shortly ahead midnight on April 14, 1912, the Titanic, on her maiden over ocean trip from Europe to New York, struck an iceberg and dip within three hours early on the morning of April 15. only 705 survived. More than 1,500 died in the cold waters of the North Atlantic .
My conserve, Paul, and I flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in August 2017 to join an Atlantic Tours group visiting three of Canada ’ s eastern provinces : Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador .
We arrived four days in advance of the go ’ sulfur starting date because we wanted to explore Halifax on our own. Halifax has a unique connection to the Titanic, and I had become fascinated with everything relating to the destiny of this ship.
Reading: Halifax and the Titanic
Recovery of Titanic victims
In 1912 the White Star Line, which operated the Titanic, had an agent working in Halifax. Halifax was only about 700 nautical miles ( about 800 land miles ) from where the Titanic went down .
The White Star Line hired a issue of Halifax-based vessels to scour the site of the ship ’ s sinking to recover as many bodies as potential. They and other ships recovered 337 bodies .
There is disagreement about how many were brought back to Halifax and how many were buried at sea. probably more than 200 were brought to Halifax, many of whom were claimed by relatives for burying elsewhere. One hundred fifty remained in Halifax and were buried in three of the city ’ second cemeteries .
Along with the bodies, floating debris from the Titanic was besides recovered, some of it kept by crowd members of the Halifax recovery ships as memento of the calamity. Some of this debris was later donated to Halifax ’ s Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. We made the museum our first port of call in Halifax .
Maritime museum
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic ( 902/424-7490, maritime museum.novascotia.ca ), located in the vibrant waterfront area of the city, houses an assortment of artifacts from the Titanic, including the alone know surviving Titanic deck chair, a animation jacket, a mortuary bag that once held items found on a Titanic victim ’ mho body ( as bodies were recovered, each was assigned a number and an accompanying bag with the same count to hold items found on the body ), fragments of flowery wood empanel and modeling and — most affectingly — a match of shoes belonging to a young child .
Although the Titanic show is the prime draw in the museum for most visitors, including me, about as matter to is an expose commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the Halifax Explosion of 1917. Two vessels collided in Halifax harbor, detonating tons of high explosives that killed about 2,000 Haligonians and injured 9,000 more — a awful event in the city ’ s history .
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is located at 1675 Lower Water Street. It ’ s open 9:30 to 8 Tuesday, 9:30 to 5 Wednesday to Saturday and 1 to 5 Sunday and is closed on Monday. entrance fee costs CAD9.55 ( about $ 7.50 ) from May to October and less from November to April .
Fairview Lawn Cemetery
One hundred fifty dollar bill Titanic victims lie buried in three Halifax cemeteries : 121 in Fairview Lawn Cemetery, 19 in Mount Olivet Cemetery ( Roman Catholic ) and 10 in Baron de Hirsch Cemetery ( Jewish ). We decided to visit the cemetery where most of the victims rest, Fairview Lawn ( 902/490-4883, www.titanicmemorials.co.uk/post/memorial/fairview+lawn+cemetery+Halifax ) .
It is a moving experience to be there. simple scratch markers indicate where each body lies. There are 79 identified by mention ; 42 stay nameless. Each of them — even those who have been identified — has a number on their gravestone indicating the order in which they were retrieved from the sea by the recovery vessels. All markers bear the same date : April 15, 1912.
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There ’ s one gravestone that stands out. It belongs to the fourthly victim recovered, a young male child. His identity remained changeable for 99 years. In April 2011, deoxyribonucleic acid tests finally proved that this young victim was 19-month-old Sidney Goodwin, whose parents and five siblings besides perished in the catastrophe. When we visited, his scratch had two little teddy bears next to it — a memorial even after 105 years .
A charwoman visiting Fairview Lawn Cemetery pointed out to me that if one stands at a particular spotlight, two lines of grave markers converge to form the form of a ship ’ mho bow, surely not an accidental alignment .
Fairview Lawn Cemetery, located at 3720 Windsor Street, can most well be reached from business district Halifax by taxi in 15 minutes, but be sure to ask the cab to wait for you while you visit .
The cemetery is receptive to visitors from 8 to 4, Monday through Friday .
Five Fishermen Restaurant
Our final examination larboard of call was the Five Fishermen Restaurant ( 1740 Argyle St. ; 902/422-4421, www.fivefishermen.com ), considered one of the best in Halifax. Back in the spring of 1912, this was the location of Snow & Company Funeral Home, where many of the Titanic victims were taken ahead burial. none of the restaurant personnel felt inclined to discuss the restaurant ’ s celebrated though lugubrious past or the ghosts that diners occasionally report seeing .
The restaurant is open for dinner daily from 4 to 10 post meridiem Our dinner there cost the two of us CAD170 ( about $ 132 ) and included appetizers, main courses, predinner drinks, coffees and gratuity. Reservations are recommended .
More Titanic sites
For those interested in more sites associated with the Titanic, there ’ s a bible sold in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, “ Titanic Remembered ” by Alan Ruffman, that includes a number and a map of 21 sites linked in some way with the Titanic .
Among them are Halifax churches where memorial services were held in 1912 equally well as the still-existing homes of several Haligonians who were passengers aboard the doomed ship .
If you go…
In August 2017, we toured Halifax on our own because a tour we took with Atlantic Tours ( Dartmouth, Nova Scotia ; 800/565-7173, www.atlantictours.com ), “ East Coast Islands ” ( May ’ 18, pg. 52 ), did not include sightseeing in Halifax although our tour began in Halifax. other Atlantic Tours trips do include sightseeing in Halifax. Atlantic Tours can arrange for Halifax sightseeing as an addition if it ’ s not included on the go you book.
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Allow at least two or three nights for Halifax if it ’ randomness not already included in the tour you ’ ve booked. Four or five nights is better .
We found lots of things to see and do. Our favorites — strolling the across-the-board waterfront area, meandering in and out of shops and stopping at cafés and restaurants ; exploring the Halifax Citadel ( a National Historic Site of Canada ), a large fortress originally built in the mid-18th hundred atop the city ’ s highest hill, and viewing the colorful “ archaic ” paintings of Nova Scotia native Maude Lewis in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia .
And, of course, all the Titanic-related sites/sights .
