Let’s head back to 1966 when a replica of an historic B.C. ship paid a visit to Delta.
The replica of the S.S Beaver, the first steamship to cruise the Pacific Northwest, docked in Ladner on Nov. 14 to 16 that year.
The new Beaver would go on to proclamation ceremonies in New Westminster and then sailed to Victoria for other ceremonies.
The new ship was constructed by the Provincial Centennial Committee by the Maritime Command, Pacific.
It was introduced to the public in July 1966, visiting 19 ports on Vancouver Island and the mainland.
Having already been visited by 100,000 people, the replica was to have a busy schedule of touring in B.C. and the U.S. Pacific Northwest in 1967. The ship made a return visit to Ladner in June of that year at the Government Wharf.
Originally owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company, the original Beaver had called Ladners Landing during its busy career between 1836, when it arrived on the Pacific coast, and 1888, when it was wrecked on Siwash Rock at Stanley Park, Vancouver.
A few years ago the replica ship, after having been left to sit idle in the water at Vancouver Island, also sank.
