MURAL 15

30.5M x 13M (10.5’ X 43’) LEGION STREET

Chemainus Tug Boat

Painted in 1984 by Mark Heine and Harry Heine

The Artists

Mark Heine spent his early childhood in Alberta, and then moved with his family to Vancouver Island in 1970. During his school years, he achieved some success with his art work, winning several poster contests. These included the Canadian Cancer Society competition, which he captured twice, and a scholarship award from the Department of the Attorney-General for his “Counterattack” entry.

The younger Heine attended Capilano College in North Vancouver, and then travelled for a time in Europe before setting his hand to mural painting. He has been part of mural painting in Fort Saskatchewan, Vegreville, and Fort McMurray, Alberta. In 1986, he was responsible for two murals for the U.S. Pavilion at Expo ‘86 in Vancouver. At present, Mark Heine is a graphic artist in Vancouver, is a member of the Renaissance Artist Society, and sits on the board of the Canadian Association of Artists and Illustrators.

The Art

The tug boat Chemainus was built at Chemainus in 1909 for the Victoria Lumber & Manufacturing Company Limited. Equipped with a coal burning engine (this was changed to oil in the 1920s) she was 26.8 metres (93 feet) long with a 6.4 metre (22-foot) beam, and a depth of 2.9 metres (10 feet).

On November 14, 1911, she caught fire at the coal bunkers in Coal Harbour, Vancouver, and burned to the water’s edge. She was salvaged in December and rebuilt. After being sold in 1918 to Kingcome Navigation Co. Ltd., she was brought back to Chemainus in 1923 by the Chemainus Towing Co. Ltd. Then on November 24, 1945, she ran aground at Copelan Island (Ragged Island), and was written off as a total loss. Next Mural >