Two Halifax stories

Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia and a significant port for the shipping industry. It was involved in two events in history that captured attention world-wide.

In 1912 the liner Titanic, on her maiden voyage, struck an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic. Three ships from nearby Halifax helped in recovering the passengers. Many of those who didn't survive are buried in Halifax's cemeteries. Black granite headstones stand in rows, each with the same date: 15 April 1912.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax contains objects recovered from the sea after the disaster, including one of the few deckchairs from the Titanic known to survive.

A less well known catastrophic event was the Halifax Explosion.

On 6 December 1917, during the First World War, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc collided with a Belgian ship, the Imo, in Halifax harbour. The Mont Blanc was carrying a deadly cargo of explosives: 35 tons of benzol, 300 rounds of ammunition, 10 tons of gun cotton, 2300 tons of an acid used in explosives and 400 000 pounds of TNT.

The resulting explosion held the record for the world's largest human-generated explosion until the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in 1945. Almost all the north end of Halifax was destroyed, 131 hectares of it. Two thousand people died and 9000 were injured. Windows 80 kilometres away were shattered. The barrel of one of the Mont Blanc's cannons was found over five kilometres away from the harbour.

Every 6 December a memorial service for the victims is held near the place where the Mont Blanc exploded.

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