Having fished Cameron Bay in the 70’s and 80’s, as well as more recently, I thought I would share this historical vignette, which may be of particular interest to those who once fished out of Branson’s Camerson Bay Lodge.
Murphy Services Limited was an early historical trading post, freighting company, unofficial airmail coordinator and sawmill business that operated out of Cameron Bay on Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories during the mining boom of the early 1930s.
The company was operated by Gerry Murphy and Vic Ingraham (a prominent northern freight hauler and postmaster) along with Don Ferris and Dave Lent.
The Company even had its own “official” song.
- The First Freight Business: Murphy Services was the first dedicated freighting business established to serve the influx of prospectors, drilling contractors, and mining companies arriving during the area’s first major boom. [1]
- The Sawmill: The company operated a sawmill built in the early 1930s. It supplied foundational timber for local structures and the nearby Eldorado Mine. [1]
- Trading Post and Post Office: The business ran a multi-functional trading post at Cameron Bay that additionally served as the local post office. [1]
- Airmail Operations: Before an official government post office was established in the remote region, Western Canada Airways set up an air and radio base at Cameron Bay in 1932. The very first trial mail flown into the area on June 20, 1932, was handled entirely by Murphy Services, who stamped the mail using their own unofficial cachet stamp. [1]
- Archival Preservation: Rare, silent home movie footage documenting an expedition to Great Bear Lake between 1933 and 1935 explicitly features the “Murphy Services Limited” trading post. This footage is preserved by Library and Archives Canada. [1, 2]
- Official Song: “When the Ice Worms Nest Again” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Ice_Worms_Nest_Again
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/when-the-ice-worms-nest-again-emc
For more information on both Murphy Services and the town of Cameron Bay, I would direct you to Ryan Silkes’ excellent book: Cameron Bay, Great Bear Lake – The Story of the Northwest Territories’ First Boom Town, the link to which can be found at:
