''Victoria'' was a passenger and freight

sternwheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...

that was built for service on the

Soda Creek Soda Creek is a rural subdivision 38 km north of Williams Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Located on the east bank of the Fraser River, Soda Creek was originally the home of the Xat'sull First Nation. Soda Creek Indian Reserve No. 1 is ...

Quesnel Quesnel or Quesnell means "little oak" in the Picard dialect of French. It is used as a proper name and may refer to: Places * Le Quesnel, a commune the Somme department in France * Quesnel, British Columbia, a city in British Columbia, Canada ...

route on the upper

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. She was built at Quesnel by pioneer shipbuilder James Trahey of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

for Gustavus Blin-Wright and Captain Thomas Wright and was put into service in the spring of 1869 to augment the service of also built by Trahey for the Wrights. Although the ''Victoria''s hull was new, her engines and boiler had originally been in the ''Prince of Wales'' from

Lillooet Lake Lillooet Lake is a lake in British Columbia, Canada about 25 km in length and about 33.5 square kilometres (22 mi²) in area. It is about 95 km downstream from the source of the Lillooet River, which resumes its course after leavi ...

. The ''Victoria'' was the second of twelve sternwheelers that would work on this section of the Fraser River. She was larger than the ''Enterprise'' and more powerful. The two steamers worked together for only three years, when in 1871, the ''Enterprise'' was taken up to Takla Landing and abandoned on

Trembleur Lake Trembleur Lake is a lake in the Omineca Country of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, northwest of Fort St. James between Stuart Lake and the south end of Takla Lake. It is part of the Nechako Lakes. Its name in the Dakelh langu ...

. The ''Victoria'' would work alone on the Soda Creek to Quesnel route for fifteen more years until 1886.

The route

The

was not considered navigable by sternwheeler between

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

and Soda Creek due to many hazardous canyons and rapids. The last obstacle to navigation was just downriver from Soda Creek, the

Soda Creek Canyon Soda or SODA may refer to: Chemistry * Some chemical compounds containing sodium ** Sodium carbonate, washing soda or soda ash ** Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda ** Sodium hydroxide, caustic soda ** Sodium oxide, an alkali metal oxide * Sod ...

, so the terminus of river navigation on the upper Fraser River was located at Soda Creek. From there a steamer could travel with no obstructions to Quesnel where a stage road ran to

Barkerville Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...

. The stages of

Barnard's Express Barnard's Express, later known as the British Columbia Express Company or BX, was a pioneer transportation company that served the Cariboo and Fraser-Fort George regions in British Columbia, Canada from 1861 until 1921. The company's beginnings ...

would travel on the

Cariboo Road The Cariboo Road (also called the Cariboo Wagon Road, the Great North Road or the Queen's Highway) was a project initiated in 1860 by the Governor of the Colony of British Columbia, James Douglas. It involved a feat of engineering stretching fro ...

up from Yale and connect with the Victoria at Soda Creek, a distance of . Passengers and freight would then be transferred onto the sternwheeler and travel upriver to Quesnel. Once there they would be transferred to company stages again to Barkerville for the last . ''Victoria'' made this trip three times a week, from May to October, from 1869 until 1886. She would be taken out of the river and berthed at Steamboat Landing near

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in the fall of 1886. With her departure the upper Fraser River would be without steamer service until 1906.

Notes

References and further reading

* * * {{Steamboats British Columbia Paddle steamers of British Columbia 1869 ships

The route

See also

Notes

References and further reading