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The Columbia Coast Mission Hospital Ships

A Look Back into the History of the Campbell River Area
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The Didriksen Family gathers on the deck of the Columbia for a photo in Shawl Bay, Kingcome Inlet c. 1960. (MCR 11710)

As the seasons begin to shift, and the final snows melt, we start making plans for the spring and summer months.

For many of us, better weather means getting back out on the water. We are so used to getting around by car, or plane nowadays that we forget that the waterways were the original highways of this area, connecting communities and ferrying supplies all up and down the coast.

Everyone travelled by boat, whether it was a small rowboat, a large steamship, and everything in between. There were two entities in particular that became synonymous with coastal living for the services they provided to the remote communities and logging camps that could be found in every bay and inlet. One was the Union Steamships, which we have written about before, and the other was the Columbia Coast Mission Hospital Ships.

In 1904, the Reverend John Antle, on a trip to some of the remote logging camps upcoast, recognized a need for immediate medical help for those injured on the job far from major centres. With the support of the Anglican Church and the loggers themselves, he established the Columbia Coast Mission in 1905, with its first Hospital Ship, the Columbia. The mission also established three hospitals on the coast over time, the first was in Rock Bay in 1905. The ship was staffed with both a doctor and a nurse in addition to the Reverend. Prior to this service, injured people would either have to make their own way, or wait for the weekly Union Steamship service to ferry them to Vancouver (the closest hospital), many died while waiting or enroute.

The mission fleet of ships expanded over time and the services they provided expanded as well. Not only medical and religious services, but also dental and social. Ships were equipped with circulating libraries, hosted film screenings, the reverends performed marriages, baptisms and funerals, in addition to Sunday church services, and the newsletter, “The Log” kept everyone up to date on the latest news and happenings of the other remote coastal communities.

“The Columbia is Coming!” was an oft celebrated refrain and became the title of the book of its history, written by Doris Anderson.

With the rise of floatplane services to remote logging camps, and the shift of people towards urban centres after the dissolution of the Union Steamships, the mission ships slowly lost their utility. The Columbia, however, still lives on!

The Columbia III, the last of the hospital ships, launched in 1956, still operates on the coast, although no longer as a hospital ship. It was refurbished and restored in the 1990s and today continues to ply its original routes, bringing visitors to the same remote communities it serviced in its heyday. You will often see it docked down in Campbell River, with its distinctive green trim.

The Museum has partnered for many years with local whale watching companies to take locals and visitors out into our local waters to share some of the fascinating history of these areas. These short day trips are a great opportunity to hear some great stories, see some fantastic wildlife and spend an afternoon out on the water, in amongst the maze of islands.

Another great way to see the coast, if you want to take more time, is on the Columbia III through Mothership Adventures. They offer multi-day history tours in partnership with the Museum, with great food, great stories, and opportunities to get on shore to hear the stories right where they happened.

A Look Back into the History of the Campbell River Area is a monthly presentation of the Museum at Campbell River and the Campbell River Mirror.

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The modern day version of Columbia III is operated by Mothership Adventures and provides cruises around local islands. Museum at Campbell River photo