Guest Speaker - Feb 28, 2013

The guest speaker for today's lunch meeting was Andrew Hamilton who gave a very interesting presentation about the North Pacific Cannery.

Andrew has been the President of the Port Edward Historical Society since he moved to Prince Rupert in 2006.

With more than 40 structures, the North Pacific Cannery started operations in 1889 and ceased operations in 1981.  The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1985 and in 2012, it received the Heritage BC Award for Outstanding Achievement.  The cannery is owned and managed by the Port Edward Historic Society.  In the past five years, $2.5 million dollars have been invested for conservation and to date, 65-70% of the site has been stabilized.  

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people visit the site each year, taking in live presentations, going on guided tours, sitting and enjoying a delicious bowl of chowder, shopping in the gift shop or being part of the ten community events that are held on location each year.

For more North Pacific Cannery history and information, please visit www.northpacificcannery.ca.