{"id":860,"date":"2026-10-27T17:53:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T00:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/?p=860"},"modified":"2026-10-27T17:53:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T00:53:23","slug":"1920-sailings-and-notables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/1920-sailings-and-notables\/","title":{"rendered":"1920 Sailings and Notables"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"A-19200209\">Arrival: February 9th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on February 9<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.&nbsp;&nbsp;A passenger list of 462 was reported with 157 disembarking at Victoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Passengers included a party of Officers who had accompanied the Chinese Labour Battalions who had returned to Tsingtau on the previous voyage of the EMPRESS OF ASIA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A number of Chinese and Japanese businessmen were also on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Passengers also included the crew of the American ship Lake Framingdale who were returning to North America after having delivered their ship to Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Judge Peter Hing was also a passenger travelling from China to North America to negotiate the purchase of tramway equipment for the city of Canton.&nbsp;&nbsp;Judge Hing was educated in Victoria and graduated from McGill University.&nbsp;&nbsp;After graduation he returned to China and became involved in business, the newspaper industry and Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Victoria and Vancouver on February 9<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>J. Widburn<\/strong><\/td><td>President of the New York Street Railway Advertising Bureau, returning from the Far East.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Mr. and Mrs. J. Fyfe-Smith<\/strong><\/td><td>En route from the Far East.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Dr. R. Haich<\/strong><\/td><td>An Economist from China en route to a conference at New York.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>D. McColl<\/strong><\/td><td>General manager of the Shanghai Street Railway.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Judge Peter Hing<\/strong><\/td><td>A Chinese political and business leader en route to North America to negotiate the purchase of tramway equipment.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Y. M. Chu<\/strong><\/td><td>An Electrical Engineer from China who was accompanying Judge Pete Hing.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"D-19200219\">Departure: February 19th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on February 19<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twenty-three hundred members of the Chinese Labour Battalions were on board as passengers.&nbsp;&nbsp;These individuals were returning to Tsingtau, China from wartime service in France via the Pacific Ocean. The ship also carried a full passenger list and a full cargo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Included as passengers was a party of American bankers led by T. W. Lamont, on an economic mission to the Far East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notable passengers embarking aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA on February 19<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920 at Vancouver and Victoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Thomas W. Lamont<\/strong><\/td><td>Of J. P. Morgan.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Martin Egan<\/strong><\/td><td>Of J. P. Morgan and formerly associated with the newspaper industry of British Columbia. &nbsp;A member of T. W. Lamont\u2019s economic mission.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Jesse Lynch Williams<\/strong><\/td><td>A member of T. W. Lamont\u2019s economic mission.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Jeremiah Smith<\/strong><\/td><td>A member of T. W. Lamont\u2019s economic mission.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Dr. McCreery<\/strong><\/td><td>A member of T. W. Lamont\u2019s economic mission.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>R. W. Randolph<\/strong><\/td><td>A member of T. W. Lamont\u2019s economic mission.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"A-19200426\">Arrival: April 26th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on April 26<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920. &nbsp;&nbsp;The ship reached Victoria and Vancouver the same day as the Canadian-Australasian steamer MAKURA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA carried 942 passengers and 2600 tons of cargo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On April 26<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920 four large ships were in Vancouver harbour, the EMPRESS OF ASIA, the EMPRESS OF JAPAN, the MONTEAGLE, and the MAKURA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local hotels were pressed to provide accommodation to the large number of passengers that had arrived on the two ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hotel Vancouver\u2019s main dining room was filled to overflowing at dinner and it was necessary to set tables in the rotunda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No passenger information is available for this crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"D-19200507\">Departure: May 7th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on May 7<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A large passenger list was reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Included was a party of nine returning to China from an economic mission to the United Sates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notable passengers embarking aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA on May 7<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920 at Vancouver and Victoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>H. L. Yung<\/strong><\/td><td>Associated with the Asia Development Company, en route from the United States.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Dr. T. T. Chang<\/strong><\/td><td>Associated with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Hong Kong, en route from the United States.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Merle Walker<\/strong><\/td><td>Associated with the Guaranty Trust Company.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Captain J. C. F. Hyndman<\/strong><\/td><td>On a tour of the far East.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"A-19200621\">Arrival: June 21st 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on June 21<sup>st<\/sup>, 1920.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The ship reported a fine voyage completing in nine days from Yokohama. The EMPRESS OF ASIA carried a large passenger list.&nbsp;&nbsp;In Hong Kong modifications were undertaken to allow the ship to carry an additional 180 passengers.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ship carried 450 First Class passengers, 200 Second Class, and 650 Steerage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some passengers were students from the Philippines, en route to college in the United States.&nbsp;&nbsp;The students disembarked at Victoria and took the CPR afternoon boat to Seattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No passenger information is available for this crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"D-19200701\">Departure: July 1st 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on July 1st, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No mail was carried on this voyage due to a dispute between the Canadian Post Office and Canadian Pacific Steamships regarding the compensation for carrying mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mail that was intended for the EMPRESS OF ASIA was diverted to Seattle and sent to the Far East aboard the TOYOHASHI MARU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No other information is available for this voyage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"A-19200816\">Arrival: August 16th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on August 16<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the trip from Yokohama excellent weather was reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A fast crossing of approximately 9 days and 7 hours from Yokohama to Victoria was achieved and an average speed of over 19 knots was maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A large passenger list was reported with 420 in Saloon and Second Class, 70 in Third Class and 520 in Steerage class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Passengers included Lieutenant Raoul Alevra.&nbsp;&nbsp;Lieutenant Alevra was leading a Romanian Government initiative to arrange the repatriation of Romanian Prisoners of War from Siberia.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Victoria and Vancouver on August 16<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Lieutenant Raoul Alevra<\/strong><\/td><td>Associated with the Romanian Government initiative to repatriate Romanian Prisoners of War from Siberia.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Right Honourable R. G. Glendinning<\/strong><\/td><td>Of Belfast.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>M. M. Sherower<\/strong><\/td><td>Associated with The Japan Advertiser<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"D-19200826\">Departure: August 26th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA, under the command of A. J. Hailey, began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on August 26<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A large passenger list estimated to be nearly 1,000 was reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most hotels in Vancouver were booked to capacity by the influx of travelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ship carried 440 First Class, 50 Second Class, 50 Third Class and about 450 Steerage passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Included as passengers were many missionaries traveling to the Far East and India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No other passenger information is available for this crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"A-19201011\">Arrival: October 11th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on October 11<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The crossing was described as fine with little wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Passengers included three individuals from Serbia who had been associated with the removal of Serbian forces from Siberia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notable passengers aboard EMPRESS OF ASIA arriving at Victoria and Vancouver on October 11<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>D. Siffert<\/strong><\/td><td>Belgium representative at Shanghai.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Y. H. Chu<\/strong><\/td><td>Vice-President of the China-American Bank en route to the United States.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>F. A. Fanning<\/strong><\/td><td>Of Montreal, associated with the Canadian Medical Corps and the American Red Cross in Siberia and Vladivostok.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>S. Esteill<\/strong><\/td><td>Of San Francisco,<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>J. Walker<\/strong><\/td><td>Associated with the Foundation Company and the Pacific Steamship Company, travelling to Seattle from the Far East.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"D-19201021\">Departure: October 21st 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA, under the command of A. J. Hailey, began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on October 21<sup>st<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A large passenger list of 1,097 was reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ship carried 395 First Class, 40 Second Class, 22 Third Class and about 580 Steerage passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 3,000-ton cargo was reported that included a large shipment of Okanagan apples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ship was met at Victoria by the airplane from Seattle with 12 bags of mail destined for the Far East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No other passenger information is available for this crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"A-19201206\">Arrival: December 6th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on December 6<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hurricane conditions were encountered on the North Pacific with the barometer dipping to 28:30 inches.&nbsp;&nbsp;Conditions were so stormy that at Victoria that the ship declined to berth and instead anchored at Esquimalt.&nbsp;&nbsp;Passengers and baggage destined for Victoria were transferred onto the tugboat DOLA and then onto the PRINCESS ADELAIDE and taken to the Inner Harbour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seattle bound mail was normally discharged at Victoria but the stormy weather made it necessary to carry this mail, totaling 1,500 bags, to Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Passengers included 270 saloon, 150 Second and Third Class and about 800 Steerage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">W. H. Bird, a Canadian photographer returned to Canada on this voyage after a six-month filming tour of China, Korea and Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cargo included a considerable shipment of Japanese oranges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No passenger information is available for this crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"D-19201216\">Departure: December 16th 1920<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EMPRESS OF ASIA began a Pacific crossing upon sailing from Vancouver on December 16<sup>th<\/sup>, 1920.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ship carried 300 First Class, 45 Second Class, 92 Third Class and 703 Steerage passengers.&nbsp;&nbsp;Approximately 40 passengers boarded at Victoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Edward Hubbard regularly delivered mail from Seattle to the EMPRESS OF ASIA at Victoria.&nbsp;&nbsp;On December 16<sup>th<\/sup> 1920, Hubbard is reported to have made an unsuccessful attempt to become airborne with 12 sacks of mail.&nbsp;&nbsp;He returned to his hanger, unloaded a single bag and successfully resumed his flight to meet the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this voyage the Christmas would be spent at sea.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ship\u2019s Baker, Alexander Stewart, prepared a large cake model of the EMPRESS OF ASIA.&nbsp;&nbsp;The cake, over 3 feet long and weighing 50 pounds, took Stewart four days to complete and was displayed at the buffet in the Dining Saloon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No passenger information is available for this crossing.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arrival: February 9th 1920 The EMPRESS OF ASIA, commanded by A. J. Hailey, concluded a Pacific crossing upon reaching Vancouver on February 9th, 1920.&nbsp;&nbsp;A passenger list of 462 was reported with 157 disembarking at Victoria. Passengers included a party of Officers who had accompanied the Chinese Labour Battalions who had returned to Tsingtau on the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":861,"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions\/861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empressofasia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}