8. Canadian Connections
Transatlantic Cargo
Winnipeg Quay, Detroit Bridge and Erie Basin. Have you ever noticed that some of the names around Salford Quays have a North American connection? Let’s find out why…
Photograph: Timber imports at Salford Docks (credit Manchester Postcards).
The Canadian connections are everywhere to see at Salford Quays, celebrated in the names of the Quays and Basins.
Strong trading links are represented by the names Winnipeg Quay, Huron Basin, Vancouver Quay, Detroit Bridge and Erie Basin.
Over at Merchant’s Quay, the St Francis and St Louis Basins are named after Canadian lakes, and St Peter Basin is in recognition of St. Peter’s, the town in Nova Scotia, Canada, that shipped and received regular cargoes of products including timber and grain.
Photograph: The Detroit Bridge at Salford Quays today.
The arrival of the liners
Manchester Liners was a shipping company that pioneered a regular passage of ocean-going ships along the Manchester Ship Canal.
For the first time they operated a route along shipping ‘lines’ and were instrumental in increasing transatlantic shipping trade and connections between Salford, Canada and the United States.
Manchester Liners decided from the outset to make Manchester–Canada its prime route, with other lines to the cotton ports of New Orleans and Galveston in the United States.
All of its ships were registered in the Port of Manchester, although many were lost during the First and Second World Wars.
Photographs: A busy day at Dock No.9 and workers at the Ship Canal.
A bridge with a sailing licence
The Detroit Bridge, built in 1941, was originally used as a two track railway swing bridge crossing the Manchester Ship Canal to the west of the Trafford Road swing bridge. The name of the bridge recognises the strong trade links between Salford and the US at the time and the design enabled the bridge to swing around allowing ships to pass and bring their cargo into port.
With the decline of the dock industry in Salford the bridge became redundant in 1981. It was refurbished seven years later and floated to its current location. In 1988 a sailing licence was required to float the bridge down the Ship Canal on pontoons to a new position across the former Dock No.9.
Photograph: The Detroit Bridge today providing a pedestrian crossing.
The Detroit Bridge at Salford Quays today
The Detroit Bridge is used everyday by those living, working or visiting the Quays. The bridge still holds a plaque dedicated to a former worker of Manchester Liners, Thomas Patient who passed away in 2016.
The Thunderbird Totem
To celebrate the longstanding trade links between Salford and Manchester and Vancouver, the Chairman of Manchester Liners commissioned a totem pole by artist Doug Cranmer, chief of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribe and a celebrated ‘Namgis carver.
The 32ft Salford Totem was carved by Doug Cranmer in 1969 and situated in front of the newly constructed Furness House, next to Dock No.8.
The totem pole featured four symbolic designs – the Great Eagle or Thunderbird, representing family and solidarity; the Killer Whale, representing master of the seas; the raven, both a messenger and symbol of trade; and copper coins, to signify wealth and power.
Photograph: Doug Cranmer with one of his Thunderbird Totem poles from Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia.
The Salford Totem today
With the onset of rot at its base, the totem was removed in 2005. It has now been restored by a team led by the University of Kent and including chief Doug Cranmer’s nephew, Kevin Cranmer.
After an appearance on the Antiques Roadshow in 2019, the totem is set to return to Salford Quays in the future.
Photograph: Salford’s Thunderbird Totem on display in Amsterdam following its restoration.
