Halifax, Nova Scotia

Because of some mix-up with the pilots who were to lead us into port, our ship was delayed landing an hour. This screwed up the schedule for excursions, many of which had a long way to go, like to Peggy’s Cove.  I hadn’t chosen Peggy’s Cove because I have visited it twice before.  Fortunately, my tour of “the Heart of Historic Halifax” was scheduled at noon.   But, our bus and guide hadn’t returned by then from the Peggy’s Cove jaunt, so we were put on a hop-on hop-off pink double decker bus with a substitute guide.

 

Our guide turned out to be excellent and very colorfully dressed in a kilt complete with a Glengary hat.

 

The first “sight” was the beach at the harbor…remarkable, according to Jim the Guide, because people are able to swim in this huge harbor because the water is so clean. 

He pointed out that these trees are growing out of the rocks because there is little topsoil in the area. 

Also, a hurricane went through Halifax about 10 years ago and destroyed thousands of trees. We saw a couple of sculptures in people’s yards which had been carved from the stumps of downed trees. This one depicts three eagles.

 

We then drove through a neighborhood of elegant houses, circled a lovely Victorian style park, and saw many medical buildings.  Are you beginning to see that there isn’t that much to the historic heart of Halifax?

However, there are two main historic sites.  The first is the Halifax Citadel.

 With the founding of Halifax in 1749, the first of four forts was constructed on this drumlin high above the original town. This aerial view shows its strategic vantage point.

 

The Citadel has a long and intricate history through the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, War of 1812, even WWI and WWII where it served as transit barracks and an anti-aircraft command center.

 

Inside the fort stands The Cavalier Building in the center of the parade grounds. Once barracks, it now houses the information center, a gift shop, café, and museum.

 

We were there to see the changing of the guard.

 

From the viewing platforms, you can see the Old Town Clock which is one of the most recognizable landmarks of historic Halifax.  This garrison clock began keeping time on October 20, 1803.  You might know that the clock faces are different sizes.  Don’t know why.

From the Citadel, we went to the other noted Halifax historic place, the Fairlawn Cemetery, which has a link to the sinking of the Titanic.  Two days after the Titanic sank in 1912, the White Star Line dispatched the first of four Canadian vessels to search for bodies.  Two of these vessels were based in Halifax.

One of these ships recovered 306 bodies from the water.  Some of these were buried at sea, but 209 were brought back and unloaded at the Dockyard at Halifax.

 

Only 59 bodies were shipped out by train to their families.  The remaining victims were buried in three cemeteries in Halifax, Fairlawn, a Jewish cemetery, and a Catholic cemetery.

Most of the gravestones, erected in the fall of 1912, were paid for by the White Star Line and are plain granite blocks.

 

Some are more elaborate, like this one to the “Unknown Child”, and they were paid for by friends, families, or other groups.