When the Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896, no one could have predicted that within two years, the Yukon would be inundated with thousands of gold-seekers. There were only two ways for them to get to the gold fields: by foot or by ship.
The Port Alberni Maritime Heritage Society has invited two people knowledgeable in the history of the latter to speak about their experience with paddle wheelers on the Yukon River on Thursday, March 31.
Wayne Loiselle has a storied history on the water. Port Alberni residents might know him as skipper of the Grail Dancer, which took part in the Tall Ships Festival on Port Alberni’s waterfront. He also worked on the restoration of one of the Yukon’s most popular paddle wheelers, the SS Keno.
Robert Turner is a well-known Vancouver Island author of many books on railways and ships. His latest is The Klondike Gold Rush Steamers: A History of Yukon River Steam Navigation, by Sono Nis Press.
Turner’s book chronicles the history of sternwheeled steamboats that traversed the Yukon River in Yukon Territory and Alaska. At the height of the Gold Rush, 250 such steamboats plied the Yukon River and its tributaries.
Turner tells the exciting stories of these boats, the people who built them and their adventures in Canada’s challenging northern frontier from the pioneer days of the fur trade to the 1950s.
Two of the most well-known paddle wheelers in the Yukon are the SS Keno in Dawson City, and the SS Klondike in Whitehorse. Both have been restored and are operated as tourist attractions by Parks Canada.
(Story continues below)
Loiselle worked on the restoration of the SS Keno, which has a landlocked place of pride overlooking the Yukon River in downtown Dawson City. The SS Keno was built in 1922 and was a practical vessel to navigate primarily the Stewart River because of its shallow two-foot draft. It was able to navigate around sandbars and take tight corners due to its construction.
The SS Keno was moved to her present berth in 1960 and Parks Canada refurbished her in 1962. She was declared a national historic site on July 1, 1962.
The SS Klondike (actually the SS Klondike II) was the largest vessel ever to ply the Canadian portion of the Yukon River, according to Parks Canada.
It was built by the British Yukon Navigation Co. and launched in Whitehorse in 1937 to replace her namesake, which sank the year before.
The original SS Klondike’s construction was significant because it had the largest cargo load. Its predecessor could make the trip from Whitehorse downstream to Dawson City 740 kilometres away in 36 hours.
The SS Klondike made her final trip into Whitehorse in August 1955, bringing an end to the commercial steamboat navigation era in the Yukon.
Loiselle and Turner will talk about the work they have done with paddle wheelers in the Yukon during Maritime Heritage Night at the AV Museum on Thursday, March 31 at 7 p.m. Their presentation, Paddle Wheelers on the Yukon, will include a slide show, 1962 CBC film The Last Voyage of the SS Keno and discussion of the history and their involvement with paddle wheelers.
Admission is by donation (free to PAMHS members). Refreshments will be served. For more information, please call 250-723-8362.
facebook.com/albernivalleynews
