August 12, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince Rupert, Historic & Heritage Sites
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The North Pacific Cannery in Port Edward should definitely be a must see stop on any travellers list while travelling in the Prince Rupert area. Located just a short distance outside of Prince Rupert, Port Edward is a beautiful little area with a lot of history. The cannery, which was shut down in 1980, holds a significant piece of history for the area. Fully operational during the 1900s, the cannery supplied jobs to many Chinese, Japanese and First Nations peoples, who lived in company housing right on the site with their families. In the 1950s the cannery took down two buildings and then built three brand new ones along with four great big cylinders used for fish oil extraction. The cannery housed a very substantial assembly line where the fish would come in, be clean and bones removed, gone through blades to cut them to pieces, and then eventually making their way to the final stage where they would be placed into tins and sealed for shipment. The fishing industry was a significant enterprise back then, and while it is still today in that region, the cannery was shut down. The workers would definitely have had to deal with a very strong fish smell from living and working in that area for so long. Many of the buildings today have not been as well preserved and are falling apart in some areas, but the current employees of the National Historic Site are working hard to maintain what they have remaining and to do repairs on the current site. Next time you find yourself in this area, definitely check out this National Historic Site of Canada - the North Pacific Cannery!
August 09, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince Rupert, Historic & Heritage Sites
Find more information about Prince Rupert - Historic & Heritage Sites
View a larger image on flickr.com
Northwestern BC has endless amounts of hidden gems!! One of them is the North Pacific Cannery located in Port Edward, BC. The cannery is located along the coastline and reaches out to you as if you are a part of the cannery while it was in full fledged operation in the 1900's.
The first building we walked into was one of the main canning buildings. At the front, there was a long, flat and raised slab of wood resembling a stage. This is the area where the whole fish first entered into the lengthy and strenuous canning process. Throughout the building, several other stations are shown including the cutting of the fish and the area where the final steps occur! In order to preserve some of this equipment, some of it has been painted to ensure that it can be enjoyed by future visitors.
The cannery is not only a place to immerse yourself into coastal BC history (and a large part of commercial fishing in BC), but to begin understanding the working lives of many Chinese, Japanese and First Nations people - these three nationalities being the main employees at the canneries.
I suggest a visit/guided tour to the North Pacific Cannery for people of all ages and especially for international visitors so you can get a close up of one of the main industries and its growth and development over the past century.