The side-wheeler "SS Beaver" was built at Blackwall on Thames in 1833-34 as a trading vessel for the Hudson Bay Company. She was the first steamship on the West Coast, at 101 feet long, brigg rigged, and fitted by a prestigious firm of engineers by the name of Watt she was built in 163 days and cost an estimated 25,000 pounds. In 1836 the beaver was converted into a steamer, and was the first steam vessel to sail circuits around the Columbia River and Williamette Slough. After that she became a trading vessel sailing up and down the coast transferring fur trading goods. Through out her later years she was sold to a trading company, in which her rigging and appearance were altered and she began service as a towing vessel. During her final trip she ran aground at the mouth of Vancouver Harbour, where she eventually sank.
Today a rough replica of the S.S.Beaver sits in the Victoria Harbour.
In 19 a was fitted to resemble "SS Beaver" in commemoration the steamship's importance to the development of British Columbia.
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