Tag Archives: Halifax

Titanic

Memorial Plaque For Titanic Recovery

Perhaps forgotten in the Titanic story are those that went out to recover Titanic’s dead.

Peter Parsons/Herald News
Peter Parsons/Herald News

Two cable ships out of Halifax–Mackay-Bennett and Minia–brought back most of the bodies. Four bodies were recovered in May 1912 by Montmagny, a government tender from Quebec. The last body was found by the cargo ship Algerine out of St. John’s Newfoundland. On Friday, a plaque remembering those from Halifax (called Halligonians) who went out to collect the bodies was unveiled at Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

Retrieving the bodies was important and also haunting, reports The Chronicle Herald. Pat Teasdale’s grandfather Francis Dyke was second electrician on Minia and wrote to his mother about it. “I honestly hope I shall never have to come on another expedition like this. … The Dr. and I are sleeping in the middle of 14 coffins.”  Yet he was glad they could retrieve the bodies and not leave them in the water. 150 victims are buried in Halifax in Fairview Lawn, Baron de Hirsch, and Mount Olivet Cemeteries.

The plaque has no permanent home yet but for now you can view it at Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Source: Plaque Honours Titanic Recovery Efforts(26 April 2013, TheChronicleHerald.ca)

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Titanic

Palmer: Forget The Dinners, Breakfast Instead

Clive Palmer decided recently not to hold Titanic dinners out of respect for Hurricane Sandy victims. It will be breakfast, instead, in Halifax on 7 Dec 2012. Here is the blurb from the Chronicle Herald about it:

Clive Palmer, the outrageous Australian billionaire who is building a 21st-century version of the Titanic, is bringing his international road show to Halifax. Word of the visit Thursday from Palmer’s public relations firm in Australia is the first hint a Nova Scotia stop will be on the itinerary when the huge ship goes into service. “To honour the history of Titanic and recognize Halifax’s very special relationship and role with the grand ship, a Titanic Breakfast will be held at the Lord Nelson Hotel,” said a news release. The Halifax breakfast event is scheduled for Dec. 7. Palmer is to provide details of the Titanic II project afterwards. The release notes Palmer will host a series of Titanic culinary breakfasts and dinners around the world during November and December to promote the project.

I guess the victims of Hurricane Sandy no longer matter. Instead of big dinners it is now big breakfasts, presumably Edwardian style.

Source:The Chronicle Herald,Billionaire Building Titanic II Heads To Halifax For Breakfast PR Event,9 Nov 2012


Titanic Miscellaneous

Ghostly Halifax

The Guelph Mercury  reports that those seeking ghosts in Halifax will not be disappointed. A restaurant that once was a mortuary and served some of Titanic’s victims and those of the 1917 Halifax Explosion, is haunted. The restaurant owner claims cutlery has been moved, disembodied voices are heard, and shadowy figures seen. There is even a report that ghosts texted the word death.

A ghostly silhouette is sometimes seen at an upper window at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, a brewery is haunted by its old brewmaster, a fiery ghost ship is claimed to have been seen was well.

I like a good ghost story but generally find more mundane explanations for hauntings. It has become a business of sorts in many places to offer tours and stay in places where ghosts are supposed to roam. Even the local Titanic exhibit is not immune. There are claims people “sense” Titanic victims when they are visiting the museum. Stories of sightings are sometimes just that, stories written down long ago and then passed down. Suspected cases of poltergeist activity are often solved by hidden cameras that show items being moved by people.

So go visit Halifax but not for the ghosts.  And have a good time!

Source: Guelph Mercury, Ghostly Halifax, 21 Aug 2011

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