Crumpled Iron Has a History — Victoria, BC
Posted by: 
Dunbar Loop
N 48° 25.099 W 123° 21.924
10U E 472963 N 5362860
Even a bit of damaged iron has a bit of history around it. In this case, it is the bilge keel of the H.M.S. Amphion which was damaged while carrying the royal party of the Governor General of Canada.
Waymark Code: WM10KMX
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 05/23/2019
Views: 7
A bit of iron, damaged to a point of being difficult to recognized for its original purpose. Yet, it happened during a significant event for British Columbia and the province's connection to the monarch.
British Columbia joined the Canadian confederation in 1871. As a part of that union, the province adopted the Governor General of Canada as the nation's royal representative to the nation. However, it wasn't until 1889 that Lord Stanley, sixteenth Earl of Derby and the sixth Governor General of Canada, visited the province.
During his visit to Victoria and Vancouver, a mishap happened when his ship struck a reef in Haro Strait. As a memorial to that event and the Governor General's visit, the City of Victoria erected this plaque beside the damaged bilge keel.
CRUMPLED IRON HAS A HISTORY
On November 6, 1889, Lord Stanley, Governor General of Canada, embarked for Vancouver following a visit to Victoria. H.M.S. Amphion carried the vice-regal party and, while travelling in fog, struck a sunken reef off Killett Bluff, Henry Island. This ship was extremely damaged but returned to safely to Esquimalt. The bilge keel or rolling chock was crumpled like a concertina as exhibited here.