“Arrival off Victoria”

24” x 36” | Oil on board

Britannia Heritage Shipyard in Richmond, BC, on the Fraser River, was not always a shipyard and started out as a cannery.  Following is some information about Britannia as a Cannery reprinted from page 118 of “Salmonopolis: The Steveston Story” by Susan and Duncan Stacey.

“For example, some Steveston canners saw an opportunity to reduce costs by having their salmon loaded directly onto sailing ships rather than trans-shipping them to Victoria.  When the China tea clipper Titania, at that time owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company, had extra space available on an 1889 voyage that included stops at Victoria and Vancouver, the space was filled with cases of Fraser River salmon, loaded directly at the Britannia cannery wharf.  The Titania’s September arrival in Steveston was the first time a Europe-bound vessel had docked there.  Not only the canners benefitted; ship owners were pleased to have a fresh water port in which to rid their ships’ hulls of barnacles.”

This painting depicts the Titania arriving off Victoria.  After her stop in Victoria she then proceeded to cross the Strait of Georgia and then sail up the Fraser River to Steveston.