Photograph - aerial view of graving dock showing rough outline of excavation, Access Road into Dock at North West corner, and shovels, double handling base material.
Photograph - aerial view of graving dock showing rough outline of excavation, Access Road into Dock at North West corner, and shovels, double handling base material.
Slide showing the graving dock where the Alcan wharf caissons were constructed. It is filled with water. Boats and structures are visible on the edge. This area was used for the Kitimat Yacht Club. Behind, the Kitimat River estuary is visible, and beyond that the mountains (Mount Elizabeth obscured by cloud).
James McNay was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, on January 31, 1907. Between 1951 and 1953, he worked in the payroll department for Alcan. He had to leave his wife Effie and his two young daughters, Margaret and Diane, aged 6 and 5 in 1951, at home in Surrey, B.C., during his 3-4 month stints in Kitimat. To fill some of his free time and show his family where he was and what Kitimat was like, he spent many hours walking in the area with a 35mm Kodak camera. He photographed the scenic beauty of the area and parts of the construction of both the smelters and the town. He died in Surrey on August 7, 1983.
Custodial History
Donated by Margaret McNay. Images were taken by her father and sent to their family in Surrey in the 1950s.
Scope and Content
Slide showing the graving dock where the Alcan wharf caissons were constructed. It is filled with water. Boats and structures are visible on the edge. This area was used for the Kitimat Yacht Club. Behind, the Kitimat River estuary is visible, and beyond that the mountains (Mount Elizabeth obscured by cloud).
General view of the site looking north showing the Smelter at upper centre, and the Graving Dock and Wharf at lower centre. Taken from a helicopter on Wednesday, April 1, 1953.
General view of the site looking north showing the Smelter at upper centre, and the Graving Dock and Wharf at lower centre. Taken from a helicopter on Wednesday, April 1, 1953.
