|
Esquimalt Royal Naval Dockyard was a major British Royal Navy yard on Canada's Pacific coast from 1842 to 1905, subsequently operated by the Canadian government to the present day. The naval dockyard was located in Esquimalt, British Columbia, adjacent to Esquimalt Harbour and the city of Victoria, to replace a base in Valparaíso, Chile as the home of the Royal Navy's Pacific Station and was the only Royal Navy base in western North America. ==Harbour== A hydrographic survey carried out by around 1842, determined that the location and depth of the Esquimalt Harbour would make it acceptable for use as a British naval port on the west coast of North America.〔 The following year James Douglas went out to Vancouver Island intending to set up a trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company. After looking at the shores of Esquimalt Harbour he decided they were too densely wooded for development so he opted to build what would become Fort Victoria on the shores of the adjacent Victoria Harbour and thereby establish what would become the city of Victoria. Pandora Avenue in Victoria is named in honour of the survey ship, which in turn was named after Pandora of Greek mythology. In 1848 arrived at Esquimalt and became the first Royal Navy vessel based there. She was commanded by Captain George William Courtenay, after whom Courtenay, British Columbia is named.〔 From 3 July 1850 to February 1854 Augustus Leopold Kuper was Captain of from her commissioning at HMNB Devonport. He sailed her to the southeast coast of America and then to Esquimalt. Kuper Island in the Strait of Georgia, off the east coast of Vancouver Island, was named for Captain Kuper after he surveyed the area from 1851–1853. Thetis Island and Thetis Lake are named for the survey ship. In 1852 sailors from the ''Thetis'' built a trail through the forest linking the Esquimalt Harbour with the Victoria Harbour and Fort Victoria. The trail would eventually be paved and is now known as Old Esquimalt Road (it runs parallel to and just north of Esquimalt Road). In the summer of 1854 several ships, including , , , , and set out from Valparaíso and sailed across the Pacific Ocean stopping at Marquesas Islands then on to Honolulu where they met a French fleet of warships. In late August the combined fleets sailed to Russia to engage in the Siege of Petropavlovsk at which Commander-in-Chief Pacific Station David Price died. Captain of the ''Pique'' Frederick William Erskine Nicolson was brevetted and took command of the British naval forces from 31 August 1854 until the arrival of the next Commander-in-Chief. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|