Robert C Hammond (sternwheeler)

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Robert C Hammond.jpg
Robert C Hammond at Central Fort George 1914
History
Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg Canada
Name:Robert C Hammond
Laid down: 1913
Launched: May 22, 1913 at Central Fort George
In service: 1913-1914
Fate: Retired, 1914
General characteristics
Length: 101 ft (30.8 m)
Beam: 21.5 ft (6.6 m)
Notes: No.133979

The Robert C Hammond was the last sternwheeler built for service on the upper Fraser and Nechako Rivers. She was owned by the Fort George Lake and River Transportation Company, a partnership of George Hammond and his brother. She was launched at the Central Fort George town-site of Fort George on May 22, 1913. She was built so that George Hammond, the promoter of Central Fort George, could claim that his community had steamer service. [1] Central Fort George was on the Nechako River and the large sternwheelers owned by the BC Express Company, despite a $50 per trip inducement, could rarely call there, as there often were sandbars unless the water was very high. [2] The rival sternwheelers of the South Fort George town-site owned by the Fort George Lumber and Navigation Company were not interested in helping George Hammond promote Central.

Paddle steamer steamship or riverboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans.

Fraser River river in British Columbia, Canada

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 kilometres (854 mi), into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the 11th longest river in Canada. The river's annual discharge at its mouth is 112 cubic kilometres (27 cu mi) or 3,550 cubic metres per second (125,000 cu ft/s), and it discharges 20 million tons of sediment into the ocean.

Nechako River river in Canada

The Nechako River arises on the Nechako Plateau east of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, and flows north toward Fort Fraser, then east to Prince George where it enters the Fraser River. "Nechako" is an anglicization of netʃa koh, its name in the indigenous Carrier language which means "big river".

Contents

In 1913, the Robert C Hammond made several trips on the Nechako as well as working on the route from Soda Creek to Fort George. For one auspicious moment in her short career, she was going to be a Royal Mail Ship for the newly formed Imperial Express Company which had been formed by Mayor JT Robinson of Kamloops and JC Shields of Vancouver, which had managed to win the government mail contract from the BC Express Company.

Soda Creek Place in British Columbia, Canada

Soda Creek is a rural subdivision 38 km north of Williams Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Located on the east bank of the Fraser River, Soda Creek was originally the home of the Xat'sull First Nation. Soda Creek Indian Reserve No. 1 is located on the left (E) bank of the Fraser River, one mile south of the Soda Creek BCR (CN) station, 431.10 ha. 52°19′00″N122°16′00″W

Royal Mail Ship Prefix for ships that carry mail under contract by the British Royal Mail.

Royal Mail Ship, usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel designated as "RMS" has the right to fly both the pennant of the Royal Mail when sailing and to include the Royal Mail "crown" insignia with any identifying device and/or design for the ship.

Robert C Hammond, 1913 Robert C Hammond.gif
Robert C Hammond, 1913

However, Imperial Express found themselves ill-prepared to meet this challenge and the BC Express Company consented to carry the mail for them for $500 a week. [3]

The Robert C Hammond continued its service until September 1914 when the depressed economic conditions caused by the Great War and the halt on the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway caused her owners to retire her.

See also

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References

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

Notes

  1. ↑ West, Willis (1985). Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC. Heritage House. p. 66. ISBN   0-919214-68-1.
  2. ↑ Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. pp. 54, 55. ISBN   0-88826-033-4.
  3. ↑ West, Willis (1949). The BX and the Rush to Fort George. British Columbia Historical Quarterly. pp. 220, 221.
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