1927 Sailings and Notables – Empress of Asia

Arrival: January 24th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by L. D. Douglas concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on January 24^th, 1927. During the first five days after leaving Yokohama the ship experienced head seas and northwesterly gales that delayed the arrival at Victoria by several hours. Despite the poor weather the EMPRESS OF ASIA averaged a speed of 18.4 knots for the crossing. A light passenger list of 221 was reported with 32 First Class, 44 Second Class, 31 Third Class and 114 steerage. A cargo measuring 4880 tons was reported with 180 tons being left at Victoria. A mail consignment of 1,100 bags was discharged at Victoria with 14 bags being sent to the United States by airplane.

Notes of Intrest:

The EMPRESS OF ASIA was the first Canadian Pacific ship to arrive in British Columbia from the Orient in 1927.

While in the Far East, the EMPRESS OF ASIA was overhauled at Hong Kong and returned to British Columbia with the hull painted in the colours used prior to World War One. The ship entered Victoria harbour with a white hull marked with a blue line around the sides.

During 1926 and 1927 disturbances in the Hankow (Wuhan) region of China had caused many British residents to flee down the Yangtze River to Shanghai.

A party of refugees, comprised mostly of missionaries and their families, boarded the EMPRESS OF ASIA while the ship visited Shanghai and traveled to British Columbia on this voyage.

Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Vancouver on January 24^th, 1927.

Dr. W. H. Pott	Of Shanghai, St. John’s University, en route to the United States.
H. V. McKeown	Of Thomas Cook and Son.
H. P. Thomas	Import Export broker travelling to Canada.
H. N. MacIntyre	Of Shanghai, broker en route to England.
E. M. Poons	Of New York, businessman.
T. B. McCall	Of Korea, mining engineer, en route to the United States.
Mrs. F. Cameron	Of Kobe, travelling to Vancouver.
Shotari Sato	Of Kyoto, on a business trip to North America and Europe.
A. E. Cooper	Director of Cooper & Son travelling from Japan.
Brigadier and Mrs. Thomas Wilson	With the Salvation Army in Japan, en route to England.
Reverend and Mrs. J. Helps	Missionaries from Hankow.
L. S. Caldwell	Mining engineer from Changsha.

Departure: February 6th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by L. D. Douglas,, began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on February 6^th, 1927. A capacity cargo and a passenger list of 302 was reported. The cargo included cotton, flour, beef, and mutton.

The ship was a day late in sailing for the Far East having had to await the arrival by rail of passengers and mail from the Canadian Pacific liner MONTROSE. The MONTROSE had reached Saint John on February 1^st, 1937.

Notable passengers embarking aboard the EMPRESS OF ASIA February 6^th, 1927 at Vancouver and Victoria.

Saint Nihal Singh	Indian journalist and author.
Honourable Din Hain	Of Peking, special Commissioner of the Department of Education.
L. L. Garshevich	Of Dodwell & Co.
Mrs. L. B. Cumming	Of Washington, D.C.
Mrs. H. N. Brock	Associated with the University of British Columbia.

Arrival: March 27th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by L. D. Douglas concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on March 27^th, 1927. After leaving Yokohama the ship encountered a severe south west storm lasting two days that resulted in waves damaging two lifeboats on the starboard side. The EMPRESS OF ASIA however managed a respectable averaged speed of 18.57 knots for the crossing. A passenger list of 667 was reported with 110 Cabin Class, 97 Second Class, 37 Third Class and 423 Steerage.

The passenger list included many British and American refugees who were fleeing the civil unrest that was sweeping China. The refugees originated from may area of China including Shanghai, Nanking, Hankow and Chunking. Because of the unsettled conditions in China, the ship did not make the regular call to Shanghai but instead remained 14 miles down stream from the city at Woosung.

A cargo measuring 4485 tons was reported including 4,160 bales of raw silk. A mail consignment of 1,150 bags was reported. At Victoria 120 tons of cargo and 119 bags of mail were discharged. Seventeen bags of mail were sent to Seattle by seaplane.

Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Vancouver on March 27^th, 1927.

L. Dunbar

Of Hong Kong, a grain merchant.

Departure: April 9th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on April 9^th, 1927. A capacity cargo and a passenger list of 240 were reported with 40 Cabin Class, 20 Second Class, 9 Third Class, and 161 Steerage passengers.

The cargo included automobiles, lead, wheat, flour, beef, mutton and 2,121 bags of mail.

At Victoria the ship loaded 15 tons of freight, 421 bags of mail and embarked 33 passengers.

Notable passengers embarking aboard the EMPRESS OF ASIA April 9^th, 1927 at Vancouver and Victoria.

C. O. Julien

A member of the Vancouver Harbour Board travelling to the Far East.

Arrival: May 29th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by L. D. Douglas, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on May 29^th, 1927. Good weather was experienced on the crossing with the ship making an average speed of 18.4 knots. A large passenger list of 1,056 persons was reported, comprising 230 First Class, 104 Second Class, 65 Third Class and 656 Steerage. Many passengers were fleeing war conditions in China.

Cargo included 1,313 bags of mail including 341 bags of parcel mail from Shanghai.

Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Vancouver on May 29^th, 1927.

Sir Harold Parlett and Lady Parlett	Advisor to the British Embassy at Tokyo.
Mrs. O. St. Clair O’Malley	Associated with the British Legation at Peking.
Bishop W. White	American Methodist Mission.
A. H. Arnhold	Merchant in the Orient.
W. Burkhill	Associated with the rubber industry.
George Potts	Financial broker.
P. C. Young	Chairman of the Tientsin Municipal Council.
Dr. Bancroft	American educationalist.
Bernard Duis	Of New York, Vice-President of the National City Bank.
F. S Chase	Of Washington D.C., United States Department of State.
H. Wallem	Canton ship owner.
F. Fales	Associated with the Standard Oil Company.
Mrs. Tousdale	Associated with the American Embassy at Tokyo.
Billy Coutts	Equestrian
R. C. Treadwell	United Sates Consul General at Hong Kong.
Hon. R. C. Bird	Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council.
Commander Leckie	Of the Royal Navy, en route to Hong Kong.
Lieutenant Amcotts	Of the Royal Navy, en route to Hong Kong.

Departure: June 9th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on June 9^th, 1927. The ship carried a light passenger list, with a total of 280 passengers. The ship was heavily laden with general cargo with large consignments of flour and refrigerator parcels.

Notable passengers embarking aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA on June 9^th, 1927 at Vancouver and Victoria.

Note of Interest:

Roald Amundsen the renowned Arctic and Antarctic explorer was a passenger on this crossing, bound for Yokohama.

Roald Amundsen	Renowned Arctic and Antarctic explorer bound for Yokohama.
Charles MacVeagh	United States Ambassador to Japan, boarded at Victoria after travelling by boat from Seattle.
Lieutenant W. F. McArthur	En route to the Orient from London.
E. K. Titus	New York newspaperman making a world tour. He will travel to Europe via the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Arrival: August 1st 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by L. D. Douglas, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on August 1^st, 1927. A speed of 19.5 knots was achieved on the crossing from Yokohama. A large passenger list of 597 was reported with 116 First Class, 98 Second Class, 32 Third Class and 351 in steerage. Passengers included a party of 15 missionaries returning form the Chinese interior.

A capacity cargo was reported including a large shipment of raw silk measuring 1,000 tons and valued at $12,000,000.00. A special train of 20 cars awaited the arrival of the ship to expedite the raw silk to eastern mills. In addition to carrying the largest silk shipment ever loaded in her holds, she also carried a capacity cargo of 3,035 tons. At Victoria 200 tons were discharged, at Vancouver 900, 1325 tons were for overland shipment, 20 tons for Puget Sound, 330 tons for inter-coastal transshipment, and 260 tons for eastern Canadian destinations.

The mailroom held 807 bags, and several hundred were discharged at Victoria for transshipment to Seattle. Some 15 bags will be carried to Seattle by airmail.

Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Vancouver on August 1^st, 1927.

A. S. Patterson	Of Melbourne, Manager of the Australian interests of the Massey-Harris Company.
Mrs. P. Daniels	Of Batavia.
Colonel P. L. W. Powell	Of the Welsh Regiment stationed at Hong Kong, en route to England.
T. H. U. Aldridge	Chief Engineer, Shanghai Municipal Council.
J. H. Grant	Of Shanghai, Chief Accountant of the Standard Oil Company.
Lieutenant Commander K. Grant	Of H.M.S. CARLISLE.
G. H. Purcell	Of Shanghai.
Mr. and Mrs. McBain	Of Shanghai.
Mr. and Mrs. H. O. White	Of Shanghai.
Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Wilkinson	Of Shanghai.
G. Hussey	Architect.
Lord Charles Cavendish
Major W. S. Nathan
Captain G. Davis
H. C. Durreschmidt	Of Hong Kong, Standard Oil executive in Southern China.
Mr. and Mrs. Norman Armour	United Sates Embassy at Tokyo.
Professor J. Watt	Of London, a member of the Faculty of Dartmouth Naval Academy.
A. M. Stewart	Of New York, prominent building contractor.
T. E. Grant	Of The London Daily Mirror.
H. Larch	Of Shanghai, Cammel Laird Company, shipbuilders.
Mrs. W. R. Johnson	Daughter of Judge Purdy of the United States Supreme Court of Shanghai.

Departure: August 11th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on August 11^th, 1927. A capacity cargo and a passenger list of 431 were reported with 89 First Class, 71 Second Class, 11 Third Class, and 260 Steerage.

The cargo included Canadian butter, Alberta beef and a large automobile consignment for Japan.

Kenneth Corbould, a member of the New Westminster Sea Cadet Corps, joined the ship as Bridge Boy.

Six deportees from the United States were transported from Seattle to Victoria and placed aboard for return to the Orient.

Notable passengers embarking aboard the EMPRESS OF ASIA August 11^th, 1927 at Vancouver and Victoria.

Judge S. Del Rosario	Of Manila
Mrs. George W. Steele
Mr. and Mrs. Hampden Beaumont	Of Melbourne, Australia
Mrs. Hayman Jones	Of London, en route to Tientsin
D. R. Hill	En route to Yokohama on an around the world tour by motorcycle.
Major E. J. Groves	Of London, UK.
J. Rosenthal	Merchant in the Orient.

Arrival: October 2nd 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by L. D. Douglas concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on October 2^nd, 1927. For the first four or five days after leaving Yokohama the ship experienced head seas day and night delaying the arrival at Victoria by 7 hours. The EMPRESS OF ASIA averaged a speed of 18.16 knots for the crossing. A passenger list of 401 was reported with 43 First Class, 74 Second Class, 33 Third Class and 251 steerage. To accommodate passengers who would have missed connections to the east because of the ship’s late arrival, the CPR train was held back at Vancouver for one hour and 10 minutes. A heavy cargo measuring 5300 tons was reported including 4,700 bales of silk valued at $5,000,000.00. A special train awaited the arrival of the ship at Vancouver to rush the silk to the Atlantic seaboard. A heavy mail consignment of 1,454 bags was reported.

At Victoria 110 tons of cargo and 18 bags of airmail were discharged.

Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Vancouver on October 2^nd, 1927.

Frederick Moore	Special Correspondent of The New York Times.
Dr. Cora J. Best	A noted Alpinist from Minneapolis, returning from an expedition to Manchuria
Shuh Tomii	Newly appointed Japanese Consul General in Canada.

Departure: October 13th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey, began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on October 13^th, 1927. On this voyage Captain Hailey had replaced Captain Douglas who was on leave.

A capacity cargo and a passenger list of 854 were reported with 130 First Class, 59 Second Class, 45 Third Class, and 630 Steerage passengers.

The cargo included automobiles, spelter, flour, and in the refrigeration holds butter, beef, apples and vegetables.

Notable passengers embarking aboard the EMPRESS OF ASIA October 13^th, 1927 at Vancouver and Victoria.

P. H. McKay	Of Kobe.
H. Geddes	Of Vancouver, associated with the silk trade.
H. E. Hayward	Associated with Canadian Pacific Railways at Kobe.
B. E. Ryan	Associated with Canadian Pacific Railways at Kobe.
S. N. Chatwivedi	Associated with the Government of India, returning from an Educational Conference in Venice.
Mr. and Mrs. Jose Del Rosario	Of Manila.
Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Burkhill	Of Shanghai.
Mr. and Mrs. H. Hussey	Associated with the British Consulate at Peking.
D. E. Sassoon	Of Shanghai.
Bishop Heaslett	Of the American Methodist Mission.
A. E. Nicholls	Associated with the Nagoya Higher Commercial College.
Leslie B. Stiles	Of Toronto.
Eldon Potter	Of Hong Kong.
Right Reverend Louis C. Sanford	An American Missionary.
G. B. Sanson	Of Shanghai.
W. R. MacBain	Of Shanghai.
G. M. Coutts	Of Shanghai.
M. Manuk	Associated with the Hong Kong Diary Farm.
Mrs. Alfred L. Ganahl	En route to Manila.
Frances E. Cockrell	Of New York.
E. Barcelon	En route to Manila.
A. P. Korchoff	Associated with the Sugar Trust of Moscow, returning from Cuba.
P. B. Lukianoff	Associated with the Sugar Trust of Moscow, returning from Cuba.
E. W. Nekraschevsky	Associated with the Sugar Trust of Moscow, returning from Cuba.

Arrival: December 4th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on December 4^th, 1927. Continuous headwinds and heavy seas delayed the arrival at Victoria by 12 hours. Only 36 hours of fair weather were reported for the entire crossing. A passenger list of 285 was reported. There were 57 cabin passengers 20 of whom disembarked at Victoria. Cargo measured 2,000 tons with 234 tons being discharged at Victoria. Cargo included 50,000 bundles of Japanese oranges, 740 tons of raw silk valued at $6,000,000.00, and 20 packages of finished silk. The finished silk was transshipped to New York via the Panama Canal. A special train of 17 cars awaited the arrival of the ship at Vancouver to rush the raw silk to New York. Christmas mail was exceptionally heavy, totaling over 2,000 bags. This included 538 bags of parcel mail for the United States and 63 bags that were discharged at Victoria.

Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Vancouver on December 4^th, 1927.

Henry Chrimes	Shanghai journalist.
H. D. Horning	Representative of the Douglas Fir Corporation at Kobe.
H. Vestey	Nephew of Lord Vestey.
Count Ayske Kabayama	Of the Imperial Japanese Foreign Office en route to Washington.
M. Goolden	Of Vancouver.
Sir Frederick Whyte	Prominent Lecturer.
Bishop and Mrs. Ainsworth	Of the Orient Methodist Church.
Colonel H. G. Martelli D.S.O.	Base Commander of North China Command.
F. B. Wright	Chief Insular Auditor for the Philippines.
Major J. Kirkpatrick	Of Kailan Mining administration.
Father Joseph Cassidy
W. Watkinson	Canadian Pacific agent.
G. V. Hayes	Prominent importer.
Caroline Macdonald	Japanese Missions.
G. Robinson	Prominent Kobe merchant.
Mr. and Mrs. H. Cornish
Mr. and Mrs. Post
Mr. and Mrs. Waters	Of the Standard Oil Company, Java.

Departure: December 10th 1927

The EMPRESS OF ASIA began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on December 10^th, 1927. The ship carried 750 passengers and a capacity cargo for various ports in the Far East. The cargo consisted of over 1,100 tons of flour and large quantities of beef and butter. Many of the passengers were travelling to the Orient to celebrate New Years.

Notable passengers embarking aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA on December 10^th, 1927 at Vancouver and Victoria.

His Grace Archbishop J. A. Chambon	Proceeding from France to Japan to take charge of missionary work.
H. H. Low	Vice-Consul in charge of the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver
Mr. and Mrs. T. R. Marsh	Residents of Shanghai.