Birth of the Navy (1910-1914)
HMCS Niobe

HMCS Niobe, one of the Naval Service of Canada's first two ships, was intended in part to train Canadian sailors. A large, obsolescent cruiser, Niobe required many crew and was expensive to operate. Lengthy repairs after it ran aground in 1911, and subsequent budget cutbacks, limited the ship's activities.

Coaling the Ship, HMCS Niobe

Crew members replenish HMCS Niobe's coal supply from a lighter or barge alongside.

Though Niobe could hold 1,000 tons of coal, the cruiser's heavy fuel consumption made the filthy task of coaling the ship a frequent duty. When resupplying with coal, much of the crew worked to fill the ship's coal storage areas, called bunkers. The stokers had the gruelling task of shovelling coal from the bunkers into the fireboxes of the ship's 30 boilers. The heat from this burning coal created the steam necessary to power the two enormous engines which turned Niobe's propellers.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 20030174-011