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Post by Retrovision on Feb 12, 2008 0:50:55 GMT -8
It was interesting to see a small piece on CBC News Vancouver at 6 tonight, on CBC TV, about how it's apparently only now official that the Queen's portrait is slowly being removed from existing vessels and will not be on any new vessels, supported by a Monarchist League of Canada representative's suprise saying that he hadn't heard of it and is only "now" scrambling into action at the news. The story contained a tidbit - and footage aboard - that the Queen of Capilano still retains hers, as do other older vessels. Among those older vessels still containing a portrait of Canada's Queen, of course, is the venerable Queen of Esquimalt, as can be seen in the Forward Observation Lounge...  ...Does anyone care to help tabulate a list of vessels in the fleet that still contain a portrait of our country's sovereign? - And, in the same thread of disappearing symbolism aboard... I've been scarce around here lately but can't find note of what's missing in this photograph, again from aboard the Queen of Esquimalt...  Can you spot the missing, some say, essential piece of hardware that mariners for centuries have considered quite necessary? Does the photo being taken over the bow ring a bell?   |
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Post by Mac Write on Feb 12, 2008 1:46:38 GMT -8
The bell is missing of course (and I didn't need the hint).
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Post by Ferryman on Feb 12, 2008 8:05:58 GMT -8
Yeah, the Bell has been missing since her last refit last spring at least. There is still a bell up on the port side bridge wing though. I'd expect to see the other bells disappear on the other ships on the block pretty quick as well.
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Mill Bay
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Long Suffering Bosun
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Post by Mill Bay on Feb 12, 2008 8:44:59 GMT -8
I know we'vre discussed the issue of the bells in the past. Something about stealing the soul of a ship.
I know we were all actually quite surprised on the Queen of Tsawwassen to see she still has her bell.
I wonder how you could acquire one of those bells when it is removed from the ship.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 12, 2008 8:49:51 GMT -8
The Queen is disappearing, I understand, because BC Ferries is no longer an agency of the crown and therefore she has to go. In otherwords because they are a 'private' company.  We all know that this is, in fact, untrue. Or maybe it has to do with Mr Hahn's roots, and a possible dislike for Canada's British heritage? |
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Post by kerryssi on Feb 12, 2008 9:12:50 GMT -8
When they came up with the Coastal act and suposedly privatized the fleet they got rid of the dogwood because it was felt to be an old symbol and they wanted to eliminate any association with the past. The same reason the new ships do not have "queen of" in their names and why the queen is dissapearing from the ships.
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Mill Bay
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Long Suffering Bosun
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Post by Mill Bay on Feb 12, 2008 10:24:17 GMT -8
I'm surprised they haven't started replacing the portraits of the Queen with images of David Hahn smiling down on his precious victims (um I mean passengers (except I'm not sure if he is capable of smiling)).
What better to demonstrate the glorius independent corporations's wonderful and easy relationship with the travelling public than with a nice grinning, personally identifiable portrait of the new king of the ferries.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Feb 12, 2008 12:03:30 GMT -8
The removing of the Queen's picture is on the noon news on CBC from Vancouver. They showed the portrait on the Queen of Cap.
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Post by Retrovision on Feb 12, 2008 14:07:28 GMT -8
I'm surprised they haven't started replacing the portraits of the Queen with images of David Hahn smiling down on his precious victims (um I mean passengers (except I'm not sure if he is capable of smiling)). What better to demonstrate the glorius independent corporations's wonderful and easy relationship with the travelling public than with a nice grinning, personally identifiable portrait of the new king of the ferries. Funny you should mention that as one of the few short interviews with the public shown in the CBC News story was of a woman saying " Now that it's a private company they can put up the portrait of anyone they want, they could even put George W. Bush's picture up"   The removing of the Queen's picture is on the noon news on CBC from Vancouver. They showed the portrait on the Queen of Cap. Same story (the noon news often contains repeats from the evening before; I'm just happy that Global no longer has the monopoly on local television news at noon) ...The story contained a tidbit - and footage aboard - that the Queen of Capilano still retains hers, as do other older vessels.... |
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Post by ferrytraveller on Feb 12, 2008 17:58:49 GMT -8
Since BC Ferries is trying to distance themselves from being a crown corporation, which they still sorta are.... a large part of BC Marine History goes with it, which we all know. So my question is.. If some how the save our ferries or any other voice out there manages to get BC Ferries back to a crown corporation, does anyone think we will see the Queen of ........ names again?? i sadly suspect not  |
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Feb 12, 2008 19:49:52 GMT -8
The Republican Hahnites have been beaten back by the Monarchists. BC Ferries has yielded to public pressure and reversed it's decree about banishing the Queen from the fleet. Looking at that photo of the dreary bow lounge on the 'Esquimalt, bare and unfinished after 45 years, one is reminded that on the older boats, the Queen's photo is often one of the few decorous things onboard.
Maybe someone reminded Dave that all the shares in his 'private' firm are held by the people, through the Province, and that British Columbia is still part of a constitutional monarchy.
Britannia rules the waves.
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Post by shipyard on Feb 12, 2008 20:34:26 GMT -8
When I was on the Esquimalt on the weekend, I noticed her original plaque is missing from it's wooden backing. I think it was there a couple of weeks ago.
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Post by Dane on Feb 12, 2008 20:43:41 GMT -8
I think this is good... sort of.
While I feel Her Majesty in right should be aboard all the vessels, and despite the fact they are all still crown assets (I think?) at the end of the day BCFS is a private company now, and it is not as appropriate to be using her image. I realize she is "public domain," to a degree, but none the less she is the Soveirgn and represents the State, not a company that screws citizens trying to get from A to B.
God Save the Queen.
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Post by Ferryman on Feb 12, 2008 21:29:35 GMT -8
Actually come to think of it.....I seem to recall seeing a photo of the Queen located somewhere on all of the C-Class pre Mid Life upgrades. The pictures would have been removed as crews were stripping the interior. I would also imagine that there was a picture of the Queen on the Spirits before their Coastalization refit as well. So these Queen photos that the media is referring to, have disappeared on the ships, and were quite possibly removed on every ship that has been "Coastalized".
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Feb 12, 2008 22:11:32 GMT -8
They were indeed removed from the Spirits and Cs, and new photos will be placed if the old ones can't be found. All new ships will have the Queen's photo as they come on line.
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Post by Retrovision on Feb 12, 2008 23:58:34 GMT -8
The Republican Hahnites have been beaten back by the Monarchists. BC Ferries has yielded to public pressure and reversed it's decree about banishing the Queen from the fleet. Looking at that photo of the dreary bow lounge on the 'Esquimalt, bare and unfinished after 45 years, one is reminded that on the older boats, the Queen's photo is often one of the few decorous things onboard. Maybe someone reminded Dave that all the shares in his 'private' firm are held by the people, through the Province, and that British Columbia is still part of a constitutional monarchy. Britannia rules the waves. Thank you for not only the heads-up, Neil, but more to the point for a deep chuckle shared between myself and both of my parents tonight after dinner. My dad particularly enjoyed that " Britannia rules the waves" line thrown in as one with keen navy heritage and knowledge.  When I was on the Esquimalt on the weekend, I noticed her original plaque is missing from it's wooden backing. I think it was there a couple of weeks ago. As I'm happy others did for me after not noticing the lack of such an essential piece of hardware as a ship's bell aboard the ' Esquimalt for so long up until only just recently, let alone only truly learning after being reminded recently of the remaining bell on the port bridge wing also, I certainly can forgive you for not realizing as I have that the plaque you speak of has been missing for months. They were indeed removed from the Spirits and Cs, and new photos will be placed if the old ones can't be found. All new ships will have the Queen's photo as they come on line. As Mrs. Marshall was just quoted again, this time on CH News, the portraits will be going back up on all vessels - presumably she's including new vessels also - after a "change of heart". I'm not too sure how you qualify the difference between old and new official portraits of the queen however as I still have memories of the last set. Somehow during a certain period of my youth they were all updated from what I can now only describe as - what even seemed at the time in my least reliable years for determining age - a 1960s or 70s at latest portrait of our reigning monarch. - On a related note, my mom, normally a fairly staunch detractor of monarchy's role in modern day Canada, upon bringing up the news item of the Queen's portrait aboard our ferries in conversation told me of a rare phone call she made into CBC Radio 1's Talk Back line. Like I said, this is a rare event for her, and this call is made even more unprecedented by her normal stance against our monarchy's role in our country's daily life. Adding to the apparent swell of voices of support for our Queen's portrait, among even those who she doesn't necessarily agree with in whole, she reminded me of a much-told story of her coming to our great land as a young child with her family for the event of the World's Fair that built Seattle's Space Needle in the 60s. She interluded with mention of one of the first muses she had as a potential budding artist doodling, as she does to this day, the Queen on a BC Ferry during that trip that she found so fascinating and focussed so much of her attention on. She continued on to make her point, saying, basically, that people from the U.S. are given the chance, the novelty as I think of it as, to truly feel like they're in another country even though they've only crossed their northern border when they see our Queen's portrait displayed so proudly, making for among other things a great tourist draw. I can't disagree. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2008 7:44:59 GMT -8
The Queen's picture is going to be back on the BC Ferries. This according to Ms. Marshall, in an article on yesterdays(Wednesdays ) Times-Colonist.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Feb 14, 2008 8:30:14 GMT -8
The "Queen" flap made it on the national radar screen. The National Post carried the return of the portrait.
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Kam
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Post by Kam on Feb 14, 2008 9:43:28 GMT -8
Anyone have one of those articles?
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Post by Dane on Feb 14, 2008 12:18:01 GMT -8
Anyone have one of those articles? David Hogben, Vancouver Sun Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 BC Ferries has been removing photographs of Queen Elizabeth from its vessels for five years. But after a day of fielding "dozens and dozens" of angry phone calls and letters on Tuesday, the company announced Her Majesty will again reign over the ferries on B.C. waters. Keith Roy, chairman of the Vancouver branch of the Monarchist League of Canada, vowed to campaign until the former Crown corporation relented and Tuesday he received his wish. "This is important to B.C. This is important to taxpayers and this is important to Canadians across the country," Roy said. BC Ferries has been removing the pictures each time a vessel is refurbished since 2003, when the ferry system was transformed from a Crown corporation into a private commercial company. BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said the photographs were removed to reflect the change. A story about the removal hit the local media Monday and the calls started first thing Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon, the issue was raised at a regular executive meeting and the policy was quickly reversed, said Marshall. The photos were removed from the Queen of Coquitlam in 2003, the Queen of Cowichan in 2004, the Queen of Oak Bay and the Spirit of B.C. in 2005, the Queen of Surrey and the Spirit of Vancouver Island in 2006, and the Queen of Alberni in 2007. Marshall said BC Ferries meant no disrespect to the Queen. It also rid itself of its dogwood flag and adopted a stylized wave as its new corporate logo when it was privatized. None of that matters much to a monarchist such as Roy. "These are public ships that are part of a public transportation system that is in public waters with public funding," he said. dhogben@png.canwest.com |
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Post by Guest 1 on Feb 14, 2008 12:46:39 GMT -8
Has any other pictures of her Majesty been removed or replaced in any other government buildings?
Is it only on the ferries where this has happen, or has it happen in other "Privatized" Provincial business?
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Post by Dane on Feb 14, 2008 18:42:17 GMT -8
Just was thinking about this thread today - if you didn't know you can get free portraits of Her Majesty, Prince Phillip, and the Governer General from the Government of Canada. www.canada.gc.ca - just use the general "contact us" e-mail or 1-800-O-CANADA |
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Post by Scott on Feb 17, 2008 14:21:34 GMT -8
How many boats bear the Provincial Coat of Arms? Looking at my pics from the last year, I can see them on the Mayne Queen, Bowen Queen, Queen of Saanich, Queen of Vancouver, Skeena Queen, Spirit of Vancouver Island, Spirit of British Columbia. There are probably more. But I don't see them on the C-class ships (even old photos) or the Queen of New Westminster or Queen of Tsawwassen, among others. What determines if they get the coat of arms? Or did they all have them at one point?
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Post by DENelson83 on Feb 17, 2008 14:22:57 GMT -8
Since they're on the provincial highway system, all of the BC Ferry vessels should have the provincial coat of arms on them, privatized or not. That includes the Super C's.
The Queens of Cumberland and Capilano also have them, BTW.
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Post by Scott on Feb 17, 2008 14:26:40 GMT -8
The Queen of Capilano and Cumberland also have them. Maybe some of the other ferries have them somewhere less visible? Inside? I'm not sure, I never really thought of noticing until now:)
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We all know that this is, in fact, untrue.
