The Shipwrecks of Confederation Park

The Shipwrecks of Confederation Park. . From the mid-1600s and the time of the early French explorers, ships have been sailing the Great Lakes. Since that time it is estimated more than 10,000 sunken ships have come to rest at the bottom of our Great Lakes., Lake Ontario is no stranger to shipwrecks, and the shoreline of Confederation Park is no exception. A number of wrecks have been spotted just offshore and their origins have been the subject of speculation and investigation for decades. One wreck which appeared to have washed up on shore in 2000 was the subject of extensive investigation by the Hamilton Chapter of Save Ontario Shipwrecks (SOS)., A 1937 newspaper article reported on a shipwreck washed ashore in the same general area. The article - and the clues within - led investigators to believe that this section of hull was a piece of one of the offshore wrecks, and had not "washed ashore" but had actually been uncovered by tidal action in 1937, and again 63 years later. Many observations and measurements have been taken on dives in the shallow four metres of water. Using this data, along with extensive research and interviews, it is believed that the wreck is the remains of the "Alma Munro"; a propeller steamship built in 1873 by the Elgin Transportation Company in Port Dalhousie. The ship was a passenger steamer, and, in fact, a mention in the July 25, 1879 St. Thomas Journal tells of the transfer of convicts from St. Thomas to Kingston Penitentiary "by steamer Alma Munro.", The "Alma Munro" underwent a number of rebuilds over the years. It was sold to the Melbourne Steamship Company and renamed the "Melbourne" in 1893, then put into service until it burned while at dock in 1905. The burned-out hull was used to rebuild her once again, and in 1910 came back into service as the "John R" , named for John Ramsey Fearnside, founder of the Hamilton Ferry Company., The "John R" is listed as "broken up" in 1914, and is believed to have been sunk while working as a barge on the expansion of the waterworks intake of 1913-1914, not far from where the wrecks now lie. , , Information sourced from Save Our Shipwrecks (SOS) Hamilton Chapter, Greg Steffler, HCA Archives.