Halifax, Sydney, and Prince Edward Island

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Sculpture called "The Emigrant" recognizing those
who came here to start a new life

We’ve been waiting patiently for this special port of call, since we were anxious to learn more about the role Halifax played in the saga of the sinking of the Titanic.  Halifax is a city of 400,000 people located on the eastern side of mainland Canada, in the province of Nova Scotia. The words “Nova Scotia” mean New Scotland, and as you’d expect, there is a major Celtic influence throughout Nova Scotia.  This entire province of Canada has a mere 1 million people as its total population. The small city of Halifax faces the Atlantic Ocean and lies about 700 nautical miles from the actual spot where the Titanic sank back in 1912. 

Many do not know that the Haligonians (what the people of Halifax call themselves) were directly responsible for retrieving 306 bodies of passengers immediately following the infamous Titanic catastrophe. As they said at the time, the living went to New York City and the dead were brought to Halifax.

Actual intact deck chair from The Titanic

We began our search for more info on the connection between Halifax and The Titanic at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic with its small but illuminating Titanic exhibit. We followed the line of white stars painted on the floor of the museum to the special Titanic exhibit where a movie explained how the White Star Line hired Halifax’s “cable ships” to retrieve the bodies of the victims. These cable ships were responsible for maintaining the Transatlantic Cable, and their crews knew how to navigate the Atlantic Ocean under any kind of conditions.

Piece of the Grand Staircase retrieved by the Haligonians
from floating Titanic debris

The cable ships set out with stacks of wooden coffins, several undertakers, a priest, and all the embalming fluid in Halifax. When they arrived at Titanic’s last known location, even the hardened sailors were shaken by the sight of dead bodies bobbing in the ocean. There were so many bodies that they ran out of embalming fluid and decided to bury 116 of the third-class passengers at sea. 

Even when the ships returned to Halifax, the class system was still obvious as first and second class passengers arrived in coffins, third-class passengers in cloth bags, and the crew on open stretchers. The undertakers did an exceptional job of numbering each body, noting any identifying marks (like scars or tattoos), and attaching any personal belongings. Their meticulous methodology allowed many of the bodies to eventually be identified and returned to loved ones.

Shoes of the Unknown Child

The crew of the cable ships also retrieved portions of the wreckage of the Titanic, not as scavengers, but in the maritime tradition of saving part of a lost ship. This small exhibit held the most remarkable actual Titanic relics we have ever seen: a deck chair fully in tact with the White Star logo carved on the back, and lots of beautifully carved wood including a piece of the Grand Staircase! One of the saddest artifacts was a small pair of shoes belonging to the body they called “the unknown child.”

Anne relaxes on the deck of The Titanic

In the end, 150 unclaimed souls were interred in Halifax cemeteries. The kind people of Halifax held a series of funerals at various churches throughout the city to honor these fallen victims.

In the afternoon, we took a bus tour to visit the scenic Peggy’s Cove and to see Fairview Cemetery where the largest number of Titanic victims are buried.

Colorful homes in Peggy's Cove

The famous lighthouse of Peggy's Cove

Peggy’s Cove was a scenic little coastal town, and we could see why tourist buses such as ours would bring guests to this small town.  Peggy’s Cove has a striking lighthouse at the end of the colorful town, perched on a massive, solid-appearing rock heap that was covered by shutter-snapping tourists that were roaming about like ants on a honey pile.  But despite the distraction of the abundant and annoying picture seekers (BTW, we have not forgotten that we too were part of this craziness!), Peggy’s Cove was a picturesque attraction outside Halifax. In fact, the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove is said to be one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world!

Carol tells us all about lobsters

Carol, our tour guide, gave us a demo on lobsters.  She used her lobster pets, named “Larry” and “Lucy,” to show us how to handle them, how to determine the sex of a lobster, and how to cook them in a pot of boiling water.

Carol described the Maple Syrup Industry here and all the nuances of making maple syrup. Nova Scotia only produces .5% of the maple syrup of Canada, whereas Quebec produces 92%.  Also the primary employer here in Halifax is the military; lots of military contracts keep the economy of Nova Scotia alive.

Anne fondles "Larry the Lobster"

For whatever reason, Halifax has seen more than its share of catastrophes. The Titanic disaster was followed by the Halifax Explosion on December 6, 1917 when the munitions ship Mont Blanc collided with a Norwegian ship called the Imo, and the resulting explosion blew up the north end of Halifax killing some 2,000 people. This was the largest man-made explosion prior to the atomic bomb.

Then on September 2, 1998, Swiss Air flight 111 crashed on some rocks near the beach southwest of the airport killing all on board. The plane had caught on fire in the air, and the pilot tried to make it to the runway but fell short. Carol took us past a memorial to the 229 passengers who lost their lives. 

Most recently on 9/11, many flights were rerouted to Halifax when the American airspace was shutdown. We drove past the giant hangar where the Haligonians took great care of their unexpected guests. The people of Halifax are still remembered by the passengers who spent several harrowing days here before being able to return home to the U.S. Even now 15 years later, passengers still make pilgrimages to Halifax to express their thanks.

Hull-shaped row of Titanic
grave stones

At long last, our bus reached the Fairview Lawn Cemetery where 150 souls from the catastrophe of the Titanic were buried. Each grave marker has a name (if known), a number associated with the body cataloging procedure at the time, some info about the person (if known), and of course, the same death date: 15 April 1912.  Strange to see this many graves with the same death date all grouped together, laid out in a design that resembles the hull of the Titanic.

Grave of the real J. Dawson, coal shoveler on The Titanic 

Some visitors are intrigued to see the headstone for a J. Dawson. But he has nothing to do with Jack Dawson, the lead character played by Leonardo Di Caprio in James Cameron’s movie “Titanic.”  He was actually Joseph Dawson, a 20-something year old coal shoveler on board the Titanic.

Grave of the "Unknown Child"
now identifed

The most poignant grave was the one for an unknown 19-month-old child. For almost 100 years, this child remained anonymous until DNA evidence identified him as Sydney Leslie Goodwin whose entire family perished.

Giant Fiddle, dwarfed by our cruise ship, welcomes
us to Sydney

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sydney was founded in 1785, and the first settlers were mostly poor Englishmen and disbanded soldiers fleeing the American Revolution. The city has a population of 102,000 people and is situated on the northeast side of Cape Breton Island.

Colonial kitchen at the restored Cossit House

Sydney was a sleepy town, but we did visit the Cossit House which is one of the oldest houses in Sydney built circa 1787. We also stopped by a Craft Fair and chatted with some of the locals, enjoying their humor and their pride in their city. 

Frank enjoying a local brew called
Alexander Keith's IPA

We ended up in a pool hall called Dooley’s where we sampled a local beer called Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale. Fun stuff!

Some interesting facts about Nova Scotia and Canada: More Gaelic is spoken in Nova Scotia than in all of Scotland. Canadians eat more macaroni and cheese than any country on earth. Nova Scotia is made up of 3800 islands and Cape Breton is the largest. Nova Scotia is the 4th largest film production center in Canada and is home to many Canadian and Hollywood film and TV productions. Marconi, the father of telecommunications, sent the first official wireless message across the Atlantic from Nova Scotia in 1902.

Prince Edward Island

Due to high winds in the Charlottetown harbor, our landing on Prince Edward Island was cancelled. No fresh mussels for us (sigh)! However, at dinner that night on the ship, they served us mussels in shells about 4 inches long and actual mussels about 1 ½ inches long. Never saw them this large – big and juicy! To cap it off with further deliciousness, the cooks had placed a pot of melted butter alongside the mussels, and you could just add as much as you like.

More pics:

Member of the Titanic  orchestra

Shoreline at Peggy's Cove

Greetings from Peggy's Cove!