MV Kipawo
Encyclopedia
MV Kipawo is a historic Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
passenger and freight ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
.
Kipawo was launched on December 5, 1924, by the St. John Drydock & Shipbuilding Co.
Saint John Shipbuilding
Saint John Shipbuilding was a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Saint John, New Brunswick. It operated from 1923-2003.-History:Numerous shipyards were located on the shores of Courtney Bay in the east end of Saint John Harbour where extensive mud flats dried at low tide.In 1918 it was...
, the first ship ever built by that yard, for the Dominion Atlantic Railway
Dominion Atlantic Railway
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley....
and commissioned into service on April 1, 1926. The vessel's name is a portmanteau of the first 2 letters from three different ports on the Minas Basin
Minas Basin
The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...
: Kingsport
Kingsport, Nova Scotia
Kingsport, is a small seaside village located in Kings County, Nova Scotia on the shores of the Minas Basin.-Geography:Kingsport is located just northeast of the mouth of the Habitant River, on the west side of Minas Basin, a few miles east of Canning at the eastern end of Route 221. It is bordered...
, Parrsboro
Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
Parrsboro is a Canadian town located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.The town is known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions and the Fundy Geological Museum.-History:...
and Wolfville
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Wolfville is a small town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. As of 2006, the population was 3,772....
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Kipawo was requisitioned by the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
and saw service in Conception Bay
Conception Bay
Conception Bay is a Canadian bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. The bay indents the Avalon Peninsula with the opening of the bay to the Atlantic Ocean at the northeast. It is bounded by Cape St. Francis in the south and Split Point near Bay de Verde in the north...
, Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
as a tender for anti-submarine net
Anti-submarine net
An anti-submarine net is a device placed across the mouth of a harbour or a strait for protection against submarines.-Examples of anti-submarine nets:*Lake Macquarie anti-submarine boom*Indicator net*Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign...
s off the iron ore loading piers at Bell Island
Bell Island
Bell Island is a Canadian island located off Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula in Conception Bay.Measuring 9 km in length and 3 km in width, Bell Island has an area of 34 km²...
.
During the post-war years until retirement in 1977, Kipawo saw service as a small passenger and vehicle ferry from Bell Island to Portugal Cove, ending 51 years of service, approximately 45 of those as a ferry and currently the second-longest continuous service as a ferry in Canada (SS Prince Edward Island having operated from 1915-1969).
Following retirement from ferry service in Newfoundland,Kipawo saw service as a private tour boat in the waters off Terra Nova National Park
Terra Nova National Park
Terra Nova National Park is located on the east coast of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, along several inlets of Bonavista Bay...
for several years. While en route to St. John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
one day in the late 1970s, she sought shelter in Bonavista Bay
Bonavista Bay
Bonavista Bay is a large bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It opens directly onto the Atlantic Ocean....
from a storm but ran aground and remained there deteriorating for several years. The vessel was purchased in 1981 by the Kipawo Heritage Society of Wolfville and was returned to Minas Basin in 1982.
Not long after returning to the Minas Basin, Kipawo was purchased by the Town of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
Parrsboro is a Canadian town located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.The town is known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions and the Fundy Geological Museum.-History:...
for a museum and was deliberately beached in a tidal inlet immediately south of the town while funding arrangements were secured. By 1986 the museum concept was shelved in favour of housing a local theatre, the Ship's Company Theatre
Ship's Company Theatre
The Ship's Company Theatre is a professional theatre company based in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.Founded in 1984 by Michael Fuller and Mary Vingoe, the Ship's Company Theatre is an acclaimed and innovative professional company that features productions of Canadian works, with an emphasis on new works...
, which began to use the Kipawo as their performance centre. In 2004, the theatre company expanded its facilities with an expanded performance hall which architecturally incorporates the Kipawo into the outdoor lobby.