Dirk and Scabbard
Maritime Museum of BC, 0072 A naval midshipman's dirk and scabbard. A dirk is a type of bladed weapon, quite similar to a dagger or sword. It's kind of in between the two. For a naval midshipman, it would have been more of a ceremonial object. The scabbard is used to...
Joseph Banks’ Globe
Joseph Banks' Globe This is a beautifully detailed globe from 1807, which was made for the Royal Society in London and dedicated to Sir Joseph Banks, its president. Banks was a botanist on Captain Cook’s first voyage, and we can actually see Cook’s journeys...
MV Queen of the North Life Preserver
MV Queen of the North Life Preserver This life preserver is not from the actual wreck of the Queen of the North. It was donated by BC Ferries likely earlier in Queen of the North’s career. She ran aground and sank in 2006 on Gil Island in Wright Sound, near a small...
Barograph
Maritime Museum of BC, 2019.010.0001 Here is an antique working barograph, known as “The Prip.” This was used by sailors to help chart changes in atmospheric pressure.This would help them avoid storms, and know when storms were coming. Connected to a...
Shell Fragment
Maritime Museum of BC, 2020.R.0001 This shell fragment is from the attack on Estevan Lighthouse. The lighthouse came in to service in 1910, and in June 1942 the Japanese submarine, I-26, attacked. Over 20 shells like this one were fired over the course of 40 minutes....
Tilikum Artwork
Maritime Museum of BC, 986.027.0001-0002, 001.018.0001 It is hard to show visitors the Tilikum these days in its current storage facility. You can, on the other hand, view many pieces of Tilikum artwork online. This large piece (001.018.0001) was donated to the museum...
Spanish Armada Chair
Maritime Museum of BC, 989.246.0001 This chair was built in 1962, and is said to be from the wood of Almirante di Florencia, a galleon in the Spanish Armada. The Spanish Armada was famous fleet of Spanish vessels that tried to invade England in 1588. They were...
Chart of Newfoundland and Labrador
Maritime Museum of BC, 3153 This item is a Photostat copy of a 1775 map of Newfoundland and Labrador. This map was recorded from surveys done by Captain James Cook, the famed British Naval Captain and Navigator. Surveying is a scientific measurement of features of...
Foghorn Bellows
Maritime Museum of BC, 984.007.0001 Foghorns are a very useful tool, and navigational aid in foggy conditions. They can help avoid other vessels or a rocky shoreline. Old precursors to foghorns include bells, or gongs, or even the periodic firing of a cannon. All of...
Walking Stick Rifle
This object might make you think you’re in a James Bond or Sherlock Holmes story. Cane guns were popular, albeit very expensive, status symbols of the wealthy Victorian gentleman. Ordinary walking sticks were fashionable outdoor accessories for upper-class, and rising...