As the canning industry declined, most cannery buildings were torn down or left to rot. Good Hope Cannery provides an example of how some fish canneries were repurposed. Some canneries became fresh fish plants and others were used fishing camps for other canneries. Good Hope is one of the few examples that became a luxury fishing lodge.
1895-1940
51°34’12.9″N 127°30’53.5″W
In 1895 Henry Ogle Bell-Irving of the Anglo British Columbia (ABC) Packing Co. founded the Good Hope Cannery on the west side of Rivers Inlet. Between 1895 and 1969 its managers were C.A. Sutter, R.J. Woods, R.E.Carter, Victor Larson, Levi Lauritsen, and Oly Anderson.
In 1968 ABC Packing Co. sold all their northern assets, including Good Hope Cannery, to the Canadian Fishing Co. Salmon was canned at the plant until 1940 when the cannery closed and the site was used as a fish camp.
The property was converted to a sports fishing resort by Ian Bell-Irving, grandson of Henry Ogle Bell-Irving, and was the first fishing resort of its kind on Rivers Inlet.
Fire plan for the"L" shaped Good Hope Cannery complex, 1923, with buildings and watersources identified. Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society Archives G2009.016 Plan 16.
Two fishermen bring in their catch on a skiff at the Good Hope Cannery Lodge, 1972. Image I-05488 courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives.
Good Hope Cannery, 1945. Gulf of Georgia Cannery Society Archives G2001.009.007A