SS ''Okanagan'' was a steamship owned and operated by the

Canadian Pacific Railway Lake and River Service The Canadian Pacific River Lake and River Service, also known as the British Columbia Lake and River Service, was a division of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) which began operating passenger and cargo shipping routes along British Columbia's inl ...

. The vessel was constructed in 1906 at

Okanagan Landing Okanagan Landing was an unincorporated settlement and steamboat port at the north end of Okanagan Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Located southwest of the city of Vernon, it was the terminus station for the Shuswap and Okanaga ...

and launched in 1907, becoming

Okanagan Lake Okanagan Lake ( oka, kɬúsx̌nítkw) is a lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The lake is long, between wide, and has a surface area of 348 km2 (135 sq. mi.). Hydrography Okanagan Lake is called a fjord lake as i ...

's second steamship (after the SS ''Aberdeen''). She linked the transportation hubs at both the north and south ends of Okanagan Lake ( Vernon and Penticton, respectively, aiding the development of interior British Columbia with other steamships of the 1900s. The ship was retired in 1934 and sold for scrap and spare parts. Only the Stern Saloon, a room in the back of the upper deck, remains. It was moved to the SS ''Sicamous'' Heritage Park in Penticton in 2002, to undergo restoration work.

Commission and construction

The SS ''Okanagan'' was commissioned by the Canadian Pacific Railway company in 1906 to replace the aging SS ''Aberdeen'', the first steamer on Okanagan Lake, and link communities along the lake to facilitate trade and transportation in the Okanagan Valley. A similar ship named ''Kuskanook'' was built in 1906 for

Kootenay Lake Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s–70s, has changed th ...

to aid '' Moyie'' with increasing passenger demand. The construction of ''Okanagan'' freed ''Aberdeen'' to transport freight. Construction began in the spring of 1906 at Okanagan Landing with James Bulger as master ship builder. The steel hull was built first, and the wooden interior was constructed after. Lightweight wood was chosen for the carpentry work as it would reduce the overall weight of the ship, allowing for greater loads of freight. The low strength of the lighter wood was remedied through the use of haug posts, large cross-laminate timber beams essential in maintaining the structural integrity of the ship, anchored in the steel hull. The keel was laid on July 10. Although the work was not completely finished, the ship was launched on April 16, 1907: "A special train brought guests to the Landing for launching ceremonies...the beautiful boat then floated out on the bosom of Okanagan Lake as graceful as a swan." Mrs. Gore, wife of Captain Gore, manager of the British Columbia Lake and River Service in the early 1900s, named the ship after

and the couple hosted a ball in the evening among other festivities.

Design

The Canadian Pacific Lake and River Service preferred to use stern wheelers for transportation on Okanagan Lake because of their rugged nature and ease of maintenance. The flexibility of the stern wheeler was also well-respected at the time because it allowed the vessel to work in waters where propeller or screw-driven vessels could not. The Canadian Pacific Lake and River Service operated many steam vessels from the late 1800s to mid-1930s and relied on proven designs, with a preference for more rugged and durable vessels. However, the infrastructure and machinery required to service the more modern ships were unavailable in the interior of British Columbia, requiring all new ships to be built using older techniques and designs. As such, these stern wheelers, despite being well-suited to the varying Okanagan conditions, seemed rather modest when compared to the more contemporary boat designs. ''Okanagan'' was designed under a similar style to its successful predecessor, SS ''Rossland''. With a length of , width of , hull depth of , and gross tonnage of 1,008 tons, ''Okanagan'' was slightly larger than ''Rossland''. The hull was formed into a deep lake boat pattern, allowing the ship to reach speeds not possible for a riverboat of similar proportions. The ship was designed with an eye for elegance, resulting in a graceful silhouette that lacked the boxy or top-heavy look privy to many other vessels. The layout was similar to other Canadian Pacific vessels, with three main decks (bottom-most for freight, machinery and crew's quarters, upper-most decks reserved for passenger travel and comfort with sitting rooms, galleries, observation decks, a dining hall and saloons). ''Okanagan'' boasted five dining room tables, with seating for up to thirty guests at a time, along with thirty-two staterooms and a total passenger capacity of four hundred. Mechanically speaking, ''Okanagan'' was of typical design. A large boiler provided the steam necessary to power each engine and run the on-board dynamo. The boiler itself was coal-fired and, like other boilers of its time, was certified to provide steam pressure up to . This steam was transmitted to the rear of the ship (by means of a bulkhead) where the engines drove the paddle wheel, after which the excess steam would be condensed back to its original liquid state and returned to the boiler by the jet condenser.

Service

The SS ''Okanagan'' served the communities of the Okanagan for 27 years, from 1907–1934. She was faster, larger, and more luxurious than ''Aberdeen'', greatly improving the service around Okanagan Lake. She provided daily passenger service with stops at

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

, Peachland, Summerland and Penticton while ''Aberdeen'' took care of freight and smaller communities three times a week. This helped the rapid development in population, agriculture, and economy of the Okanagan that was taking place during this time. She was greatly appreciated by the communities she served, during and after her service. ''The Okanagan Semi-Weekly'', a newspaper, reported soon after the launching: "The new CPR steamer ''Okanagan'' made a distance of 65 miles in three hours and fifteen minutes, or at the rate of over 21 miles per hour. She's a greyhound...." ''Okanagan'' and ''Kuskanook'' were also called two of the most beautiful lake and river steamers in western North America.

Murder

Constable Aston of Penticton was shot and killed on the SS ''Okanagan'' in 1912. The case began when Walter Poelke, going under the name of Walter Byde James, held up a store in a small community named

Okanagan Mission Father Pandosy Mission, also known as the Okanagan Mission, was the original home for Father Pandosy in Kelowna, British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pa ...

. There were only $15 in the store at the time, with which he fled to the city of Penticton, two days to the south on foot, meeting up with an accomplice named Frank Wilson on the way. They were arrested in a hotel by Chief Roche and Constable Aston, who found and confiscated several weapons and 200 rounds of ammunition on James. James and Wilson were put on the SS ''Okanagan'' to be transported to Kelowna, escorted by Constable Aston. However, the police had not found a pistol during the initial search, with which James shot Constable Aston before ''Okanagan'' arrived at Peachland. James and Wilson escaped by getting off the ship at Peachland. When Constable Aston and the escape were discovered, 200 armed men from all over the valley hunted for them until two special constables found and arrested them at Wilson's Landing, a community north of Kelowna. They were put under heavy guard and ''Okanagan'' took them to jail in Kelowna, where they were later transferred to jail in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

and tried for the murder of Constable Aston. Wilson claimed to be an unwilling partner in the affair and turned King's Evidence. James' trial was held on May 12, 1912 in Vernon, where the jury found him guilty of "a most cold-blooded and atrocious murder." On Friday, August 9, 1912, Walter James Poelke, 24 years of age, was hanged at Kamloops for the willful murder of Constable G. H. Aston.

Retirement and restoration

The steamboat era came to a close in the 1930s–1940s due to technological advancement and other forms of transportation. With the construction of highways and railways, passenger service by boat was no longer needed and ''Okanagan'' spent her last years transporting freight and pushing barges. She was retired in 1934 and sold in 1938 to be dismantled for scrap and spare parts. However, the SS ''Sicamous'' Restoration Society, a "charity...dedicated to protecting the Marine Heritage of the Okanagan," found her Stern Saloon being used as a beach hut and moved it to the SS ''Sicamous'' Heritage Park in Penticton in 2002 to undergo restoration. Also in the park are the SS ''Sicamous'', SS ''Naramata'', and ''Canadian National Tug #6''.

References