Echoes of a Maritime Past
Images from the Britannia Shipyards in Steveston, British Columbia
The Britannia Shipyards are located on the Fraser River in Steveston, Richmond, British Columbia. The main building was originally constructed in 1889 as the Britannia Cannery. By 1900, it was one of fifteen canneries operating along the Cannery Channel of the Fraser River, part of a bustling hub that included dozens of structures dedicated to canning, fishing, and boatbuilding.
As the fishing industry flourished, Steveston became a melting pot of immigrant communities, whose arrival displaced the region’s First Nations peoples. Early salmon canning operations relied on a diverse labour force, though work was often segregated by ethnicity. Jobs such as foremen, mechanics, and administrative roles were reserved for those of European descent, while Indigenous, Chinese, and Japanese labourers worked on physically demanding tasks on the processing lines.
First Nations people played a significant role in the early days of the industry. The men fished for the canneries, while the women worked inside, processing the salmon. By the late 1800s, Chinese immigrants – numbering about 1,000 – were integral to cannery operations. Around the same time, Japanese fishermen began settling in Steveston, and by the 1930s, the Japanese community had grown to approximately 3,500, with many families involved in the fishing industry.
However, the prosperity of the canneries was not to last. Beginning in 1901, salmon output along the Fraser River district began to decline due to overfishing and increased competition from other regions. In 1917-18, the Britannia Cannery was repurposed into a shipyard and maritime repair facility for fishing boats. By the 1930s, additional boatbuilding facilities were established on the site, marking a new chapter in its history.
During the August 2024, I created this portfolio of photographs of the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site, seeking to capture and evoke its essence through a blend of realism and abstraction. The images weave together the juxtaposed beauty of weathered wood, broken machinery, and pre-war engineering paraphernalia, offering glimpses into a past era. Through the lens, the shipyards come alive with the voices of labourers and fishermen, and the ghosts of a maritime past.
In each image I seek to invite viewers to step into a world suspended in time, where objects tell stories and history lingers in every shadow. Allow your mind to drift, wondering about the lives of those who toiled here - immigrants who arrived with dreams of prosperity, their hands shaping a future in this new land. Through these images, the shipyards become a canvas for their aspirations, resilience, and the quiet dignity of their work. Rusted chains, empty nets, and abandoned buildings stand as monuments to their stories, while the surroundings seem to carry whispers of their voices, echoing across time.
I hope that this collection is not just a visual journey but an emotional one, connecting you the humanity of those who lived, laboured, and dreamed on these shores. It’s an homage to the enduring spirit of a community.
These photographs were taken in August 2024 with a Nikon Z8.
