Northcote

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shipstamps
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Northcote

Post by shipstamps » Sun Aug 03, 2008 12:52 pm


In 1874, above Grand Rapids, on the Saskatchewan River, the Hudson's Bay Company launched the Northcote, a Mississippi style river vessel. Navigation was tricky on the river because of the "rapids, sand bars, shallow channels and irregular flow". Shallows sometimes halted the Northcote half-way through a voyage, forcing her to dump cargo onshore. Despite this, and a mutiny, the ship succeeded because her costs were "no more than a flea-bite" compared to cart transportation. The Northcote acted as a Canadian gunboat and hospital ship during the Saskatchewan rebellion. She lost her smokestacks in combat at the Battle of Batoche. In 1886 the Northcote was beached at Cumberland House, where she slowly disintegrated. SG851

D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen
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Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:46 pm

Re: Northcote

Post by D. v. Nieuwenhuijzen » Thu Jun 22, 2017 7:10 pm

The rivers and lakes of Canada have for centuries provided a means of traveling across regions of the country. Our Native Peoples used canoes for transportation, fur traders used large canoes, bateau and York Boats to haul goods into the trappers and haul furs out. When people started to settle the part of the country between Upper Canada and the Rocky Mountains much of the travel was done in wagons pulled by oxen or horses. A means of moving larger amounts of goods and people across the country was sought and steamboats that were being used on the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio Rivers had proven to satisfy these requirements. This technology then found its way onto the Red River, Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan River. With the coming of railroads and road transportation the steamboat era ended.
The NORTCOTE was the first successful steamboat on the Saskatchewan. She was built for the Hudson Bay Company in Grand Rapids Manitoba in 1874. Her hull dimensions were: 150' long, 28.5' in breadth, 4.5' deep, gross tonnage of 461.34 and registered tonnage of 290.63. She had a draft of 22" when carrying light cargo loads and 3.5' when carrying her maximum load of 150 tons.

The NORTHCOTE was launched August 1, 1874 and began her maiden voyage the third week of August. This took her from Grand Rapids, to The Pas, Nepowewin Mission, and Carlton House. At the start of the 1875 navigation season the NORTHCOTE made the trip from Grand Rapids to Edmonton in 14 days.
During the Riel Rebellion of 1885 The NORTHCOTE served as a troop transport and gunship at the Battle of Batoche then served as a troop and arms transport in the fighting against Big Bear and Poundmaker. After the Battle of Batoche she carried the wounded to a field hospital in Saskatoon then returned to bring Louis Riel to Saskatoon on his final journey to Regina for trial and subsequent execution.
The water levels on the Saskatchewan were too shallow for the NORTHCOTE in the summer of 1886 which prevented her from navigating the river. She was beached at Cumberland House and never sailed again. Over the subsequent years she disintegrated until nothing remained but the boilers.
(Canada 1976, 10 c. StG.851)
Internet.
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