Come visit us at Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site
Located in Richmond, BC, Canada
What is Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site?
"The Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site is a living history museum. In 1878 Marshall English established a fish camp with a wharf and buildings on this site transporting the fish to New Westminster. In 1883 he built the first Steveston cannery, the Phoenix, to the west of the fish camp Until then the only dock for the paddle-wheeler Enterprise was the fish camp wharf. In 1889 three more canneries were built, the Garry Point Cannery, the Beaver Cannery at the foot of Number One Road, and the Britannia Cannery constructed by Duncan and Batchelor east of the Phoenix site, and purchased by Henry Ogle Bell-Irving."
— Harold Steves – Chair of our Society, head historian and past Richmond Councillor
Our History
"After the ship offloaded in Vancouver, Bell-Irving contracted the Hudson's Bay Company clipper ship Titania to dock atck at Britannia for its return trip to the UK with the first trans-shipment of canned salmon from Steveston on September 28, 1889. When asked what cargo the Titania brought to Vancouver, Ian Bell-Irving replied, "Whiskey." By 1899 two dozen canneries had been built, and Steveston Harbour was filled with sailing ships. Steveston was the "Salmon Capital of the World"."
— Harold Steves – Chair of our Society, head historian and past Richmond Councillor
