File talk:Esquimalt-steamer.jpg

This image of an abandoned steamboat is actually the steamer Alexandra, which once belonged to Captain William Moore. The photograph can be compared to the thumbnail image, and the identity is obvious. The number of windows on the upper and lower cabins, the arches used to brace the boat are visible in both photos, the peculiar four cornered curved peaked roof on the pilot house, and the two masts, with similar rigging, all are matches. Both vessels are sternwheelers, and in both the huge stern wheel projects well above the boat deck. These are undoubtedly photographs of the same vessel. The Provincial Archives, from which this image is drawn, did not identify the boat, although its distinct design should have been a clue. Art Downs, in Paddlewheels on the Frontier, at page 32, reprints the known photograph of Alexandra, and reports that Captain Moore never got enough money together to finish her and overall she failed to make money, consistent with being abandoned on a beach. The absence of funnels in the beached photograph would be consistent with the removal of machinery for reuse prior to abandonment, a common practice. Mtsmallwood (talk) 06:37, 7 March 2008 (UTC)