British Columbians come looking for gold from a newly discovered shipwreck

British Columbians come looking for gold from a newly discovered shipwreck

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An estimated $10 million worth of gold bullion and nuggets sank with the Pacific in 1875

The Pacific ship is seen in the background of this photo taken in 1868 on Tongass Island on the British Columbia-Alaska border.
The Pacific ship is seen in the background of this photo taken in 1868 on Tongass Island on the British Columbia-Alaska border. Photo by The Northwest Shipwreck Alliance

The US company that discovered the site of the Pacific Northwest’s deadliest maritime disaster has heard from several British Columbians who claim descent from the ship’s passengers, says the man who found the vessel.

On Monday, Rockfish Inc. President Jeff Hummel told Postmedia News that his company had been contacted by those people since it emerged that it had secured rights to the salvage in the Pacific: a sidewheel boat propelled by coal which sank off the tip of the Olympic Peninsula on 4 November. , 1875 with the loss of at least 350 lives.

The ship was traveling from Victoria to San Francisco and was reported to be carrying about 4,000 ounces of gold from the short-lived but very rich Cassiar Gold Rush in northwestern BC.

Much of the gold was in the form of assayed bullion as well as small bags carried by miners returning home to the US before the BC winter hit. On board was at least one locked iron and wooden container belonging to the Wellses. Fargo and was loaded with gold.

A sketch of the Pacific that sank on November 4, 1875. Only two people survived.
A sketch of the Pacific that sank on November 4, 1875. Only two people survived. Photo by The Northwest Shipwreck Alliance

As part of the salvage rights awarded by the court in late November, anyone who can prove they were related to a person who was on the ship can claim any valuables, in this case likely gold, that they owned or had. . stored on the ship for them.

Hummel said people from the US and British Columbia had contacted his company claiming that their relatives were on board and had gold.

However, none of those people have filed their claim in court, which they must do before the end of January.

“None of that is a matter of record yet,” Hummel said, adding that the court must determine the truth of any claim.

He also said that courts have ruled in the past that if a person is successful in claiming valuables from a shipwreck, then they are only entitled to eight percent of their value. The remaining 92 percent goes to the salvage company to pay for salvage efforts.

According to historical records, there were around 100 people on the ship who were permanent residents of Victoria, including Sewell Moody, who founded Moodyville as the first settlement in North Vancouver.

In 1873, the first year of Cassiar’s gold rush, miners were getting $200 a day in gold when the average monthly wage was $25, so the wealth of many aboard the ill-fated ship was amazing.

Hummel said he expects the artifact recovery work to begin next summer and extend through the summers of 2024 and 2025.

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