Darn it! Our Maritime Make And Mend Culture

Featured Exhibit

November 8, 2022 – April 1, 2023

Hours stretched on like the endless open sea with nothing to stave off the boredom. And there it was! A solution to the problem: a tear in a shirt, a hole in a net, a spare piece of cloth that could be turned into something more.
Life at sea meant long periods of isolation with no one to rely on but those on board. Necessity bred both ingenuity and creativity; the skills that kept sailors alive could also keep them entertained. Out of this rose a culture of making new from old and mending what
they had. Everything that was used could be repaired and reused. Scraps could be carved or embroidered,
repurposed into art to be brought home to a loved one.
Visit the Maritime Museum of BC to discover just what can be done with a humble object, time, and a skilled pair of hands. Maybe you’ll even discover a new technique to repair something of your own.

Detail Beyond Measure: Models, Half Hulls, and Name Plates from the Maritime Museum of BC’s Collection

Permanent Exhibit

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Company completed the first transcontinental railroad across Canada in 1885, physically linking Canada’s colonial centres in the east with its relatively undeveloped colonial west. Shortly afterward, CPR was operating fleets of transpacific and transatlantic steamships, transporting people, cargo, and mail across the oceans. On British Columbia’s coast, the Steamship Terminal in Victoria’s inner harbour became the main hub for steamship transportation, and ultimately became known as the “gateway to Western Canada”. At the height of the Steamship era, luxurious Prince, Princess and Empress steamship lines dominated the BC’s coast and their influence can still be seen in the province today.