Leaves her berth of 48 years at Manitowaning waterfront, under tow, to be scrapped
MANITOWANING—It was the best of times, it was the worst of times—all depending on which side of the divide one stands. On Wednesday, October 4 the community of Assiginack bid adieu to the historic steamship SS Norisle, which has stood sentinel on the Manitowaning waterfront for nearly half a century. Onlookers expressed deep sadness at its passing or cheerfully urged the venerable lady on its final journey following years of community debate as to how to deal with the vessel.
Although the SS Norisle sailed into Manitowaning Bay in 1975 under the power of her 1,000 HP triple expansion steam engine, her final journey will be under tow by the McKeil Marine tug Ecosse’s 1,500 HP engines.
The SS Norisle holds a place in Canadian nautical history as the first passenger vessel to be built in Canada following the end of the Second World War and the last steamship to be built. As such, she floats representing the very pinnacle of steamship technology. Her sister ship, the MS Normac, which also appears destined for the scrap heap following her removal from the Sault Ste. Marie waterfront, is diesel-powered.
The keel of the SS Norisle was laid down in Collingwood in 1946 and launched from the Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. Works on July 15, 1946. She went into service with the Owen Sound Transportation Company and in the fall of 1946, going on to carry a maximum capacity of 200 passengers and 50 vehicles between Tobermory and South Baymouth until 1974. Her home port was moved from Collingwood to Owen Sound in 1948. She was replaced by the current ferry MS Chi-Cheemaun in 1974.
To put the life of the ship in perspective, the SS Norisle saw active service crossing Georgian Bay for 28 years and was moored at the Manitowaning waterfront for over 48 years.
In 1975 the SS Norisle was sold to the Municipality of Assiginack to be used as a tourist attraction, serving as a museum and restaurant—a role she fulfilled in various forms until finally being closed to the public for safety reasons in 2008. Since then, a group, Friends of the Norisle then SS Norisle Steamship Society, was formed with the goal of refitting and preserving the vessel as a four-star cruise ship. Unfortunately, those efforts came to naught and the ship is now destined for Port Colborne on Lake Erie where she will be broken up for scrap.
Both sides of the debate over the SS Norisle’s fate claim to have the majority of the residents of Assiginack in their corner, and over several political cycles mayors have made saving and scuttling the vessel central to their platforms. The latest cycle went to one of her opponents. Although the cost of having the ship towed away is estimated to run well north of the initial $750,000 tab with interest costs tallied in, and the legal battles to save the vessel have already overflowed $250,000, her fate seems finally sealed.
Earlier plans for her removal also included her sinking near Tobermory to go on “living” as a diving destination, but those plans eventually sank during the wrestling over her fate.
Her supporters have not yet given up hope, sending pleas to Premier Doug Ford to intervene and save the vessel as a unique historical artifact—given her status as the first Canadian passenger ship built following the Second World War and the last steamship representing the pinnacle of that technology.
As if by divine intervention, bad weather on the Great Lakes has delayed the SS Norisle’s final voyage by an estimated three days, extending the drama over whether she will receive a provincial stay of execution.
For many of those cheering on the SS Norisle’s departure from the Manitowaning waterfront, their prayers have already been answered and no rancor would likely be expressed should the vessel receive such a reprieve from the premier.
Assiginack councillor Rob Maguire has been at the forefront of attempts to save the steamship and the venerable vessel holds a special place in his heart. “My first job was aboard the Norisle,” he told The Expositor as he watched preparations for her towing from the side of the hill overlooking the marina. That job was as a volunteer summer student providing tours of the ship. When the summer ended, the town had made enough money from the tours to give Mr. Maguire a 50 cent per hour honorarium.
Since then, as part of the formal group working to save the vessel, Mr. Maguire surveyed every inch of her length. “She was ‘as built,’” he said, noting that the vessel was not completely built to its original specifications. “As such, the original plans we received were not accurate,” said Mr. Maguire. “Everything had to be accurately measured.”
The Expositor chronicled the initial arrival of the SS Norisle both at South Baymouth, when she provided a vital summer link to the mainland when first entering service with the Owen Sound Transportation Company, and her arrival into the harbour at Manitowaning in 1975 to much fanfare, hope and dreams. This paper has also documented her various incarnations and the machinations of both sides in the battle over her fate. Those stories can be found in this paper of record’s archives preserved on microfilm in the NEMI Public Library.
On Wednesday, October 4 The Expositor stood beside Armed Forces veteran Daryl King, the last onlooker on the Manitowaning waterfront, as the vessel was towed out of sight. Mr. King was listening to the strains of a martial band play over his smartphone speaker as he saluted the departing ship. “It’s the music that would have played when she was launched,” he explained, going on to express his dismay at the callous treatment given to historical icons in this country. “We just tear it all down,” he said.
A tribute to the venerable vessel was written and performed by Manitoulin’s own minstrel Kevin Closs and the schoolchildren of Assiginack Public School and can be accessed on his Soundcloud site by scanning the QR within this article. See if you can pick out the voice of someone you know.
