''Fort Chesterfield'', known as ''Umiajuatnak'' by the Inuit, was a

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

motor schooner which distributed supplies arriving in

Chesterfield Inlet Chesterfield Inlet (Inuit: ''Igluligaarjuk'')Issenman, Betty. ''Sinews of Survival: The living legacy of Inuit clothing''. UBC Press, 1997. pp252-254 is an inlet in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is an arm of northwestern Hudson Bay, an ...

to isolated communities along

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

, including

Repulse Bay Repulse Bay or Tsin Shui Wan is a bay in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, located in the Southern District, Hong Kong, Southern District, Hong Kong. It is one of the most expensive residential areas in the world. Geography Repulse B ...

Eskimo Point Nash Ridge () is a high, massive ridge of eastern Eisenhower Range, about long and wide, projecting between the flow of the O'Kane Glacier and Priestley Glacier, in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Exploration and naming Nash Ridge was mapped by Un ...

Coral Harbour Coral Harbour (Inuktitut: Salliq / Salliit, Syllabics: ᓴᓪᓕᖅ / ᓴᓪᓖᑦ, formerly Southampton Island) is a small Inuit community that is located on Southampton Island, Kivalliq Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Its name ...

, Fullerton Harbour,

Wager Bay Wager Bay or Ukkusiksalik Bay is long narrow inlet in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada, which opens east into Roes Welcome Sound at the northwest end of Hudson Bay. Ukkusiksalik National Park surrounds it. History Wager Bay was first ...

, and the inland community of Baker Lake, during the 1920s. It established a transportation and communications network for the entire region. The two-masted, 72-ton, 80’x21’x9’ vessel was built in 1920, by B. Burry, in Glovertown, Newfoundland, and was sold in St. John's, to the

in the first half of 1921. Originally named the ''L. Burry'', it was renamed ''Fort Chesterfield'' by July 1921. Capt. Jean Berthe, an HBC employee, formerly of the Nelson River district, oversaw the overhauling of the vessel for ice conditions and the installation of a 75 hp motor, and accompanied it to Chesterfield Inlet in August 1921. By June 1924, Capt. George Cleveland of the HBC had assumed command of ''Fort Chesterfield''. Capt. Berthe evidently left the HBC to join the rival trading company, Revillon Frères. In August 1924, ''Fort Chesterfield'' left for Coral Harbour, on

Southampton Island Southampton Island (Inuktitut: ''Shugliaq'') is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of t ...

, to establish a trading post there. In addition to Capt. Cleveland, his engineer Mr. H. E. Weller, and the crew of seven Inuit men and two boys, they were joined by Harry Stallworthy of the

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

, Capt. G. E. Mack, Dudley Copeland, and Bill Peters of the HBC, and two Inuit families. ''Chesterfield'' arrived at the island on 4 August 1924, and found a suitable site for the new post, a campsite already inhabited by

Aivilingmiut The Aivilingmiut (or Aivilik) are those Inuit who traditionally have resided north of Hudson Bay in Canada, near Naujaat (Repulse Bay), Chesterfield Inlet, Southampton Island, and Cape Fullerton. They are descendants of the Thule people and are ...

families. They landed about 100 tonnes of building materials, fuel, food, and trade goods, and began construction of the new post. Bill Peters, Dudley Copeland, and the two Inuit families who that had accompanied them remained behind to operate the post, and Capt. Cleveland returned with ''Fort Chesterfield'' to Chesterfield Inlet. Capt. Cleveland fell sick and died that winter. Image:Crowd aboard Fort Chesterfield May 1926.jpg, Crowd aboard ''Fort Chesterfield'', May 1926

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Chesterfield (Schooner) Schooners 1920 ships Hudson's Bay Company ships Ships built in Newfoundland and Labrador