SACHS HARBOUR - The tale of an abandoned 19th century ship, almost completely forgotten over many generations, was brought back to life last month for residents of Sachs Harbour.

Parks Canada archeologists Ryan Harris and Jonathan Moore examine a piece of the debris on the shore of Mercy Bay on Banks Island, thought to have washed ashore from the wreck of the HMS Investigator when it sank in the bay in the 19th century. The sunken ship was found in the bay last month, when this photo was taken. - photo courtesy of Parks Canada

Parks Canada employees discovered the sunken British ship HMS Investigator, abandoned by its crew in 1853 in Mercy Bay on the northern coast of Banks Island. For generations, Inuvialuit elders were said to recall the story of the ship and materials left on the shores by the crew.

"We heard stories from the elderly people about it, where people used to go salvage some copper or iron over there," said John Lucas Sr., 64, of Sachs Harbour. "Me and one of my sons used to go there and hunt. So I'm pretty familiar with the place."

The Investigator disappeared some time after 1854, and until this summer it was not known whether the ship drifted away once it was freed from the ice, or if it sank on the spot.

The ship's crew, captained by Robert McClure, had hoisted materials ashore and abandoned the ice-bound ship to join another British vessel nearby, and return home. The material they left was discovered by Copper Inuit, according to Marc-Andre Bernier of Parks Canada's Archeology Service – who would salvage it for their own use.

The find has roused the interest of researchers on many levels, as much as it has that of Sachs residents.

"The Investigator was strongly entrenched in the oral history of the Inuvialuit," Bernier said.

"They know that for a generation, their ancestors went and took

materials off there. You can also see material from the Investigator appearing in other sites," he said, referring to hunting sites and camps found elsewhere on Banks Island and neighbouring lands, dating back more than 100 years.

Copper and iron nails and sheets were reworked into other tools and implements, mostly for hunting and cutting, Bernier said. Metal analysis will show whether other Inuit sites are related to the shipwreck.

The ship itself lies in Mercy Bay, just 150 metres from shore. The bay is located in Aulavik National Park. The researchers' work is being done in consultation with the Inuvialuit, as the park is located in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

"The park has an advisory board made up of representatives from the community, so they're aware of what we're doing in the park," said John Lucas Jr., site manager at Aulavik National Park.

The park's advisory board includes members of the Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Committee, the Sachs Harbour Community Corporation, and the community's Elders Committee.

People of the hamlet are very interested in the research findings, said Lucas, and Parks Canada field researchers will present these to the community in the fall.

The discovery, said Lucas, is also important because it "puts Sachs Harbour and Banks Island on the map," highlighting a little-known corner of Canada's North which happens to be at the east end of the Northwest Passage.

This is also important to the country on a historical and scientific level, said Bernier – as the Investigator and her crew were credited for discovering the Northwest Passage, thus ending a 300-year quest in Europe.

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