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The year was 1910 and signs of progress were in the air. That June, a new steam ferry for the Toronto Island Company was launched and christened the Trillium. Only briefly mentioned in the local dailies at the time, the double-end, side-padded island ferry cruised the waters of Toronto Bay for nearly fifty years. After forty-six years of service, the Trillium retired in 1956, only to be saved from the scrap yard in 1973. The Trillium made its second debut in 1976 as a fully operational steam ferry and is still in service today.
As the Trillium reaches the century mark, Mike Filey revisits the history of this fascinating Canadian ship. With a new preface and updated photographs, including some in colour. Filey traces Trillium’s remarkable rise, fall, and rebirth in a book that honours one of Toronto’s most interesting treasures.
Mike Filey’s exposition of history and people — even on our little Toronto Island — has always made for a good read. If you’re into steamboats, you’ll like the book. If you’re into Toronto Island, you’ll love it.
Mike Filey has written nearly two dozen books on various facets of Toronto's past, including A Toronto Album and Toronto: The Way We Were, which received a 2009 Heritage Toronto Award of Merit. For more than thirty-five years he has contributed a popular column, "The Way We Were," to the Toronto Sunday Sun, and co-hosts "Mike Filey's Toronto" on AM 740 radio. He lives in Toronto.