St Lawrence Saga: The Clarke Steamship Story – Contents And Chapter Links

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For further information on this manuscript please e-mail KCGriffin@outlook.comNew Northland at Montreal 1935 Geo. Beullac

Chapter 1: To The Gulf of St Lawrence

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For further information on this manuscript please e-mail KCGriffin@outlook.com css Saguenay R&O

 The Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Co’s Saguenay made a special cruise to Clarke City in June of 1912 to inspect the recent installations of the Clarke-owned North Shore Power, Railway & Navigation Co.

The Clarke Steamship Company, whose ships plied the Gulf of St Lawrence for the best part of the 20th century, owed its formation to an unusual set of circumstances. Four prosperous Toronto-born brothers of Irish descent visited the Bay of Sept Iles in the closing days of the 19th century, liked what they saw, and decided to establish the first of several businesses, which would come to include, eventually, a shipping company…   To pdf version of Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Before Clarke Steamship

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EPSON scanner ImageThe Quebec Steamship Co’s  s.s. Cascapedia served the Gulf of St Lawrence from Montreal and Quebec.

Although this is really the story of the Clarke Steamship Co, the routes that the Clarke ships served had much history. Not only that, but some of its predecessors had also operated in southern waters, where Clarke would be active as well. The trials and risks of ice navigation in northern waters in the winter time meant that many northern ships engaged in southern employment when they could…   To pdf version of Chapter 2

Chapter 3: The Clarke Steamship Company – Formative Years

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The Clarke Steamship Co’s s.s. Gaspesia (left) and s.s. North Shore (right) at Montreal c. 1922

During its formative years, although they had successfully been able to export their woodpulp in chartered ships, the Clarke enterprises on the North Shore had most recently suffered from poor inbound transport services. Several companies had tried to establish subsidized steamship services between Quebec and the North Shore, but the fact that they had met with shipwreck and failure meant that the contract had changed hands quite often, especially since the outbreak of war in 1914…   To pdf version of Chapter 3

Chapter 4: A New Ship, Southern Cruising And Northern Ice

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New NorthlandClarke’s eight-month-old s.s. New Northland arriving at Palm Beach on January 10, 1927, to begin the first program of weekly cruises ever offered from Florida

The order for a “steamer of special specification, strengthened for navigation in ice” mentioned by “The Gazette” in 1925 was placed with shipbuilders Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd of Newcastle upon Tyne, where, on January 30, 1926, the 3,445-ton Northland was launched at their Neptune yard…   To pdf version of Chapter 4

Chapter 5: Local Services In The Lower St Lawrence

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JeanBrillantàFranquelin,1939La Cie du Transport du Bas St Laurent’s m.v. Jean Brillant at Franquelin

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While developments to 1930 had revolved around Clarke’s main line services, the existence of a fleet of six ships, some of which now offered year-round service in the Gulf of St Lawrence and from Florida had given the Clarke Steamship Co a base on which to acquire and develop further shipping enterprises…   To pdf version of Chapter 5

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Chapter 6: Labrador Cruises, Trade Missions And The Depression

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CSS North VoyageurThe s.s. North Voyageur (i), which made many Labrador cruises,  at Quebec in the early 1930s.

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Less than a decade after its founding, Clarke now had a fleet of five ships in main line service. The flagship, New Northland, cruised the Gulf of St Lawrence by summer and ran from Miami in the wintertime. The North Voyageur, Gaspesia and North Shore each offered their own distinctive summer cruise programs. And the Bras d’Or Bay Navigation Co’s Sable I operated a scheduled passenger and cargo service to and from the North Shore…   To pdf version of Chapter 6

Chapter 7: Cruising Years – Nassau, A New Flagship And The West Indies

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North Star at Bonne Bayt.s.s. North Star at Bonne Bay, Newfoundland

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The New Northland had now been laid up at Quebec for two winters, a situation that the cost-conscious company had wanted to correct for some time. Meanwhile, the Munson Line, now being run by trustees, had reduced its Miami-Nassau service to a fortnightly connection, with just ten sailings by the Munargo during the winter of 1934. Finally, over that same winter Canadian National’s Prince David had not been a success and it was not of a mind to send her back to Nassau. This all meant that conditions were now ripe for the New Northland to return…   To pdf version of Chapter 7.

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Chapter 8: Clarke Ships Go To War – And War Comes To The St Lawrence

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hmcs prince henry at quebecHMCS Prince Henry (ex-North Star) escapes the St Lawrence before freeze-up 1940

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On Friday, September 1, 1939, the North Star, was at Bonne Bay, Newfoundland, in the middle of her final cruise of the summer from New York to Montreal. The New Northland, on her sixth cruise of the season, was in the “Kingdom of the Saguenay.” Both are places of great beauty. Passengers looked forward to a calm and peaceful day, but the news from Europe was anything but. Germany had just invaded Poland. Two days later, on Sunday, September 3, after Germany ignored a deadline set by the United Kingdom and France to withdraw from Poland, the world would be at war…   To pdf version of Chapter 8

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Chapter 9: From Old Ships To New And “Vagabond Cruises”

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North Shore (ii) photoGM&GThe s.s. North Shore, a converted corvette, offered weekly express sailngs to the Quebec North Shore

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With the war over, the nature of Clarke’s business was about to change from what it had been. Of the pre-war fleet, only the North Gaspé, Gaspesia and Sable I remained, and the company was going to have to rebuild its fleet to serve the post-war economy. Although the New Northland and North Star, now Prince Henry, had both survived the war, neither would rejoin the company. Instead, Clarke would acquire four new ships by 1946, with two more to follow in 1947. Within a few years, only the relatively modern North Gaspé would remain of the pre-war fleet…   To pdf version of Chapter 9

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Chapter 10: The Quebec North Shore, Newfoundland And Chartering

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EPSON scanner ImageThe s.s. North Coaster, one of three “B” Type Coasters owned and operated by Clarke

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The 1950s would see an economic boom along the Quebec North Shore, and the fleet serving this coast now consisted of the North Shore, North Pioneer and North Coaster, and the North Gaspé by winter. Clarke was well placed to take part in this growth. Equally, with Newfoundland having become part of Canada in 1949, the Gulfport and Novaport formed the core of the company’s service to Canada’s tenth province. But Clarke ships alone would not be able to satisfy the demand…  To pdf version of Chapter 10

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Chapter 11: The Local Services In The Post-War Era

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Trans-St-Laurent 2013The m.v. Trans-St-Laurent completed over fifty years in service in 2013


Clarke’s latest regional steamship operation was the Magdalen Islands Transportation Co Ltd, established in May 1945 to take over the subsidized service between Pictou, Souris, PEI, and the Magdalen Islands, where it served Havre Aubert (Amherst) and Cap aux Meules (Grindstone), as well as Grande Entrée. Longer 5-day sailings left Pictou on Thursdays and returned by way of Cap aux Meules and Havre Aubert, and were interspersed with shorter 2-day Tuesday sailings that proceeded only as far as Cap aux Meules…   To pdf version of Chapter 11

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Chapter 12: The 1960s: A New Name, New Ships and Overland Transport

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chimo 2The m.v. Cabot and Chimo (above) each operated weekly from Montreal to St John’s

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The 1960s would bring much change to the Clarke organization. The long-distance passenger services were coming to an end and the company would soon expand through a series of land-based acquisitions to become a nationwide transport operator, rather than the Eastern Canadian shipping company that it had been post-war…   To pdf version of Chapter 12

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Chapter 13: Into the 1970s – Transatlantic Containers & Competition

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dart-americaLike the Northland (1926) and Jean Brillant (1935), the Dart America (1970) was built by Swan Hunter

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By the mid 1960s Clarke was active not only in shipping but also in domestic road and rail transport services. Lacking any direct involvement in overseas trade, the company opened yet another division in March 1967 with the formation of Clarke Agencies to act as Canadian general agent for the Zim Israel Navigation Co Ltd of Haifa…   To pdf version of Chapter 13


Chapter 14: The 1980s and Beyond – Reorganizations, New Ships and Successors

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Cabot (ii) by winterThe m.v. Cabot, second of the name, served for over a quarter century, 1988-2014

In the world of shipping at least, Clarke now entered into an era of partnerships and change. A forty-year period that had been dominated by the Clarke Steamship Company and associated services on land and sea would now give way to corporate consolidations, new owners, a period of heavy competition and reorganizations that would lead to changes in the fleet and eventually the ordering of new ships….   To pdf version of Chapter 14

Appendix 1: Ships of the Clarke Steamship Co Ltd, A Fleet List

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North Gaspe 01

The m.v. North Gaspé (1938) was the first ship Clarke had built in Canada. She sailed weekly from Montreal to Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands and later from Pictou.

This fleet list includes vessels owned by individual shipowning companies and by successor companies within the group. To pdf version of Appendix 1

Appendix 2: Sailings of the Clarke Steamship Co Ltd, 1953-62

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Summary of Scheduled Sailings of the Clarke Steamship Co Ltd, 1953-62
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 Total
Quebec North Shore 157 152 220 268 321 325 346 355 222 180 2546
Gaspé & the Magdalens 34 42 34 32 36 35 33 34 1 1 282
St John’s 32 41 41 49 41 39 42 51 74 68 478
Corner Brook 17 17 34 25 29 33 35 37 33 34 294
Botwood & North Coast – – – – – – 7 11 12 26 56
Goose Bay – – 13 11 5 8 8 12 11 9 77
Grand Total 240 252 342 385 432 440 471 500 353 318 3733

To spreadsheet of Appendix 2: Sailings of the Clarke Steamship Co Ltd, 1953-62

Appendix 3: The Further Careers of the New Northland and North Star

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Nuevo Dominicano 2In 1950, as Eastern Shipping Corp’s Nuevo Dominicano, the New Northland became the first ship to cruise year-round from Miami

Although its two most successful cruise ships never returned to the fleet after the war, it is worth looking in more detail at what happened to the New Northland, especially as she returned to trade in waters where she had traded for Clarke in Florida and the West Indies, and the North Star, after her conversion for a wartime role. To pdf version of Appendix 3