Waubuno was a side-wheel paddle steamer that conveyed passengers and freight between Collingwood and Parry Sound in the 1860s and 1870s. She sank with all hands during a gale on the night of November 22, 1879, though the exact cause of her sinking is unknown. Waubuno was built by Melancthon Simpson at Port Robinson in 1865 for J. & W. Beatty and Company, and was later owned by the Georgian Bay Transportation Company. Her main purpose was to run passengers and freight from the Northern Railway's railhead at Collingwood to places further north, including Parry Sound and Thunder Bay. Her name was derived from Algonquin and means "Black Magician" or "Sorcerer".
Last voyage
The ship was loaded down with supplies destined for Parry Sound, and was likely the last voyage the ship could make before ice made future trips impossible until the following Spring. The ship, Captained by George Plumpton Burkitt, had been trying to leave the southern Georgian Bay town of Collingwood, Ontario since November 18, 1879, but snow and fierce winds had kept the ship in port. The ship set in during a break inthe weather on November 21 with 24 crew and passengers. The ship was last spotted afloat by the lighthouse keeper at Christian Island who noted that the ship was faring well. The Steamer Magnettawan left later on the same morning as Waubuno and after sheltering overnight at the Christian Island, arrived at Parry Sound November 24, never having spotted the other ship.
Wreck
When Waubuno failed to turn up at her destination, the tug Millie Grew was sent out to look for the paddle steamer. She returned to report that they had found a portion of the wreck. A contemporary article on the disaster from the Parry Sound North Star says that the crew of Millie Grew No bodies were ever recovered. In the Spring of 1880 an upturned hull identified as that of the lost ship was found on Moberly Island, and later that summer a tug was employed to turn it over to allow investigators to determine why the ship sank. Following the ship's disappearance there had been rumours that her wooden superstructure was rotten, or that her boilers had blown up. Those at the scene found what timbers that remained to be sound, and there was no sign that the hull had been damaged by an internal explosion. Other parts of the ship have been recovered over the years. A hull which is thought to be that of Waubuno can be found in waters 15 ft deep at, near Wreck Island. though the identification is disputed. Its rudder can be found on display at Midland Ontario's Huronia Museum. Its anchor was recovered in 1959.
