The Town
Although you wouldn't know to look at it, the port is one of the world's largest deep-water terminals, and handles a huge volume of trade (grain, coal and fish in particular). In the past the region was the focal point of trade between aboriginal peoples to the north and south, one reason why the Hudson's Bay Company built a post at Fort Simpson, 30km north of the present townsite. It was also the reason why the old Hudson's Bay post was chosen as the terminus of Canada's second transcontinental rail link . Work began in 1906, but as time went by it was decided there was a better harbour to the south, a national competition being launched to decide on a name for the new railhead: $250 was paid for "Prince Rupert", named after the company's royal founding member, a label that was duly grafted onto the ramshackle collection of tents that constituted the settlement in 1909. A year later the first town lot was sold for around $500; within twelve months it was worth $17,000. The Grand Trunk Railway chairman, Charles M. Hays, hoped to turn Prince Rupert into a port to rival Vancouver. In 1912 he set off for Britain to raise stock for the venture, but unfortunately booked a return passage on the Titanic . Although he went down, the railway was finished two years later - too late, in the event, to steal a march on Vancouver. By 1919 the Grand Trunk was bankrupt, though its restructuring as the Canadian National in 1923 and the magnificence of the port has allowed the town to prosper to this day. For more on the railway and its history, visit the Kwinitsa Station Railway Museum just across from the VIA Rail station near the waterfront (early June to early Sept daily 9am-6pm; donation; tel 627-1915 or 627-3207). Prince Rupert's excellent Museum of Northern British Columbia (June-Aug Mon-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun 9am-5pm; Sept-May Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; $5) is alongside the infocentre (same hours; tel 624-5637 or 1-800/667-1994 in BC, prtravel@citytel.net ) on 1st Avenue and McBride Street at the northern end of the town's tight downtown zone. It's housed in an impressive reproduction First Nation cedar long-house and is particularly strong on the culture and history of the local Tsimshian . The museum also boasts a clutch of wonderful silent archive films on topics ranging from fishing to the building of the railway - ideal ways to whittle away a wet afternoon, of which storm-lashed Prince Rupert ("City of Rainbows") has plenty. There's also a well-stocked book and gift shop and a carving shed outside where you can sometimes see totems being crafted. While you're here, check out some of the local tours or boat trips , many of which are inexpensive and a good way to see the offshore islands and wildlife. The museum runs a tour to sites of archeological interest (mid-June to early Sept daily 1-3.30pm; $22). Otherwise Seashore Charters (tel 624-5645) are a good outfit, with two-hour harbour tours, among others, starting at around $50. For an inexpensive (from $3.50) look at the harbour you could jump aboard the Rupert Water Taxi, which leaves for several destinations from the dock at the bottom of McBride Street (check times at the infocentre; departures vary according to school runs). A trip fast becoming famous locally is to Khuzeymateen Provincial Park (contact BC Parks on tel 847-7320 for information on two- to ten-day tours), a remote coastal valley 45km to the north of Prince Rupert created in 1994 to protect BC's largest-known coastal population of grizzly bears . This is the first park of its kind in the world, but there will certainly be more, especially in BC, where the damage done to declining grizzly habitats by logging, mining, hunting and other concerns - notably the slaughter of the animals for body parts in dubious Oriental remedies - is rapidly becoming one of the keenest environmental issues in the province. A little out of town, beyond the museum, the gondola ride to Mount Hays once gave a bird's-eye view of the harbour and the chance to spot bald eagles. It was also the most popular attraction in town, which makes you wonder why it had to close: check with the infocentre to see if there's news of its reopening. To reach it, or the steep track that currently provides the only route to the top, take the Wantage Road turn-off on Hwy 16 just out of town. It's three hours to the top but you get fairly good views after clambering just a short way up the track. Details of less-energetic walks can be obtained from the infocentre.
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