On January 9th, 1960, the Ahern Trader, a ship 200 feet in length, had been on its way to Gander Bay with a load of hay for a business there, but due to heavy ice, had docked in Frederickton for about three days and offloaded its freight. After unloading, it prepared to leave again. It was a miserable evening, snowing heavily with a northeast wind of 35-40 knots. Shortly after the ship had left the wharf, it began having difficulties and heading towards the rocky shore. The Captain tried stopping the ship by dropping the anchor, but was unsuccessful and the boat went ashore.
Over the next few days, most of the crew got off the ship with the help of the locals and returned home. The Captain, Chief Engineer and First Mate, however, stayed in Frederickton until March of that year, with the Chief Engineer remaining on board to protect it. During the winter, some men from Frederickton worked on the ship removing ballast and plugging holes. A tugboat also spent time there trying to pull the ship off the rocks, without any success. All valuables were then removed from the ship and it was deserted. The Ahern Trader has since become a landmark in Frederickton, although it has deteriorated quite a bit over the years.   Submitted By: NULL