R.P. Rithet (sternwheeler)
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R.P. Rithet at Yale, BC on the Fraser River.
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| History | |
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| Name: | R.P. Rithet |
| Port of registry: | CAN #85316 |
| Route: | Fraser River, Strait of Georgia, Howe Sound |
| Builder: | Alexander Watson of Victoria |
| Launched: | April 20, 1882 |
| Maiden voyage: | June 10, 1882 |
| Out of service: | 1917 |
| Fate: | Converted to barge |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | inland passenger/freighter |
| Tonnage: | 817 gross tons; 686 registered tons |
| Length: | 177 ft (54 m) |
| Beam: | 33.6 ft (10 m) |
| Depth: | 8.5 ft (3 m) depth of hold |
| Installed power: | twin steam engines, horizontally mounted, 20" bore by 60" stroke, 250 indicated horsepower, built 1875 by Rishon Iron Works, San Francisco |
| Propulsion: | sternwheel |
R.P. Rithet was a sternwheel steamer that operated in British Columbia from 1882 to 1917. The common name for this vessel was the Rithet. After 1909 this vessel was known as the Baramba.
R.P.Rithet was designed to replace the recently burned Elizabeth J. Irving. The engines from Elizabeth J. Irving were salvaged and installed in the Rithet, which was intended to the most luxurious riverboat ever launched up to that time in British Columbia. The vessel was built by master shipwright Alexander Watson for Captain (sometimes called "Commodore") John Irving, one of the most famous steamboat captains in the history of British Columbia. The Irving family was strongly connected with development on the east side of Portland, Oregon, and it was reported in the contemporary press that they had sold some of their land in East Portland for $65,000, some of which may have been applied to pay for the new steamer. The new vessel was named after Robert Paterson Rithet, a businessman who was married to the sister of Captain Irving's wife. He was a partner in the firm of Welsh, Rithet, and Co., which had offices in San Francisco and Victoria, BC, and also major sugar holdings in the Hawaiian Islands. Rithet was a close business associate of and adviser to Captain Irving.
Rithet was equipped with hydraulic steering gear, and electric lighting, a new development at that time. The steamer was launched on April 20, 1882, at Victoria. The steamer was to join the Irving family's fleet of other vessels, then known as the Pioneer Line. About six weeks after the vessel was launched, Captain Irving took Rithet on her first voyage to the mainland, arriving at New Westminster, BC on June 10, 1882. Arriving on a Saturday night, the vessel's electric lights shown brilliantly across the water, earning the praise of the local press. A military band had been embarked, which played stirring tunes as crowds of people swarmed on the docks to welcome Captain Irving's new steamer.
By 1882, the Pioneer Line had vanquished most of its competitors on the run up the Fraser River from New Westminster. Irving's major rival at the time of the launch of Rithet was Captain William Moore, who ran Western Slope under contract with the Hudson's Bay Company ("HBC") across the Strait of Georgia from New Westminster to Victoria. Moore went into bankruptcy, and Irving and Rithet then joined with Alexandro Munro, HBC chief factor and other prominent businessmen to incorporate the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company ("C.P.N."). HBC contributed three of its vessels, and Irving contributed four, including R.P. Rithet.
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