To celebrate the opening of the restored historic slipways, Britannia Shipyards unveiled a new video showing behind-the-scenes footage of the restoration project. The timing perfectly coincided with Historic Places Days, during which Canadians are encouraged to showcase and share the places and stories that are important to us.
If you have passed by the Britannia Shipyard building recently, you will have noticed the 1925 tugboat MV Burnaby, displayed as the centrepiece on top of a restored boat carriage on the slipway. The restoration of these carriages was based on a surviving original carriage discovered near Shelter Island, and was the result of a months-long project to bring this important function back to the shipyard.
On Friday, July 21, Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site marked the opening of the restored historic slipways with City of Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, City Councillors, Richmond-Steveston MLA Kelly Greene, Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site Society, project lead David Sharp, and Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site staff.
The highlight of the evening’s festivities was the unveiling of a new video produced by Amber Pacific Studios, featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the Sharp Marine Restoration & Joinery team in action and a glimpse of the MV Burnaby’s journey to its final resting place:
To check out the full video, displayed against the impressive backdrop of the restored slipways, come visit the Britannia Shipyard building during summer operational hours.
This restoration project was supported by the Province of British Columbia through the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program (CERIP), awarded to the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site Society. The newly restored slipways enable the site to bring in vessels for display, bringing the 130-year-old shipyard building to life and connecting visitors with the thriving fishing and boatbuilding industries that shaped Steveston.
Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site is open from 10am to 5pm daily during the summer season (until Labour Day Monday). Admission is free.
