Madeline B.

North Vancouver, British Columbia

Sea to Sky Regional Heritage Fair

The Empress of China and Her Captain, Rupert Archibald

The Empress of China was a beautiful steamship built in 1891. Her captain was my great-great-great-grandfather. I found this topic quite interesting and I hope you will too!

 

 

 

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?

I learned many interesting things while researching my topic. However, one thing I found quite fascinating was the fact that I actually had a connection to it. The fact that the captain was my great-great-great-grandfather. That kind of drew me in and made it that much more personal and interesting.

What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?

In my project, I discovered many things. One interesting lesson I learned was that what is on the surface is not everything there is to it. For example, the Canadian Pacific Railway formed Canada into what it is today. However, not many people are aware of the fact that there was a second company who contributed to that, a company that the <em>Empress of China</em> was a part of.

How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?

How I would compare my life to Rupert Archibald is the fact that he lived in North Vancouver just like me. On Lonsdale Avenue in fact! Another connection to my life is that Rupert Archibald was the captain of a steamship and my family goes out on the water every summer.