Hera (1899)

The Hera was a 389-ton 3 masted wooden schooner built in Boston Massachusetts in 1869. It is representative of the many trading schooners built in New England which plied the West Coast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also important for its role in transporting cargo and miners during the 1898 Yukon Gold Rush.

The Hera was enroute from Seattle to Honolulu when battered by a southeast gale its hull began to leak causing its cargo of lime to catch fire. After a valiant effort to contain the fire, the crew abandoned the vessel off Lennard Island and the Hera drifted ablaze into Tofino harbour where it burned to the waterline and sank on November 25, 1899.

The Hera lies on a sandy bottom in 12 metres of water off the east side of Felice Island in Tofino Harbour. Large portions of the vessel’s hull and cargo remain intact on the bottom and under the sand. The port side of the vessel is exposed while the starboard side is well buried in the sand. Portions of the Heras beer bottle and lime cargo are visible protruding from the sandy bottom.

Note: This shipwreck has been designated as a provincial heritage site under section 9 of the Heritage Conservation Act. It is illegal to damage, alter or remove a heritage object from a heritage wreck except under a permit issued by the Archaeology Branch.