Section XII : the building of the Esquimalt naval drydock

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dc.contributor.authorBaker, Michael Alanen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-13T00:05:44Z
dc.date.available2024-08-13T00:05:44Z
dc.date.copyright2001en_US
dc.date.issued2001
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of History
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en
dc.description.abstractEarly in the history of the colony of "Vancouver's Island," the idea of building a drydock to facilitate the repair of the vessels which carried all cargo and passengers to and from Victoria and neighbouring settlements arose. The development of Esquimalt as headquarters of the Royal Navy's Pacific Station provided further impetus to the idea, and the project enjoyed widespread public support. Nevertheless, twenty-six years elapsed between the first public call for the dock's construction in 1861 and its opening in 1887. This thesis examines the motivations for the construction of the first Esquimalt drydock and the reasons for the delay in its building, and evaluates its benefits. By drawing on archival records from the different governments involved, the Royal Navy and some of the individual participants, as well as from the newspapers of the time and published sources, this thesis sheds light upon an important piece of early British Columbian and Canadian history. This is a story previously overshadowed by the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and deserving of its place in our historical consciousness. The impetus for the graving dock's construction lay in both commercial and defensive considerations, while the causes of the delay revolved mainly around who would pay for it and how. Within the constraints of the information available, this study documents the importance and beneficial effect of the Esquimalt graving dock both to those who proposed it and built it, and to those who have continued to use it for nearly 114 years.
dc.format.extent119 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/17059
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.titleSection XII : the building of the Esquimalt naval drydocken_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.