One of the first photos of Triangle, likely 1909. The lantern has not yet been fitted onto the top of the tower and the duplex house's roof isn't quite finished.  Call sign TLD later changed to VAG in accordance with international regulations.

Corke Collection

1910--11 Staff
Officer in Charge: J.D. Creer
2nd Operator: A. Sutherland
3rd Operator: J.H. Raine
   Operating position, most likely Triangle Island. The operator appears to be Harold Tee. He was there with Jack Bowerman in the 1912-14 period. Spark transmitter control panel on the left and the receiver behind him. The big vertical handle near the right of the photo is the antenna change-over switch, connecting it to either the receiver or transmitter. If a ship called, Harold would nip into the room on his left and get the Fairbanks-Morse engine started by rotating the flywheel. (Engine run only when needed to save fuel.) Once it was up to speed and its associated electric generator humming nicely, he would flip the switches on his big panel to apply the voltage across his key. He would clap his earphones on and manipulate the Morse key to answer the calling vessel. The ship knew it would take a few minutes to receive a response from Triangle (or any early shore station) and would be standing by.

Bowerman Collection
Triangle's synchronous spark transmitter's high tension room. Capacitor and high voltage transformer boxes in the rear, generator on the belt drive and antenna tuning panels on the wall. The high voltages on these components, when the Morse key was pressed, would be lethal.

Bowerman Collection
030   Jack Bowerman was on Triangle Island light and radio station during the period 1912-14. What you see, is what you get on this island.

Bowerman Collection
031   Another Triangle Island view.

Bowerman Collection 
Jack Bowerman took this panoramic shot of the station from the lighthouse top.  On the reverse he penned "Summer 1914".  Operator's dwelling is nearest, while the operations building is farthest.  At times there was a rope safety line strung between the two buildings for the operator's use during stormy weather.
032   Triangle Island radio operator's dwelling. Due to the high winds this building was eventually anchored to the ground by cables and buttresses.  New smaller window panes were installed, presumably as the larger ones shattered from the effects of the wind.

Bowerman Collection 
046   Triangle Island operator's dwelling. Lighthouse tower in the rear distance. Tramway steel rails to the beach appear in the lower left and disappear into the building. Tramway winch was steam powered.

Bowerman Collection
037   Another shot of treeless Triangle Island. The tramway scar is 1600 feet long and is still visible today.

Bowerman Collection

140   Early station photo.  Triangle Island showing the lightkeeper's dwelling on the left, the light tower, operator dwelling and a portion of the wireless operations building on the right.  No building braces yet installed.

 

 

Aitkens Collection

 

This may be the operating position at Triangle Island.  The equipment is from the 1910's period.  Coal oil lamp for illumination.  The spark transmitter controls would have been to the left.  There are a number of similar photos in my collection and none have anything within the photo verifying the actual location.

 

S.P.A.R.C. Museum
038   Three radio operators at Triangle Island. From the left: Harold Tee, Jack Bowerman and Jack Berry. Berry had a wife, two boys and a girl with him at this very isolated station. Harold went on to be the District Superintendent of Radio for Saskatchewan in 1945. Read a newspaper clipping Jack kept of Harold's retirement.

Bowerman Collection
045 Window glass would bend inwards and shatter from the force of the winds.  To prevent injury to the occupants, the windows had sticky tape applied in an X fashion to keep broken pieces together.

Bowerman Collection
01   1914 view of Triangle Island's residences from the light tower.  Nearest building is the wireless operator's residence and beyond that, the wireless transmitter/operations building. The old outhouse is perched on the left hand cliff, while on the right the tram way drops down to the beach.

Harris Collection
09   Hand written note under left photo: "Triangle Isd. Transmitter gearJuly 1915"

   Spark transmitters. Original and an upgrade to asynchronous spark.

Harris Collection
30   Some more photos of the Triangle Island area. Clipped note regarding a birding expedition.

Harris Collection
31   July 1915. Some of the Triangle wireless staff see two of their comrades off. The lads with the smiles have been posted to Digby Wireless.  Dawson, Edmunds, Dawe, Harris, and Roche are the faces.
Fisheries Patrol Vessel "Galiano" is the mode of transportation.

Harris Collection
32   Keeper Watkins holding a shotgun near the top of the Triangle Island tramway. Shows the steep track angle.

Harris Collection
  49   Top of the Triangle Island tramway, September 1914. Operators Doug Ward and Ralph Hawkeswood bracket light keeper Tom Watkins. "Provisions for one meal" says Bowerman :-)

Harris Collection
50   Operators quarters on Triangle Island c.1914. Buttressed against the wind. The winds at times were so fierce they threatened to blow the houses off their foundations.

Harris Collection
61   View of Triangle Island. Boat house is visible in the bottom left corner. c.1915  In later years a couple more beach buildings were constructed.  Eventually they all were destroyed by the elements.

Harris Collection

1919 June Victoria Times image of the operator's dwelling and the station beyond.  To withstand the hurricane winds the building was braced with heavy beams.
141   1920 Triangle Island station view. What you see, is what there was. Large wire antenna array required for the frequency used (600 meters).


Aitkens Collection
Boat sheds. Photo taken in the latter years of the station. Originally there was only one shed and no switch in the tramway tracks.


Photo from unknown source--Triangle beach sheds.

 

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   This page is a photo sequence of Triangle Island with the earliest first. The lighthouse was in operation for only 11 years,1910 to 1921, mainly due to the difficulties experienced in staffing and provisioning the station.  The fact that when the weather was poor, its light was up in the clouds and of no help to a navigator.  The wireless station moved out a few months after the lightstation shut down.  Some of its equipment were put to use at the new Bull Harbor station. 

All images can be clicked for a larger view.

Triangle TLD/VAG

Photos