Wednesday. December 30, 1992 - North Shore News -

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yeath of a Shipyard

NvV’s once mighty Burrard Dry Dock closes its doors permanently

TODAY MARKS the final chapter of a North Shore ship-
building story that Alfred Wallace began writing 88 years
ago when he purchased property on the Lower Lonsdale

waterfront.

During that time, the shipyard
that originally bore Wallace’s
name mirrored the boom and bust
cycle of B.C.'s shipbuilding in-
dustry.

The current incarnation of
Wallace’s company, Yarrows
Utd., fell victim to severe financial
difficulties brought on primarily
by the cancellation in 1990 of the
$500 million Polar Class 8
icebreaker contract and a depress-
ed worldwide shipbuilding market.

In its peak years, Yarrows’
North Shore yard employed over
20,000 workers.

When the yard’s clock is pun-
ched for the last time today fewer
than 10 workers will turn out the
lights.

They will leave to memory and
ghosts the colorful and significant
history of Wallace’s dream.

WALLACE SHIPYARDS

A brief history of the shipyard
that was once the largest on the
B.C. coast:

@ 1904: Wallace buys the ;roper-
ty (or a shipyard.

@ Sept., 1906: Wallace Shipyards
opens its doors for overation on
the North Shore.

@ 1907: First registered  \<ssel
built in yard, the scow V.T.1.[.,
is completed.

@ 1909: Operation of a 1,600-10n
marine railway begins in the yard.
@ 1910; The North Vancou+er
**Ferry No. 3°" built.

@ 1911: Wallace secures the coi-
tract for completing the
superstructure, cabins and genera!
fitting for the Union Steamship’s
Cheslakee,

e@ July it, 1911: Fire sweeps
through the shipyard, destroying
everything. The yard was quickly
rebuilt.

@ 1915: Wallce Shipyards begins
manovfacturing shell casings for
use in the First World War in
Europe.

@ June 15, 1916: The keel of the
schooner Mabe! Brown, the first
wooden ship built by Wallace. is
laid.

@ Avg. 1916: The keel of War
Dog, the first steel ship built by
Wallace, is laid.

@ June 27, 1917: Mabel Brown is
launched.

@ May 17, 1917: Mad Dog laun-
ched.

@ Oct. 6, 1921: Wallace shipyards
changes name to Burrard Dry
Dock Co. Lid.

@ 1925: Completed drydock put
into service.

@ 1938: The HMCS Comox
minesweeper is built.

WARTIME ACTION

@ 1940: Burrard converts SS
Prince Robert into an auxiliary
cruiser for wartime actica.

@ 1940-41: Six minesweepers and
four corvettes are built at Burrard
yard. North Vancouver yard is
tripled in size due to wartime con-
struction.
@ January
first contract
vessel.

@ 1941-46: Burrard modernizes
15 Russian ships.

@ Sept. 10, 1942: The
women shipyard workers
employed in the Burrard yards.
@ Dec. 13, 1943: The SS Fort
Wallace, Burrard’s 200th ship, is
launched.

1941:
for a

Burrard signs
10,000-ton

first
ure

By A.P. Mccredie
News Reprter

converted in Burrard’s yards.

@ December 1945: The last
employed women are laid off ut
North Burrard yard.

@ April 1946: Burrard Dry Dock
Co. buys Yarrows, a once great
shipbuilder like Wallace.

@ 1947: Burrard Dry Dock Co.
becomes a public corporation.

@ Jan. 18, 1961: First-ever labor
strike hits Burrard. Lasts 25 days.

@ March 3, 1961: Contract
teceived for construction of B.C.
Ferry Queen of Vancouver.

@ Jan. 16, 1962: Queen of Van-
couver launched by Mrs. A.T.
Alsbury.

@ May 1965: Plant modernization
project started. Completed in the
fall of same year.

@ Jan. 30, 1970: Burrard pro-
poses ‘superdock’ at North Van-
couver site.

@ Aug. 2, 1970: B.C. Ferry
Queen of Victoria collides with
Sergei Yesenin — Burrard under-
takes repairs.

@ May J, 1972: Cornat takes over
Burrard.

@ May 17, 1972: Cornat
contract to build CPR ferries.
@ Feb. 3, 1975: The yard’s No. 3
drydock sinks.

SEABUSES

signs

@ June 16, 1977: B.C. Ferry
Queen of Coquitlam delivered. On
the same day, two SeaBuses, the
Burrard Beaver and the Burrard
Orrer, are also delivered.

@ Mar. 30, '978: Formal pres-
entation of proposed new ‘super
drydock’ made.

e Jan. 1, 1979: Company af-
ficiaily changes name to Burrard
Yarrows Corp.

@ April 1980: Japan's Mitsubishi
begins detailed engineering of nev
dryduck. The project will be a
five-section dock that can hold
vessels ep to 75,0) tons. Versatile
paid 30% of ct ($63,300,000),
with the Canadian government
paying the remaining 60%,

@ October 1980: Construcion of
drydock begins.

@ 198t: Cornat changes name to
Versatile Corp.

@ Aug. 25, 198t: Completed
drydeck arrives im) Vancouver,
after one of the longests tows in
the history of the North Pacific.

@ 1986: Major problems grise in
Versatile Corp. as shipbuilding
industry stagnates. ¢ urrently
1,100 employees at work.

a Jan. 3, 1987: The taunch of the
$92-million Henry Larsen
icebreaker, Versatile’s last major
ship launch from its North Van-
couver vard.

@ March 1987: The federal zov-
ernment announces its intention to
award Versatile the Polar 8 con-
tract and gives the builder $i3
million in federal loan insurance
to help keep Versatile afloat.

@ May 1987: Versatile announces
$136.1 million loss for 1986, dou-
ble the 1985 shortfall.

@ April 1988: Versatile
becomes B.C. Pacific

Corp.

® Nov. 1988: Versatile is awarded
a $35 million contract to build
two search and rescue vessels for
the Canadian Coast Guard, but
virtually all the construction work
on the ships end: up in Victoria
yards.

Corp,
Capital

THE MASSIVE freighter American Trader rests for repairs in January,

NEWS photo Terry PetersiNorth Vancouver Museum ard Archi:
1991 in Versatile’s drydock;

(inset) on July 9, 1916 Geraidine Wolvin poses on the keel of the wooden ship bearing her name
being built in North Vancouver by Wallace shipbuilders.

@ March 1989: Versatile lays off
160 workers. The vard’s
workforce now stands at 220.

@ April 1989: Versatile announces
that it will no longer build ships at
its North Vancouver yard.

@ Feb. 1990: The federal gov-
ernment officially torpedoes the
$500-million Polar 8 contract in
its budget, sinking with it | Ver-
satile’s future viability as a ship-
vard on the North Shore.

@ March 1991; B.C. Regional
Economic Development Minister
tells the B.C. legislature thar Ver-
satile, under court-granted
bankruptcy protection. will close
its North Shore shipyard.

@ Dec. 22, 1992: Wallace's ship-
vard sees last day of operition.
The few workers that remain are
given layoff notices effective im-
mediately.

® Dec. 30, 1992: Yarrows closes
Versatile office and vard in North
Vancouver.

EWS phot Terry Peters
The shipyard in better times - all that remains of scenes like this

one of workers streaming out of the shipyard are memories and
photographs.

@ 1943-44: 19 aircraft carriers are
TT I