Rivers Inlet - Great Bear Rainforest | Education and Awareness Trust

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Rivers Inlet (Wuikinuxv Territory)

Background information

The Wiukinuxv Nation has inhabited areas along the central coast near Rivers Inlet, Oweekeno Lake and its drainage for over ten thousand years.

In 1792, Captain George Vancouver named Rivers Inlet after George Pitt (1721-1803), 1^st Baron Rivers of Strathfieldsaye.

Settler arrival
Located near the mouth of the Wannock River, the Rivers Inlet Cannery was the first cannery to be built in the area in 1882. During a storm, the barge with building materials for the cannery encountered a storm and was unable to moor at the desired location. Instead, it traveled further down Rivers Inlet before stopping. A foreman examined the area, discovered that fresh water was available, and decided to build the cannery there instead. A post office named Rivers Inlet operated at the Rivers Inlet Cannery. The cannery closed in 1933.

Between 1882 and the 1950s, seventeen canneries were in operation in the Rivers Inlet area. Rivers Inlet had a hospital from 1897 – 1950.

The inlet is now closed to commercial fishing, though several sport fishing lodges remain active.