S.S. Strathcona

S. S. Strathcona was built at New Westminster BC in 1898 by the British Columbia Iron Works for the Hudson’s Bay Co. They ran her on the Stikine under Capt. George Odin. She was the sister ship to the second Caledonia built specifically for service by the Hudson’s Bay Co. on the Stikine River. She was too heavy for the Skeena. In May 1900 the Strathcona arrived down from Hazelton, which appears to be its first trip up the river. The Cunningham Diary shows no more trips until a year later in April 1901 when she only made two trips up the river. On the Skeena she was captained by Masters and Smith. As evidenced in the picture below, the Strathcona spent a lot of time on the ways at Port Simpson due to high operating costs and lack of freight for Telegraph Creek.

For a while she ran up the Fraser River providing transport of people and goods. In December 1909 she hit a snag and sank, was raised and beached with the intention of being repaired. It appears she never sailed again and was eventually stripped on one of the Gulf Islands.