Nellies Landing, Formerly Murray Harbour Marina

The Nellie J. Banks was a two-masted schooner built in Nova Scotia in 1910. She was designed and used for fishing until 1926, when she was bought by two men who thought that she would be perfect for rum running to Prince Edward Island, which was under Prohibition at the time.

The crew, with their illicit cargo, would sail to just outside the island’s three mile limit so that the authorities couldn’t touch them and under the cover of darkness, their PEI cohorts would row out to the Nellie J. Banks and pick up the load of hooch.

This was a lucrative business for them until 1938, when the government, determined to catch this most infamous smuggling ship, sneakily changed the limit to twelve miles but neglected to inform the public of this. The Nellie J. Banks was about six miles off the coast of PEI when the RCMP cutter Ulna confronted and seized the ship and its cargo.

She was eventually sold and renamed the Leona G. Maguire, but the Nellie J. Banks is still a legend on the island, inspiring songs and stories. One of the most famous songs is by a singer/songwriter from PEI: Lennie Gallant, entitled naturally enough The Nellie J. Banks.