Waterfront Industries

Waterfront Industries. . Before town planning and notions of the picturesque, waterfronts were convenient for industrial development. As a transportation hub, Sidney's waterfront boasted a sawmill, a cannery, boatworks and roofing plant, besides rail and ship facilities., Sidney sawmill began in 1892 to cut lumber for the V&S Railway. After initial success it flagged and was in receivership by 1913. Closed until 1917, it was revived by GH Walton. By 1920 it employed about 150 men, the largest workforce in the area. In 1934, following a fire, it closed, another victim of the Great Depression., Saanich Canning Company was incorporated in 1904 by JJ White and J Wilson, both of Sidney; it met the need for seasonal canning of clams, fruit and berries. At peak times it employed over 100 workers. In 1939 the company was sold to BC Packers, and subsequently, to Canadian Canners. In 1966, after a few years as a site to process seaweed fertilizer, the buildings were demolished., Sidney Rubber Roofing Company was the sole manufacturer in western Canada of rubber roofing. Incorporated in 1912, it processed felt roofing manufactured in its Victoria plant. In 1921 the Sidney facility burned down. The factory was consolidated in Victoria and later moved to Vancouver. It is best remembered for duroid shingles., [Inset photo captions read, from top left around to top right] , 1. Sidney waterfront, c. 1920. Sidney Cannery, Copeland and Wright Boatyard, and Sidney sawmill office are visible. , (Helen Cochrane Collection P985.15.1), 2. Lumber storage shed of Sidney Lumber Co., later Mitchell and Anderson Hardware, demolished 1981. , (Sidney Archives P985.18.2), 3. Sketch of Sidney sawmill (D Muralt)., 4. Workers at the Sidney Sawmill, c.1921. , (Alice Nunn Collection P983.27.1), 5. Saanich Brand label, c. 1940. , (Sidney Archives), 6. Clams on barge with cannery in background. , (Sidney Archives P981.5.8), 7. Waterfront view of Saanich Cannery, sawmill and ferry dock, c.1934 , (Art Musclow Collection), 8. Portion of 1924 Fire Insurance map showing the Sidney Cannery., 9. Workers in the cannery. , (Sidney Archives), 10. A part of the clam fleet at Saanich Cannery. , (Sidney Archives P993.28.1), 11. Sidney Rubber Roofing Company. Built in 1913, the plant contained an engine shed, two large processing structures, each about 140'x 50', wharf and two steel tanks each holding 10,000 gallons. , (Sidney Archives P993.26.1), 12. Sidney Sawmill , (May John Collection P981.1.1), Visit the Museum and Archives at the corner of Beacon Avenue and Fourth Street.