Vancouver Islanders receive their Christmas parcels on time.
"1947::Canadian Pacific Railway's Cargo-Passenger Ship Beaverford Carrying a Record Load"
Photo Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1947)
Victoria, British Columbia
On November 23, 1947, the Canadian Pacific ship Beaverford left Montreal for Liverpool with a small list of passengers, a heavy deck load of timber, and a record shipment of Christmas mail for Britain. Nearly 20,000 parcels weighing 800 tons had been packed 25 feet deep in the ship's hold.
The Beaverford was just one of the many ships deployed to transport a staggering 4,000 tons of Christmas parcels across the Atlantic. Upon arrival in Liverpool, these colossal shipments required 123 British mail transport cars, a train that stretched for three kilometres.
"1947::Fixing and Sorting Christmas Parcel Overflow in Victoria's Bay Street Armoury"
Photo Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1947)
Victoria, British Columbia
Back at home, the season's rush was felt at Victoria's docks when a record number of Christmas parcels arrived for Vancouver Island residents. The post office was inundated, leading to the Bay Street Armoury being temporarily repurposed to accommodate the surplus of parcels. Postal clerks worked tirelessly, repairing as many damaged packages as possible before dispatching them for delivery. Once repaired and sorted, the parcels were either returned to Victoria's Post Office for distribution or sent directly to the Esquimalt & Nanaimo train station for delivery to up-island locations. Despite the overwhelming volume, it was said that all packages arrived on time for Christmas morning.