Nigei Island to Namu
The generators on the Curve of
Time came on early this morning - 5:30 am. Jan wanted to get us into
the inside passage while the ocean was calm and thankfully we didn't have
to get up to make it happen! I slept though the first few hours of
the trip but rose to see a large boat passing us - the Alaska State ferry
motor vehicle Matanuska. Our goal for today was Namu - a small town
on the BC coast. The Namu town site was stated with a salmon cannery
in 1893 and developed into an important community. Located mid way
between the north end of Vancouver Island and Bella Coola on the mid
coast, it was a central location to supply fish boats, process fish and shipping
out cans and fish oil to market.
Namu really is dwarfed by it's environment. Namu is perched on the
ocean's edge with forested hills behind it and small islands obscuring it.
As Jan brought the boat in we could see the community and start to see how
large the community once used to be - perhaps 600 people at it's peak.
The
BC Archives have a
neat shot of the Fish Cannery in Namu from an "Aeroplane". The 1:50,000
view on the topography maps also gives you an idea of how things fit together.
Title:
AERIAL OF THE FISH CANNERY AT NAMU
Photographer/Artist: UNDETERMINED
Date:
[194-]
|
 |
But what most people
will know the name Namu from is the whale that was captured close to the
town and eventually displayed in Seattle. The National Geographic wrote
up an article on the story in the March 1966 issue (page 418-446).
In June 1965, William Lechkobit and Robert McGarvey caught the whale in a
floating salmon net that drifted close to shore. He was sold for $8000
dollars to the Seattle Public Aquarium but it ultimatly cost $60,000 dollars
to get the whale the 450 miles to Seattle. Namu was the first orca
to survived in captivity for long enough for a signifigant public show.
The first thing you notice about Namu is the decay. The fish processing
facilities were closed in the 1990's and the town itself now has 6 full time
residents and many visitors. The buildings on the pilings are showing
decay - some have collapsed, others have plants growing out of them.
But Namu is still very much alive. After getting over the decay of
the fish processing plants, you start to look for signs of active life.
The most obvious sign is the sport fishing industry. While we were there,
there were three small fishing boats in the harbour and a few Halibut were
being cleaned. While Namu no longer sells food, you can buy gas and
drop of your recyclables.
Tammy, one of the caretakers met us when we landed and offered to give
us a tour of the standing buildings. Our first stop was the general
administration build. The building used to be the bank, the post office,
the hair dressing studio and had telephones. Now the administration
holds a ping pong table, a large safe and a recreation room.
Namu Fire Department
Walking towards the general store,
we passed the Namu Fire Department. At first it seems a little funny,
but Namu was almost wiped out by a fire in January 1962 that destroyed large
parts of the fish processing facilities. The buildings were rebuilt,
but a fire could still do a lot of damage. These fire fighting tools
look old but for the modes of transport available, I'm sure they are well
adapted.
Namu General Store
The Namu general store would have been the center of activity when this community
was running. Approximately half of the building (which is as large
as any grocery store you find on the Gulf Islands) was dedicated to boat
parts and equipment. The other half sold groceries and caned goods
for days or weeks at sea. There is even a magazine rack with out of
date magazines on it. Almost all the equipment necessary to run a store
is present - there just aren't any customers.
The Hotel in Namu
Leaving the main plant area you come to a hotel. There used to be
a board walk around the harbour but the pilings are giving way so a path
around the back has been cut. The hotel is in bad shape - a leaking
roof and broken windows are letting water in and plants are aggressively trying
to take over the lot. We walked through some of the building but I'm
not sure how much longer it will be standing. Further along you can
see buildings that would have been the recreation facility (with an indoor
basketball court apparently) and a school but the wildlife makes access difficult.
We came back to the ship for dinner but I left for one last walk around
the town. Seeing the buildings at night with the lights on, it seems
like everyone has just gone on vacation - perhaps they will be back soon!
Next: Spider Anchorage
John Harvey Photo > Map of the North Western North America > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Nigei Island to Namu
John Harvey Photo > John's Overnight Page > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Nigei Island to Namu
John Harvey Photo > Map of the North Western North America > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Hanson Island to Nigeil Island > Nigei Island to Namu
John Harvey Photo > John's Overnight Page > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Hanson Island to Nigeil Island > Nigei Island to Namu
My family lived there when I was a child. It was a great place to live. My parents and numerous relatives were employeed in the canary and the netloft. At that time the village was segrated into 3 areas. Actually 4 areas.
There was the "Indian village, White side, Japtown and what we called Tunaville."
I have fond memories of the place. I only hope that someone could create pictures of the old village. I have the memories and sadly no ability to create the images.
Fred Martin
Sunday, August 26th, 2007 at 22:10:37
Hi
I am trying to get to Hakai Marine Park, Calvert Island. The BC Feries do not do kayak wet launches till June 10. I need to get there earlier. Can you help me with any suggestion? Thanks.
Ridge Explorations LLC
Donald Langlois
52231 SE 496th Pl.
Greenwater, WA 98022
360-663-2344 drlang@tx3.net
http://www.avalancheeducation.com
www.RidgeExplorations.com
Don Langlois
Monday, April 14th, 2008 at 11:21:46
Last Modified Tuesday, January 1st, 2008 at 15:49:19 Edit
Copyright and Contact Information.
