Pacific Station
Videos
The Pacific Station was created in 1837 as one of the geographical military formations into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. The South America Station was split into the Pa
The capture of USS Essex by Phoebe and Cherub off Valparaíso, 28 March 1814
An 1830 illustration of Valparaíso Bay shows a mix of commercial and military vessels
Unknown Monmouth-class cruiser in Esquimalt Harbour, 1906
The British Arch, erected in 1911 on Brazil Avenue in Valparaíso, commemorates Lord Cochrane, Robert Simpson, and other founders of the Chilean Navy
Esquimalt Royal Naval Dockyard was a major British Royal Navy yard on Canada's Pacific coast from 1842 to 1905, subsequently operated by the Canadian government as HMC Dockyard Esquimalt, now part of
Pacific Station
…and that there was no British claim over the islands. In 1842, Pandora was sent north to survey the coast of Vancouver Island and what would become the Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard. During the survey trip, the crew of Pandora found that Esquimalt Harbour had a size and depth suited for use as a Royal Navy harbour. As tensions…
SS Islander in the Esquimalt graving dock in the 1890s
First Esquimalt Dry Dock, 1901, Photo: John Wallace Jones