Wreck of Breadalbane National Historic Site of Canada

The Wreck of Breadalbane was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1983 because:

• the ship was involved in the search for Captain John Franklin’s lost expedition.

Breadalbane was built in 1843 in a shipyard on the Clyde River in Scotland. It spent the first few years of its existence as a merchant vessel, travelling as far as Calcutta. After the disappearance of Sir John Franklin’s expedition, which was searching for the Northwest Passage, Breadalbane was pressed into service by the British Admiralty to supply the vessels which were exploring the Arctic waters in search of Franklin and his crew. It left the Thames River in 1853, accompanying HMS Phoenix, and arrived at the rallying point for the search parties at Beechey Island later that year. However, the Arctic weather did not co-operate and Breadalbane soon found itself surrounded by slow-moving yet implacable pack ice. The ship was quickly emptied of as many supplies and personal effects as possible. On the night of August 20-21, the ice finally broke through the hull, sinking Breadalbane to the floor of Barrow Strait.