Austin Steers

Austin Steers was a shipowner based in Port Rowan, Ontario, during the late 19th century. He owned the scow-schooner Bay Trader, a two-masted wooden vessel built in 1873 by John Glover in Port Rowan. The Bay Trader measured 113 feet in length, 22 feet in beam, and 7 feet in depth, with a gross tonnage of 172. On July 11, 1888, while en route from Port Rowan to Buffalo with a cargo of wood, the vessel encountered a severe storm and ran aground at Clear Creek on the Canadian side of Lake Erie. The crew was rescued by Canadian lifesavers, and there were no fatalities. Subsequent records from 1890 suggest that the Bay Trader may have been salvaged and repurposed as a “wrecking lighter” in need of repairs. 

Beyond his ownership of the Bay Trader, specific details about Austin Steers’ life and other maritime activities are limited. However, his involvement in the shipping industry during that era underscores the significance of Port Rowan as a hub for maritime commerce on Lake Erie.