Project

Partners

• Capital Neighbourhoods: The history of Ottawa through the city's buildings, parks, commemorations and hangouts
• Buckaroos in BC: The Story of Ranching in BC
• Beauty in the Beast: The Mill at Britannia Mine
• In Their Words : The Story of BC Packers
• Voyage Beyond the Map: The Discovery of the Pacific
• From Camp to Community : Cowichan Forestry Life
• Graveyard of the Pacific
• The Sydenham River: Explore, Investigate, Enjoy
• Living Traditions: Museums Honour the North American Indigenous Games
• Voices of the Snuneymuxw First Nation

BC Maritime Museum
Museum at Campbell River
Vancouver Maritime Museum
Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia

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Visit the site online

Graveyard of the Pacific: The Shipwrecks of Vancouver Island was the product of a unique relationship between Zero One, the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the Underwater Archaeology Society of British Columbia and the Museum at Campbell River. Supported by CHIN, the Canadian Information Heritage Network, the intention of this project was to make the fascinating collections of some of Canada's regional museums accessible to a wider audience.

The challenge of this project was to get across to the audience the variety and scope of the shipwrecks, the human toll of their sinking and the difficulties that the mariners faced navigating around Vancouver Island. With suggestions from experts in maritime history and underwater archaeology, Zero One undertook the lengthy process of creating a database of shipwrecks around Vancouver Island. This inventory of vessels gives a sense of the variety and extent of the shipwrecks in the area. The database is navigated by using a map of Vancouver Island and a slider bar below it. By dragging the slider, a visual display of the location of shipwrecks appears. This dynamic feature gives the impression of time travel and brings home the vast number of ships that have been lost over the years. The website design is brought to life with archival photographs, colourful graphics, and educational text that offers explanations for everything from the causes of Vancouver Island shipwrecks to ways to avoid them. The newspaper style of presenting the content lends veracity to the events which are being described and brings disasters from the past into a modern context. Understanding of the difficulties a captain would have faced is encouraged by an engaging game that involves participation and active viewing by younger audiences. Participants must make decisions that determine a ship's successful voyage and then navigate the waters around Vancouver Island. The game is not as dangerous as sailing a real ship around Vancouver Island, but certainly more fun and accessible to young amateur marine historians.