by Tanja Hütter

The Nonsuch replica at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg has long been a favourite for people of all ages. The original ketch sailed into Hudson Bay in 1668, kick-starting an enterprise that two years later would be known as the Hudson’s Bay Company. A replica of the ship was commissioned as part of the HBC’s 1970 tercentennial. The Nonsuch was constructed in England by artisans using seventeenth-century methods and hand tools. After its completion, the ship was transported from England and sailed down the Atlantic and Pacific coasts before being trucked to Winnipeg, where it was placed on permanent display in the museum in 1973. The museum gallery where the Nonsuch resides was constructed around the reassembled ship. The name means “unequalled, as in “none such.” To learn more about the Nonsuch, watch our video interview with Dr. Jamie Morton at CanadasHistory.ca/Nonsuch.

90 Years Ago

Boat-building in the bush

For anyone seeking information on how to build a York boat, the October 1923 issue would be a good place to start. The article “H.B.C. Inland Transport” details how craftsmen at the HBC’s head posts built the boats from scratch. “Supplies of rod and bar iron and steel were sent in, and from these the blacksmith made his own nails and tools,” wrote A.A. McDonald. A crew of ten to twenty men went into the bush to cut suitable timber, usually spruce that was straight-grained and free of knots. The wood was brought to post by raft. Building a boat took about twenty to thirty days.

60 Years Ago

Culture clash

In the summer of 1953, The Beaver began a five-part series that departed from the norm in that the subjects of the articles were not in a clear Canadian context. The theme of the series reflected discussions in the academic com munity about the rapid pace of change for indigenous people in various parts of the world. The first article, “Into the Pacific,” was written by noted anthropologist Margaret Mead. The autumn issue followed up with “Enter the European,” an article about the natives of Brazil by anthropologist Charles Wagley.

30 Years Ago

A bestseller

Among his many credentials, historian Dr. Glyndwr Williams was also the former general editor of the Hudson’s Bay Record Society. As such, he was the ideal author for the Autumn 1983 special issue, The Hudson’s Bay Company and the Fur Trade: 1670–1870. Williams wrote ten articles covering the first two hundred years of HBC furtrade history. The special issue included illustrations, artwork, photographs, and maps; most were from the HBC archives. The wildly popular issue sold out twice — once in 1983 and again in 1991, when it was reprinted.