History Lesson

The shipping industry along our coastline has evolved over the centuries thanks to ingenious inventions such as the paddle, that enabled ancient mariners from no longer needing to pole their way along shallow inland waterways with rafts, to eventually being able to travel in deeper waters offshore through the invention of the dugout canoe. With the invention of the sail, human paddlers were replaced with the power of the wind, allowing for the transport of heavier loads over ever-greater distances and resulting in the eventual arrival of European explorers and settlers to our shores.

The Burrard Inlet is known for being the Port of Vancouver’s gateway to the world. Besides its industrial usefulness, it is also known for its natural beauty. Despite this, many have used the coastal fjord as a dumping ground. Beyond sunken ships, all kinds of things have been disposed of — accidently or otherwise into the Inlet.

Victoria has a long and close-knit relationship with the sea since up until the late 1940s the vast majority of visitors always arrived by ship. The first vessels to arrive in Victoria were often designed to carry both passengers and freight while later ships were specifically designed for ocean voyages that were one-way trips for travellers from a departure point to an arrival point.

Although somewhat outdated in modern navies, the bosun’s call (also known as a pipe or whistle) has almost always been a symbol of position and a tool for communicating orders at sea.

Within a short, five-minute walk between Wharf Street and Bastion Square is the old Victoria Custom House, also referred to as the Malahat Building, and the former Victoria Law Courts — two of the most important historic landmarks that influenced the early years of maritime commerce and shipping in British Columbia.

In 1947, a record-breaking tow was accomplished by a local Canadian tug. The Snohomish had a long history of service in America and later with local tows in Canadian waters but it was the achievement of an incredible 10,000-mile tow to Buenos Aires that truly made her historically unique.

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) has a dynamic history. Although not officially established until 1962, the CCG can actually trace its roots back to 1868.

Amphibious vehicles may bring to mind mid-century secret agents or perhaps even inventor Caractacus Pott and his miracle car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but these contraptions had their start in very practical pursuits.

Rats and humans have lived side by side for so long and in every corner of the globe that we assume it has always been this way. But that is not the case.