A LENS ON VANCOUVER'S PAST

LUMBER

M.S. KERTOSONO [at  Ballantyne Pier] 
August 19, 1954
CVA 447-5443.2

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Lumber typically arrived in Vancouver on barges from local coastal sawmills and would then be cross-loaded as shown onto freighters, such as the Dutch-flagged KERTOSONO.
 

Immediately after the war, Europe needed lumber to rebuild. Prepared mostly as planks and boards, British Columbia's coastal sawmills located nearby along both Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River. 
 

Lumber exports from B.C. to the Netherlands totaled over 52 trillion board feet in 1947. Ten years later, this volume dropped to just 4 trillion board feet due to market conditions and maritime freight rates.