Transfer Wharf, Ladysmith Harbour

Built in 1900, the Transfer Wharf was designed for the transfer of railway rolling stock brought by barge from the British Columbia mainland onto the railway system on Vancouver Island, from whence the goods could be distributed. This photograph shows a steam-powered tugboat nosing a barge alongside the wharf. A railway box car sits on the barge. The Transfer Wharf in Ladysmith Harbour ceased operations in 1955.

The derelict Big Wharf, abandoned since the closure of the Extension coal mines in 1932, is visible in the background.