Shushartie is a ghost town on the east shore of Shushartie Bay near the northeastern extremity of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Name origin The settlement adopted the name of the bay, which the Hudson's Bay Company conferred in 1838, while trading with First Nations. The name is an adaptation of a Kwakwaka'wakw word meaning "place possessing cockles". Shellfish abound on the extensive tidal flat at the head of the bay. In 1894, Rev. William Washington Bolton led an expedition from near Shushartie, across the northern parts to Quatsino Sound, and then south to Great Central Lake. External links The SS Boscowitz was calling as early as 1902. In 1908, a Union Steamship Company of British Columbia (Union SS) vessel arrived weekly. By the early 1910s, the Boscowitz Steamship Co (which became part of the Union SS) called weekly on the run up the east coast of Vancouver Island and the west coast of the mainland to Prince Rupert. During this era, cargo was unloaded at Shushartie for points west to Cape Scott. A weekly private launch trip to Fisherman's Bay (Fisherman's Cove) delivered such freight. The service also catered for passengers along the route. A trail connected Shushartie and Cape Scott, some of which was of a wagon road standard during the early years. In 1910, a trail linking Shushartie west to Strandby (formerly Cache Creek) was funded. However, residents soon demanded its upgrade to a wagon road. The installation of government telephone lines along the trails connecting Holberg to Cape Scott, San Josef Bay, Sea Otter Cove and Shushartie, was completed in 1915. Ships docked at a float in the middle of the bay, and craft as small as rowboats ferried passengers and freight to the shore. A later technique involved towing the float to shore for unloading. By the 1960s, the northbound supply boat along the east coast visited monthly. Former community In late 1894, six pioneers established a settlement known as the Canadian Co-operative Commonwealth. Four men lived in a log cabin, and a couple resided a little farther down the bay. More settlers were expected in the spring. A rockslide pushed the cabin about into the bay. Three escaped with severe bruising, but Harry Kipling's leg was trapped beneath logs. To avoid drowning in the rising tide, Kipling consented to the amputation of his leg with an axe. He died the following afternoon. The missionary steamer