MV ''Hiawatha'' is a passenger ferry built in 1895 for the

Royal Canadian Yacht Club The Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) is a private yacht club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1852, it is one of the world's older and larger yacht clubs. Its summer home is on a trio of islands (RCYC Island, South Island and North Chip ...

, in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. The boat is long, wide, has a depth of , and measures 46 gross tons. Her capacity is 100 passengers. ''Hiawatha'' was built by the Bertram Engine Works near Queen's Wharf in Toronto harbour and named for

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

, a

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

leader and co-founder of the

Iroquois confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

. It is claimed to be the oldest passenger vessel still in active service on the North American

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. ''Hiawatha'' has served as a ferry for the yacht club since 1895. The boat was converted from a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

to a gasoline engine in 1944. The ship was refurbished in 1983. On July 26, 2000, both ''Hiawatha'' and the yacht club's slightly newer ferry, '' Kwasind'', were sunk by vandals. ''Kwasind'' was refloated and was back in working order the day of the sinking, while ''Hiawatha'' required further repair.

References

External links

''Hiawatha''s historical plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiawatha Ferries of Ontario 1895 ships Ships built in Toronto