Titanic & Halifax Canada Connection

#Titanic_Halifax_NSCanada_Connection

I best way to start the story is to begin in Dublin Ireland where White Star was building two Ocean Liners to compete with the Cunard Shipping Line (which used in the beginning Roman names)
So this is why the name Titanic ( Greek from Titans) & its sister ship Olympic got its namesake
White Star knew it could not match Cunard for speed so it opted for size & opulence so over the next two years at the Harland / Wolff Shipyards the dream took shape

The Olympic was completed first & Captain Edward Smith was at the helm when it collided with the HMS Hawke near the Isle of Wight (two compartments filled up with water but the ship was able to make it back at port)
Because of repairs needed, workers on the Titanic site were pulled away thus leaving her maiden voyage delayed (8 weeks) & you guessed it.......into Iceberg Season

Finally as the Titanic departed from Southampton England April 10th 1912 with small stops in Cherbourg France & Queenstown Ireland with (yes the same) Captain Edward Smith maybe overconfident with surviving a collision at sea with a Naval Boat (my opinion)

 

Todays Cable Wharf in Halifax 
But in the early 1900s it was responsible for the laying & the maintenance of transatlantic cables
It was these folks who got hired by White Star with the grim task to pickup any bodies from the Titanic sinking on April 15,1912

The Mackay-Bennett left the Port of Halifax for its three day 800 nautical mile journey with a clergy, undertaker, 100 coffins, blocks of ice & regular supplies

 On a side note; St Johns Newfoundland was closer to the disaster but it was not part of Canada until 1949, its an island so relatives would have a hard time getting there to claim any bodies, plus Halifax just had more resources & knowhow
 
So once Mackay-Bennett reached the area they recovered 306 bodies which were given a number & all clothing, body markings etc was cataloged
Then 116 souls were given proper burial at sea & the ship returned with 190 victims that was well over what they were equipped to handle

Once the ship arrived into Halifax all the unclaimed bodies (of what was determined to be 2nd &3rd Class passengers) were brought to the Mayflower Curling Rink to be laid on the ice sheets with temporary walls put up for respect

All the First Class Passengers were sent to JA Snow Funeral Home on Argyle Street (now the Five Fishermen Restaurant)
One of the 59 bodies that were claimed by relatives was John Jacob Astor IV whos family paid the crew members of the Mackay-Bennett a reward for the recovery of his body

Todays Five Fishermen 

St Pauls Church (downtown Halifax at Parade Square) held a memorial service for the victims plus one of its parishioners, Mr. George Wright 

George Wright was a very successful businessman & philanthropist of Halifax.
 His house on Young Avenue (ironically) was signed over to the Local Council of Women before he boarded the Titanic through his lawyer
He has a few other Historic Registered Buildings on Barrington Street, was also a huge contributor to the YMCA & Dalhousie University
 Also he owned several boats so he created the George Wright Cup that the local Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron races for each year in his memory

St Georges Church was the site of a proper burial paid for by the crew of the Mackay Bennett with that reward money for a unknown child (19 months old)
Eventually with improved DNA testing the baby was finally identified as Sidney Leslie Goodwin in 2008 

The Fairview Lawn Cemetery is a denominational resting site run by the City of Halifax & was established in 1893.
White Star paid for the headstones & upkeep until 1930 then the Titanic Society of Atlantic Canada stepped in to take over
Approximately one third of the 121 buried here still have no name attached to the marker 😢
As you can see, every person pulled out of the water was assigned a number with James McGrady being the last at 330

Alma Palsson was thought at one point to be the mother of the unknown child so purposely were laid to rest near each other 

This headstone is much larger than the rest & again the crew of the Mackay-Bennett used their reward money to send their respects to ( as they felt) as one of their own
Eventually the identity was established & a smaller plaque was put in place for Sidney Leslie Goodwin but the large stone marker was kept for all the other children lost that night in the North Atlantic Ocean

In just over five years later the city had to endure their own tragedy after grieving & helping the Titanic

 The Halifax Explosion had close to 2000 casualties due to the blast debris, fires or collapsed buildings  plus another 9000 injured.
What Halifax learned during the horrific Titanic situation was with identifying the bodies through meticulous record keeping which helped immensely with the healing process.....again!

The Ironic Tragedy of Halifax & Titanic

Samuel Cunard was born in Halifax & amassed great wealth through banking, lumber, coal & iron
He also had built a merchant fleet of around 40 vessels to establish a mail service between England & North America.
 He moved to the UK once the British Government opened up bidding on contracts &
as they say the rest his history
 He later ventured into passenger vessels with now to present time the Port of Halifax receives approximately 200 ships with traditionally the Queen Mary 2 making a few visits per season 

The Cunard Ship RMS Carpathia rescued 705 passengers from the Titanic lifeboats & took them to New York 
After it was put into military service & was sunk by a German U-Boat it was later found in the year 2000 just 120 miles off the coast of Ireland........remember the Titanic was built in Belfast

Richard Williams survived the Titanic but was in the water so long the doctors wanted to amputate both legs, he refused
After he recovered he went on to win the US Nationals 1914 & 1916, Wimbledon Doubles 1920 & Olympic Gold Mixed Doubles 1924

Hilda Slayter was born in Halifax & survived the sinking 
Then married, lived in western Canada before returning to the east coast only to have
pulled through the Halifax Explosion, then moved to England where she passed

Life is full circle as then her ashes were returned & was buried at Camp Hill Cemetery in Halifax

Dingle Park & Melville Island Halifax Canada

 

#Dingle_Park_Melville_Island_NSCanada

On our way to Dingle Park (old British slang for a small wooded valley) that contains treed & open areas, saltwater frontage with a freshwater pond, many walking paths plus some small beaches
 The area (95 acres) was given to Halifax in 1908 by Sir Sandford Fleming

KeyTip; when heading to Dingle Park

Look for Anchor Drive & this Monument
 This piece of iron flew 5kms (2.5miles) in the air & landed here hence the name of the street
  It is a 540 kilograms (1200lbs) of the anchor shaft from the ship Mont Blanc that blew up in Halifax Harbor, which then created the largest man-made explosion up to the atomic age

KeyTip

After leaving the Halifax Explosion Monument
Next look across the water to see Melville Island British Military Prison which held inmates from the French Revolutionary, Napoleonic Wars & the War of 1812

Today it is a Clubhouse for the Armdale Yacht Club

KeyTip

Deadmans Island was a small peninsula near Melville Prison & served as a burial ground from those who were inmates 
The prisoners endured harsh living conditions & also by doing hard labor like breaking granite or carrying heavy cannonballs....... many did not last 

Finally the park was created in 2005 to protect the area from development & also to allow a final resting place for those lost souls
 Some were also remembered in May of that year as the US Government erected a memorial which included men from the USS Chesapeake 

 

Sir Sanford Fleming moved from Scotland to Canada in 1845. He was educated at Columbia University, Toronto & Queen Universities.
 He eventually moved up to Engineer in Chief for the Canadian Pacific Railway which led him to Halifax with the task of a Intercolonial railway to Quebec. It was then he came up with the concept of Universal Standard Time (1884) for scheduling purposes.
He was also the Chancellor of Queens University, a Director at the Hudson Bay Company, member of the Halifax Club & what the heck.....designed the countrys first postage stamp 😀
  

Sir Sandford Fleming Park was donated to the people of Halifax for the 150th anniversary of a government which was deemed responsible & representing the citizens since 1758, when the City was established 

Memorial Tower was built in 1912 with the City of Halifax & the local Canadian Club receiving many donations from within the British Empire
Those gifts are commemorated on the inside walls with either Plaques or Stones from the respective countries

The architectural design of the Dingle Tower is divided into three sections
The base is ironstone from a nearby quarry, with a granite midsection & a copper roof with a pronounced overhang.
The entrance has two large bronze lions that were donated by The Royal Colonial Institute of London in 1913
 An interesting fact, that British sculptor (Albert Brucejoy) got his influence for his statuette in Halifax from the monumental lions at Trafalgar Square 

After climbing ten flights of stairs & now looking out at the Northwest Arm
 (early on known as Sandwich River)
Its an 3.5km (2 mi) inlet that extends from the Halifax Harbor ( yes the Atlantic Ocean... so salt water)

The Arm is sheltered; so an ideal place for marinas, sailing, kayaking plus of course to enjoy Dingle Park from one of the great Canadians / Haligonians .....Sir Sandford Fleming!

Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia Canada

#Peggys_Cove_NSCanada
Formed thousands of years ago by the glaciers & smoothed over by raw nature the natural beauty here is amazing, but you need to respect the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Its dangerous to venture onto the dark/black part of the rocks as a wave can sweep you out to the sea where you cannot be saved 

With only 30 permanent residents Peggys Cove still operates as a village with its own schoolhouse, church, general store & as you can see a lobster business. The rest of the buildings are used by local artisans for the busy tourist season

 

Selling many homemade products plus art/sculpture pieces

Originally called the Adirondack Chair (from the same name of the mountains) of New York, we in Canada have adopted it & call it a Muskoka Chair.......so a perfect fit for our lifestyle in this Eastern part of my country

Located in the village a local resident William E deGarthe (born in Finland & emigrated to Canada in 1926 eventually settled in Peggys Cove in 1930) he took 6 years to sculpt these 32 figures to pay homage to the fishermen who lost their lives at sea & to the families who suffered anguish

So why the name Peggy you ask.
Well the Hollywood version 😅 is she was the only survivor of a shipwreck.
But sorry, history says that Samuel de Champlain (Father of New France) was expanding his land holdings for his country & named the area after his mother Marguerite (Margret.....nickname is Peggy) Le Roy 

The famous & most photographed lighthouse probably in the world (no kidding.....look it up)
The first was constructed in 1868 as a wooden house with a light beacon on top, the next version was built in 1914 & even was used as the local Post Office until it was closed for safety reasons in 2009
Finally it was protected by the Heritage Lighthouse Act 

The Old Sea Dog paying respect to all those experienced & hardened people who made their living on/from the ocean

Got to love the colors of the Fishing Industry

Walking the granite outside the village & watching each step i make on this very uneven surface

The awesomeness of Peggys Cove

KeyTip: some of your best photographic opportunities is to park past Peggys Cove & walk back to it. Look close, you can see the lighthouse on the top right corner

The sea was quite today but always showing it the respect it deserves

Showing the effects of the weather from the Atlantic Ocean

My artist version from my time @ Peggys Cove