News Release
(Victoria, BC) For John MacFarlane, distinguished marine historian and West Coast author, this week marks a great exhale.
His legacy project is secure for future generations: Nauticapedia, his landmark virtual encyclopedia of nautical history, now has a permanent home in the Maritime Museum of BC (MMBC)’s digital collection.
It is the largest, most significant gift in the Victoria museum’s 70-year history.
“As a maritime museum, our collection and archive are our beating heart and at the centre of everything we do,” said Wendy Moreton, President of the MMBC, “Nauticapedia is John’s life’s work. It has always been about and for the maritime community at large, and we are honoured to welcome it home to the Maritime Museum of BC.”
MacFarlane’s gift complements the MMBC’s physical collection of artifacts, images and documents by providing accurate information on the ships, boats and people who are the heart and spirit of British Columbia’s nautical heritage.
Sponsors Robert Allan Ltd. and Philbrook’s Boatyard Ltd. have signed on to support the ongoing work of keeping Nauticapedia accessible. A heritage vessel registry is planned as an addition to Nauticapedia in the future.
Moreton adds: “This is one of the largest digital collections held by a maritime museum anywhere in the world and is one of the several large initiatives of our rapidly advancing museum—it’s a big step forward for the MMBC. Our research capacity for exhibits and programs expands hugely, as does our ability to respond to researchers around the world.”
50 Years of Preserving Marine Heritage
Founder MacFarlane, speaking from his home and longtime Nauticapedia headquarters in Qualicum Beach notes: “After working on this project for over 50 years to create this enormous resource, I am so pleased and proud to put it in the safe hands of the Maritime Museum of BC. They will ensure Nauticapedia’s continued development, and its continued availability to the public for many decades to come.”
Nauticapedia is more than a historian’s passion project; it is a comprehensive virtual museum and the go-to community resource for marine history in western North America. It combines searchable biography and vessel databases, along with extensive articles, reference tables, and image galleries. Databases are continually enlarged and expanded. The materials have word-wide resonance and engagement; the website gets 4 million website hits a year from 130 countries.
Its databases include:
- 95,509 vessels with specifications and histories
- 16,548 images of vessels and individuals
- 14,407 records of shipwrecks and disasters
- 58,599 biographies of mariners and naval personnel
- 350,000 names of individuals associated with vessels
For many vessels built in BC over the past 150 years, their Nauticapedia entry is their only public record. Preserving these histories digitally brings incredible marine stories to light that would otherwise be lost. An accessibly digital resource is often the best starting point for family historians, researchers, ship watchers, and genealogists. Digital visitors casually interested in the maritime and naval history and heritage of British Columbia can browse tens of thousands of unique entries.
MacFarlane is often asked what Nauticapedia is worth but suggests that no monetary value can capture the scope of this unique digital resource: “I insist it is truly priceless. The cost of recreating this collection, if it was started from scratch today, is also incalculable. Over the past 250 years or so since European contact with First Nations on this coast, more than half a million people have had close links to the nautical and maritime history of British Columbia–these people represent every ethnic group imaginable, every part of the province and elsewhere, public of every political affiliation, every personal orientation, every economic or demographic category. Our nautical history is central to the colonial development of an ocean-facing province, and touches the lives of every British Columbian, past and present.”
Access to accurate information and research materials is complicated by geography. Materials are spread across numerous museums and archives throughout Canada, and in the contents of myriad books and documents. Nauticapedia consolidates information in one authoritative location that any member of the public anywhere in the world can freely access.
I cannot think of a better recipient for this gift of such an important digital collection anywhere else, “said MacFarlane, “I will continue to add more information and stories in it for the MMBC for some years to come.”
The Maritime Museum of BC at 744 Douglas Street, Victoria BC. Photo courtesy of James Holkko.
A New Digital Dimension for the MMBC
The MMBC holds Victoria’s largest collection of maritime heritage, including over 40,000 objects, 12,000 archival photos, 35,000 ship’s plans, models, and much more. In pursuit of a permanent location on the waterfront with the Future of History project, the museum maintains a storefront gallery at 744 Douglas Street and a specialized storage facility in Saanich for its collection. As Nauticapedia’s permanent home, the MMBC continues its mission as the custodian of BC’s maritime heritage.
This new commitment to preserving a vast digital collection enables the MMBC to significantly broaden its geographic reach by providing digital access for the public: locally, nationally, and internationally.
Moreton anticipates great public interest in the digital collection and Nauticapedia: “We accept this landmark donation to our digital archive on behalf of all Canadians. The hundreds of thousands of stories and data sets maintained on Nauticapedia evoke shared memories that echo into the present.”
Alongside local business and community sponsorship, individual donors are encouraged to commit their support for this landmark digital marine heritage project. Interested supporters can earmark their gift specifically for Nauticapedia at https://mmbc.kindful.com/.
Robert G. Allan, P.Eng. (Ret), executive chairman of Robert Allan Ltd., outlined the company’s case for support for the project, especially the planned heritage vessel registry: “a formal registry of historic vessels recognizes and celebrates the important ships and boats that have helped develop a region or country. It acknowledges the work and accomplishments of the people who build and operate these ships carrying goods and services to coastal centres of our economy.”
About John MacFarlane
Through his quarter century of work, MacFarlane has realized a dream dating back to 1976: to highlight the defining stories of British Columbia’s maritime heritage. He was born into maritime traditions on the coast—as outlined in a 2012 article on Nauticapedia, he was baptized under the ship’s bell at HMCS Cataraqui in 1948. He is the scion of three generations of Pacific coast tug boaters and naval officers.
MacFarlane worked with Parks Canada from 1969 to 1986 and has been involved with interpreting and protecting heritage ever since. Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, (London, UK) in 1994, he is the author of 15 books and countless articles on nautical history. He served as Director of the Maritime Museum of BC from 1989 to 1993. Appointed in 1994 as Curator Emeritus, he continues to contribute to the collections, exhibits, and research at the MMBC up to the present. He resides in Qualicum, BC with his wife Catherine.
Nauticapedia went online in 1993, but MacFarlane began collecting marine data and materials twenty years earlier in 1973. Over the years, MacFarlane has worked with many volunteer collaborators on various aspects of the project: contributor Mike Rydqvist McCammon, IT adviser John Eyre, and contributor and fact checker John Spivey.
Project Sponsors
Sponsors Philbrook’s Boat Yard Ltd. and Robert Allan Ltd.
Info for the Public
To access Nauticapedia: https://www.nauticapedia.ca/
To plan your visit to the Maritime Museum of BC: https://mmbc.bc.ca/visit/
Location: 744 Douglas Street, Victoria BC
Hours: seven days per week, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
-30 –
For further information, please contact:
Brittany Vis
Executive Director
The Maritime Museum of BC
250-900-8939
bvis@mmbc.bc.ca
Preserve maritime heritage, digitally!
Support Nauticapedia at the Maritime Museum of BC today. Nauticapedia donors ensure that site infrastructure and upgrades future-proof this one-of-a-kind digital collection.
