Canada - Halifax and the Titanic
Nova Scotia's Historic city - Titanic, Lunenberg, Peggy's Cove
Nov 4, 2007
Halifax is an attractive city with historic Victorian buildings, a magnificent harbour, lively pubs and is the resting place of many victims of the Titanic disaster. A very interesting place to visit.
Halifax - Canada - The Sinking of the Titanic
Leonardo DiCaprio is buried in Halifax Cemetary. At least that’s what scores of teenage girls think as they lay flowers on the grave of James Dawson, an 18-year-old stoker who perished when the Titanic went down. By coincidence Dawson is the name of the character played by DiCaprio in the movie and a result of this is that James Dawson’s grave is often the only one out of the 121 Titanic victims buried there that is constantly adorned with flowers.
As the nearest port to the sinking, Halifax was for a time the centre of world attention. In the first few hours of confusion it was believed that the Titanic was only damaged and would manage to make her way to Halifax. Then the news broke. Titanic was gone forever. The ‘Carpathia’ took the survivors to New York - only the dead came to Halifax.
The permanent Titanic exhibition at the Maritime Museum features many artifacts and beautifully carved wooden fragments retrieved from the sea
Halifax - Canada - The Historic Properties Area
Halifax today is a bracing seaport with a magnificent harbour and a waterfront that looks much as it did in 1912 when the Titanic sank. The area is known as Historic Properties and has been carefully preserved. There’s a colourful Farmers Market where people come from miles around to stock up on fresh produce and nearby Granville Mall has one of the finest Victorian-Italianate facades in Canada. Local people fought a successful battle to save the historic waterfront from being demolished.
Halifax - Canada - The Citadel
It’s an easy town to explore and you can see most of the sights on foot. Tale a walk up to the Citadel, the huge star-shaped fort which dominates the hill and where the skirl of bagpipes can be heard as a kilted regiment of the 78th Highlanders marches across the parade ground. This is the best place from which to see the Town Clock, built in 1803 by Prince Edward, father of Queen Victoria, who commanded the British Forces here. He also built a mansion near Halifax where he lived with his French mistress of 27 years, Mme de St. Laurent.
Halifax - Canada - Peggy's Cove
Along the South Shore, just a short drive from Halifax, is Peggy’s Cove, a tiny fishing village nestled among giant granite outcroppings. Although a popular tourist attraction, Peggy’s Cove is a working fishing village and remains as unspoilt as it was in the 19th century when people first moved here and built their pretty wooden houses (although there are a couple of low-key souvenir shops). You can sit on the open deck of a restaurant overlooking the harbour and enjoy a lunch of ‘caught-the-same-day’ lobster which costs a lot less than you may think.
Halifax - Canada - Lunenburg
Don’t miss Lunenburg. This pretty little place is within easy reach of Halifax and was designated as a Unesco World Heritage site because the town is exactly laid out as it was in the 1700’s, with some of the original houses still standing. One of Canada’s most important fishing ports, this is where the famous championship schooner ‘Bluenose’ was built in 1921. An exact replica stands in the harbour
Plan a leisurely start to the day while in Lunenburg as the morning mist doesn’t burn off until about 10 a.m. Not good for taking pictures unless you want them swathed in a romantic haze.
Pocket History of Atlantic Canada
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