arine surveys are essential for navigation. Britain

A portion of
George Vancouver's 1792 chart
of the north west coast.
A portion of
Francisco Eliza's chart
of the Strait of Georgia,
1791.
arine surveys are essential for navigation. Britain established a Hydrographic Office
in 1795, the United States in 1807. Hydrography became a naval profession, and
charts were made public to facilitate international trade. Although the instruments
were rudimentary, a chronometer, sextant or theodolite for position and a sounding pole
and lead line for depth, charts of remarkable accuracy were produced.
Portrait of
Captain George Vancouver RN
(1757-1798).
Lt. Charles Wilkes, USN
(1798-1877)
Between 1838 and 1842 Wilkes led a major scientific expedition
around the world. His hydrographic surveys of the Oregon coast were
particularly fine. Retired a Rear-Admiral. A harsh disciplinarian,
he was the model for Captain Ahab in Moby Dick.
Officers of HMS Plumper
c.1860 (standing, l. to r.)
Surgeon David Lyell, Paymaster William HJ Brown,
Captain George H. Richards, Second Master Daniel Pender.
(sitting) Second Master EP Bedwell, Lieutenant.
Richard C Mayne, Mrs Richards,
Lieutenant William Moriarty.
In 1791 the Spanish explorer, Francisco Eliza, made the first survey of the Strait of Georgia,
and named the San Juan Islands; in 1792, in cooperation with Galiano and Valdes,
George Vancouver made surveys of the coast of North America, including Haro Strait;
in 1840 the American Charles Wilkes led a major naval expedition which included
detailed mapping of the west coast. However, after 1846, when the boundary was set at
the 49th parallel, there was a frenzy of mapping in Haro Strait to determine the boundary
through the San Juan Islands. The Royal Navy was represented by Captain Henry Kellett
in HMS Herald, Lieutenant James Wood in HMS Pandora, Commander James Prevost in
the sloop HMS Virago and particularly Captain George Richards in HMS Plumper and
HMS Hecate. The United States Coast Survey was led by Captain James Alden in the US
Survey Ship Active. Eventually the dispute was settled in favour of the United States.
MMBC-P553
HMS Plumper
A sloop with
screw propulsion
and eight guns,
she was designed
for survey work.
Note the small
rowboats with
crews taking
depths and the
survey marker
on the shore.
Captain James Alden,
US Navy (1810-1877).
Having served as a Midshipman on the Wilkes Expedition,
Alden knew the Pacific Northwest. Together with
George Richards RN he was a appointed a member of the
Boundary Commission to survey the San Juan Islands.
Following duty in the Civil War he retired a Rear-Admiral.
Today, from a regional office at the Institute of Ocean Sciences near Sidney,
the Canadian Hydrographic Service continues mapping the Pacific coast.
Global Positioning System technology and instruments
including Multibeam Echo Sounders result in better charts,
safer waterways and the protection of the environment.
HMS Hecate
A second class sloop with
auxiliary sidewheels and four guns,
she succeeded HMS Plumper to
continue hydrographic surveys under
the command of Captain George
Richards RN from 1860-1863.
The illustration shows her aground
at Neah Bay east of Cape Flattery from
August 15-21, 1861.
MMBC-P1029
HMS Plumper was stationed in Esquimalt Harbour
from 1856 to 1861 under the command of
Captain George H. Richards RN.
Rear-Admiral
George H. Richards,
CB, FRS.
After many years of
hydrographic survey
work around the
world, he was
appointed
Hydrographer of the
Navy, 1863-1874.
MMBC-P3314
Richard's chart of the San Juan Islands,
1859, showing the three possible boundaries.
William J Stewart, (1863-1925)
First Canadian Chief Hydrographer
1904-1925. In 1883 the Canadian
Government founded the Georgian
Bay Survey. By 1905 the Canadian
Hydrographic Service was responsible
for all marine surveys in and
around Canada.
CSS William J Stewart
Built in Collingwood, Ontario, in
1932 as a specialist surveying vessel.
Employed on the West Coast, she is
representative of the vessels of the CHS.
Presently she is preserved as a
hotel and tourist attraction
in Ucluelet, BC.
MMBC
Visit the Museum and Archives at the corner of Beacon Avenue and Fourth Street.
MMBC courtesy of the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, Victoria BC.
RBCM-ABC courtesy of Royal British Columbia Museum - Archives of BC.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia
through BC150, a Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts initiative and the
Hertitage Legacy Fund of British Columbia.