S.S. Mount Royal

S. S. Mount Royal was built in 1902 at Victoria by the Victoria Machinery Depot for the Hudson’s Bay Company. She had staterooms for 100 passengers (4 per room) and cabins for 200. Empty she could run in only 18 inches of water. She was built of Douglas fir and eastern oak at a cost of $30,000. She was considered to have the most luxurious accommodations on the river. She had hot and cold running water, tempered glass windows with the HBC logo, luxuriously appointed fittings, oak and cherry wood furniture, plush velvet covered walls, thick matching carpet. They ran her on the Skeena River under Capt. Stuart B. Johnson in competition with Cunningham & Son’s Hazelton.

RECORD FOR ROUND TRIP PORT ESSINGTON TO HAZELTON RETURN: In July 1902, the competition between the Mount Royal and Hazelton was fierce. They competed for the fastest round trip to Hazelton and back:

Depart/Arrive Port Essington	Vessel	Time
Depart July 23, 1902, 3:45 pm	Hazelton
Arrive July 25, 1902, 11:10 pm	Hazelton	2 days, 7 hrs, 55 minutes
Depart July 25, 1902, 2:45 pm	Mount Royal
Arrive July 27, 1902, 9 pm	Mount Royal	2 days, less than 7 hours
Depart July 30, 1902, 7:30 am	Hazelton
Arrive August 1, 1902 6:30 am	Hazelton	47 hours (RECORD!)
Depart July 30, 1902, 9:45 am	Mount Royal
Arrive August 1, 1902, 8:30 pm	Mount Royal	58.75 hours

She ran the Skeena from July 25, 1902 until her loss on July 6, 1907. During the time of the bitter rivalry between the Mount Royal and the Hazelton, (with even gun shots fired,) an official inquiry was held. Read about that here. In June 1907, she struck a rock in Kitselas Canyon and the swirling currents wrenched her from the ledge and she broke in two and capsized. Purser James O’Keefe of Victoria BC and 5 others were lost. See the full story here. It was only after this accident that the government installed ringbolts on the islands in Kitselas Canyon. The ringbolts survive to this day.

Her Polson Engines and Albion Works boiler were salvaged and went into the Inlander .

Name, Reg	Tonnage	Len x Wid x Draft	NHP	Engines	Passengers	Info
Mount Royal, C-111778	471.03	132.0×28.4×4.8	13	16×72	200	u/k

Captains:
Stuart B Johnson

Purser:
James O’Keefe

Ships Registry for the Mount Royal courtesy Library and Archives Canada:

The article below on the S. S. Mount Royal is re-produced here for easier reading.

S. S. Mount Royal unloading passengers and belongings. I believe this might be when Mount Royal made the only trip I have found past Hazelton and up to Kispiox. I believe most of the passengers were returning from the Cannery season and had all there possessions with them. Courtesy Bulkley Valley Museum.

*S. S. Mount Royal near Kitselas Canyon Courtesy Harris fonds 1907 and the Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives.*

S. S. Mount Royal loading a horse. Like most sternwheelers with the shallow draft they could nose up to a gravel bar, keep the stern in enough water and load freight, wood or anything else required along the river. Courtesy BC Archives

*S. S. Mount Royal on the Skeena River and flying the American flag. Probably celebrating the 4th of July which was not uncommon in those days on the Skeena Courtesy BC Archives*

Sources:

Armstrong, Cliff Sternwheelers on the Skeena , 2001