Statistics:

M.V. Pender Queen
Previous Name	M.V. Motor Princess (1923-55)
Place Built	Yarrows, Victoria B.C.
Year Built	1923
Date Launched	March 31, 1923
Year Rebuilt	1956
Year Retired from B.C. Ferries	1980
At Retirement:
Vehicle Capacity	40
Passenger Capacity	250
Overall Length	177 ft.
Gross Tons	428
Service Speed	12 knots
Horsepower	1,050

History & Notes:

• The Motor Princess was built in 97 days at by Yarrows Ltd. in Esquimalt (1923). She was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company's (CP) B.C. Coast Service. (Turner, 129)

• According to Mary Kline and George Bayless, the Island Princess was "the first drive-on, drive-off ferry." (Kline and Bayless, 95)

  The Motor Princess had a main car deck as well as space for cars on the front half of the upper deck, connected to the main car deck with a ramp. She was a wooden-hulled vessel and the first diesel powered vessel in CP's fleet. She had a cruising speed of 14.5 knots. (Turner, 129)
  Robert Turner describes the passenger amenities in his book, The Pacific Princesses:
  

  Naturally, emphasis was on automobile facilities, but passengers were far from neglected. Though her lounge space was limited compared to the spacious equivalent quarters on the larger ships in the [CP] fleet, the Motor Princess was nonetheless well appointed. On both sides of the upper car deck, carpeted lounges were provided with large windows for viewing the scenic Gulf Islands. In addition, the after two-fifths of the upper deck were devoted to a combination dining room and social hall with hardwood flooring. Two staterooms were also provided on the compact ship, and ample open deck space was available for leisurely strolls and relaxing in the sun during the summer montsh. (129)

  
  Turner cites the construction of the Motor Princess as being a turning point in ship construction for CP. From then on, almost all new ships would be more friendly towards transporting cars. (Turner, 129)

• When first built, the Motor Princess was placed on the Bellingham - Sidney route. She remained on this run for 3 years. (Kline and Bayless, 95 ; Turner, 129)
  CP moved the Motor Princess north to operate between Vancouver and Nanaimo, in 1926. In 1929, the Motor Princess was placed on a route between Steveston (south of Vancouver) and Sidney (near Victoria). (Turner, 129-30)

• Bob Turner relates how that during World War II, demand for automobile ferry service declined because fewer people were travelling by car (probably because of fuel rations). (Turner, 167)

• In 1950, the CP was forced to remove Motor Princess from passenger service due to changed federal regulations regarding wooden vessels. For the next 5 years, she was used to carry freight between Vancouver and Victoria. (Turner, 193)

• The Motor Princess was sold to the Gulf Islands Ferry Company in 1955 who removed the wooden superstructure and replaced it with a steel one. The new ferry bore no resemblance to the old wooden freighter/ferry (for photos, check out the links at the bottom of this page). Renamed, Pender Queen, she now had an open car deck and just a small upper deck for passengers/crew. She was then put into service in the Gulf Islands. (Turner, 193)

• In 1961, the Pender Queen joined B.C. Ferries with the rest of the Gulf Island Ferry Company fleet. BC Ferries bought the company's ferries and terminals on September 1, 1961 for $249,823. BC Ferries continued to operate the Pender Queen in the Gulf Islands. (Griffiths and Cadieux, 42)

• One event in the life of the Pender Queen with B.C. Ferries was recorded by Garth Griffiths and Capt. H.L. Cadieux in their book, Dogwood Fleet. They relate a story of the Pender Queen losing engine power one night near North Pender Island. She was barely rescued from going aground by the Queen of Saanich under the command of Captain Amodeo. (Griffiths and Cadieux, 97)

• The Pender Queen was retired from service in 1980 and sold a year later for $75,300. According to Gary and Patricia Bannerman, it was sold to a Saltspring Island company. (Bannerman, 170)

Origin of the Names:

• Motor Princess - Probably a reference to her diesel engines, due to the fact that she was the first diesel-powered vessel in the CP fleet. (Turner, 129)

• Pender Queen - Named after the Pender Islands (North and South), one of the Southern Gulf Islands. The Islands were named after Royal Navy officer, Daniel Pender, who took part in surveying the coast between 1857 and 1870. (Encyclopedia of British Columbia)

What happened to the Pender Queen?

• Sold to a Saltspring Island company in 1981. (Bannerman, 170)

• The Gulf Island newspaper, Dogwood, reported that the Pender Queen had sunk in the Queen Charlotte Islands in August 2003. Thanks to those in the discussion forum who shared this news.
• If you have any more information, please e-mail me.

Works Cited & Sources:

Bannerman, Gary and Patricia. The Ships of British Columbia. Surrey: Hancock House Publishers, 1985.

Francis, Daniel, ed. Encyclopedia of British Columbia. Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2000.

Griffiths, Garth, and H.L. Cadieux. Dogwood Fleet. Nanaimo: Cadieux and Griffiths, 1967.

Kline, M.S. and G.A. Bayless. Ferryboats - A Legend on Puget Sound. Seattle: Bayless Books, 1983.

Turner, Robert D. The Pacific Princesses. Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1977.

Relevant Links:

Photo from Saltspring Island Archives - Motor Princess at Galiano Island.

BC Archives Photographs (By Call Number)

F-02837 - The main car deck and ramp of the Motor Princess.

D-01040 - Motor Princess in Victoria.

I-26713 - Motor Princess at Ganges.

C-00608 - Pender Queen.

---

Back to the Retired Ferry Profiles Page
or
Ferry Terminal (Homepage)

---

Page by John Hammersmark.

Thanks to Brian Nicol for the contribution of the photograph of the Pender Queen.

This page was last updated on August 30, 2003.

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws