through a local cemetery with a knowledgeable, engaging guide at your side is a great way to soak up local history. The Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria offers a remarkable array of walking tours—most of them at the beautiful seaside Ross Bay Cemetery. If you’re visiting the capital this summer, hook up with their enthusiastic volunteers (a.k.a. taphophiles) for a tour. Sunday options include Murder Most Foul, Métis Connections, Victoria’s History in Songs and Sea Shanties (sung graveside at mariners’ plots), Detecting Queer Lives, Skeletons from Victoria’s Closet, Emily Carr Tour and more. Details about tours and other excursions can be found on the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria website: https://oldcem.bc.ca. Can’t get to Victoria? Watch more than a dozen tours on their Youtube channel: https://oldcem.bc.ca/tours/youtube/.
Stirring Up Ghosts homepage
Bruce Coughlan and his band, Tiller’s Folly, have been writing and singing songs about BC history for almost 30 years, travelling to schools and performance venues across the province. Their stories in song range from George Vancouver’s arrival at Spanish Banks and early encounters with First Nations, to voyageurs paddling the Fraser River and the exploits of gold rush figures like the Cariboo’s John Cameron. And there are ghosts, including Victoria’s Kitty O’Reilly.
Many years have come and have gone A story’s told so the legend lives on That a maid with a blue dress on Still haunts the house by the harbour And there, I fear the ghost of fare Kitty O’Reilly Will haunt evermore
The songs and stories behind Tiller’s Folly are now gathered together by Coughlan on the website Stirring Up Ghosts, where you can read more about the people, places and events in Pacific Canadian history, heritage, and culture—and hear the songs performed. Have a listen: https://stirringupghosts.ca/stirring-up-ghosts. •
Mark Forsythe travels through BC and back in time, exploring the unique work of British Columbia Historical Federation members.
Richmond Art Gallery presents two new summer exhibitions from now until Aug. 24. Curated by Rebecca Wang, The Roaming Peach Blossom Spring features Qiu Anxiong (Shanghai) and Howie Tsui (Vancouver) who find inspiration in ancient mythology and martial arts fiction. Curated by Zoë Chan, Enigmas & Dreams: Works on Paper by Alvin Jang & Anna Wong highlights two under-recognized local Chinese Canadian artists whose radically differing works embrace experimentation, improvisation, and the unconscious.
“The Roaming Peach Blossom Spring brings together for the first time the work of two contemporary artists that draw on the cultural legacy of the Song dynasty (960–1279), a period widely regarded as the pinnacle of artistic achievement in Chinese history,” says Wang.
“Richmond provides a unique context for this exhibition, as more than half of its population consists of Chinese immigrants and people of Chinese descent. While the cultural references may particularly resonate with the Chinese community, the compelling visual language offers an enriching experience for all visitors, as the works speak to prevalent global issues such as urbanization, ecological loss, and diaspora.”
Qiu Anxiong draws on the aesthetic and philosophical sensibilities of Song dynasty court and literati painting in his animated films, which adapt the earliest encyclopedic cosmography, Classic of Mountains and Seas (c. 400 BCE–200 CE). The exhibition will mark the first time all three films in his major series The New Book of Mountains and Seas (2006–2017) will be presented together in Canada.
Howie Tsui transposes the wuxia (martial arts fiction) world into his paintings, lightboxes, and videos. Gif Roulette (2020–ongoing) and Jumbo (2024)—both debuting in Vancouver—draw on looping fragments from the films and animations that shaped his youth, and extend the wuxia realm to the now-sunken floating restaurant Jumbo Kingdom in Hong Kong. Presenting the two artists’ distinct practices and perspectives, The Roaming Peach Blossom Spring explores the cultural complexity within shared ethnic identity and encourages dialogue across its diverse subgroups.
Enigmas & Dreams: Works on Paper by Alvin Jang & Anna Wong pair the work of two local artists. Alvin Jang presents two sci-fi-inspired series: The Colony (1982), which depicts a colourful world overrun by a dense population of worms, and Pillow Talk (2000), which evokes the surreal realities of hallucinations, dreams, and fantasies. These are accompanied by a series of abstract drawings and prints from the late 1960s, by the late Anna Wong. Bringing to light the hybridity of her visual vernacular, Wong’s work reveals the lively gesturality of Chinese brush painting and the experimental mark-making of Abstract Expressionism.
“I wanted to curate an exhibition that would work well in conversation with The Roaming Peach Blossom, and was drawn to both Alvin Jang and Anna Wong for their focus on drawings and their instinctive way of working,” says Chan.
“Alvin and Anna seem compelled to create through the relinquishment of logic, using each work instead to further experiment and play, rather than to stick to restricted, circumscribed paths. Eschewing straightforward interpretation, these enigmatic works resist fixed structures or finality in a really exciting way.”
She adds, “As deeply dedicated artists, both deserve much more recognition for their unique art-making and aesthetics. Jang has maintained a daily studio practice from his home in Steveston since the 1970s, while Wong, who grew up in Vancouver’s Chinatown, studied and taught at the prestigious Pratt Institute in New York for several years.”
Enigmas & Dreams also features a specially commissioned title wall by Brother Jopa, a Vancouver-based lettering artist, designer, and muralist, who specializes in hand-drawn typography and calligraphy.
Sarah Lim is pictured at centre holding the microphone.
June is a vibrant month with a wide array of celebrations and festivities across the province including National Indigenous History Month, Pride Month, Dragon Boat Festival, and over in my hometown in Prince Rupert, the beloved Seafest Parade.
As someone born and raised on Ts’msyen territory, I was exposed to Indigenous worldviews and cultures at a young age that were different than those of my Chinese immigrant parents. This is one of the many reasons I was drawn to the mission of the BC Historical Federation and its commitment to public history.
To have the opportunity to uplift the often sidelined or hidden histories of a vast range of communities is a real honour; however, this is not without challenges. Stories of residential school denialism and the harm this causes survivors, their families, and their communities continue to emerge. While moments like these can be quite alarming and discouraging, they serve as a reminder that we must all continue to be vigilant, to learn, and to bring others along on the complex and challenging journey towards truth, healing, and acts of reconciliation.
As we begin a new year at BCHF, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Rosa Flinton-Brown for her leadership as BCHF President from 2022-2025, and who continues to do integral work as Treasurer. A special welcome to our new directors who have joined the 2025-26 board: Lorne Hammond, Chloe Heuchert, and Chad Soon.
I look forward to connecting with you over the next few years and to the work that lies ahead of us. Don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello!
Warm regards,
Sarah Ling BCHF President
Coming soon to your email inbox or mailbox!
The summer edition of British Columbia History magazine features a theme of shipbuilding.
Stories include:
Plus we have regular contributions from Front Words columnist Mark Forsythe and books editor Dalys Barney, and Snuneymuxw Titumels William A. White reflects on the meaning of the visit of the Coast Salish cultural specialist Willie Pierre to the Nanaimo Museum.
Not yet a subscriber? You can purchase single issues of British Columbia History magazine online or receive all four annual issues by becoming a subscriber or member of the BC Historical Federation.
British Columbia Historical FederationPO Box 448, Fort Langley, BC, Canada, V1M 2R7Information: info@bchistory.ca
With gratitude, the BCHF acknowledges that it carries out its work on the traditional territories of Indigenous nations throughout British Columbia.
Follow us on Facebook.