Nova Scotia’s Titanic Connection

On her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic the night of April 14, 1912. In less than three hours, the ship that was touted as “unsinkable”, descended to its final resting place in the Atlantic Ocean. Of its 2,228 passengers and crew, 1,518 lost their lives. The story of Titanic, a remarkable engineering feat of the early 20th century, continues to captivate our interest, hearts and emotions.

Halifax, Nova Scotia played a specific role in the Titanic story. White Star Line officials in New York at first believed that the damaged Titanic would sail to Halifax, the closest major port and trains with relatives and immigration officials departed from New York to Halifax. Hours after Titanic sank, White Star Line commissioned cable ships based in Halifax to recover the bodies of victims. Of the 209 bodies brought to Halifax, 150 were laid to rest in three cemeteries in Halifax.

Titanic Exhibits in Halifax

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, located on the Halifax Waterfront, is home to a permanent display of the largest and finest collection of wooden Titanic artifacts in the world. Discover the role Halifax cable ships and their crews played in the Titanic recovery effort as you visit the cable ship exhibit at the Museum. Diaries of crewmen and mementos from their Titanic aftermath experiences are also on display and will provide a touching reminder of the enormity of the disaster and of the Titanic’s tragic end.

The Nova Scotia Archives carries materials including images, records and unique British magazines that are not digitized anywhere else on the internet. The Archives’ virtual collection can be viewed online.

Additional information on Nova Scotia’s connection to the Titanic can be found on the Province of Nova Scotia’s Titanic website.

Titanic Locations of Interest in Halifax

• The Five Fisherman Restaurant & Grill in downtown Halifax is situated in the building that was the John Snow & Co. Funeral Home at the time of the Titanic disaster. This funeral home made preparations for the wealthier victims including John Jacob Astor, a member of one of the wealthiest families of the United States and Charles M. Hayes, the president of Grand Trunk Railway.
• 150 of the recovered Titanic passenger bodies were laid to rest in the following three cemeteries in Halifax:
  • Fairview Lawn Cemetery
    3720 Windsor Street, Halifax
  • Mount Olivet Cemetery
    Situated on Mumford Road between Joseph Howe Drive and Olivet Street, Halifax
  • Baron de Hirsch Cemetery
    Located within the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, 3720 Windsor Street, Halifax
• Titanic memorial services were conducted at five Halifax churches:
  • Saint George’s Round Church (Anglican)
  • Saint Paul’s Anglican Church
  • Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica
  • Brunswick Street United Church
  • Cathedral Church of All Saints
• Halifax millionaire George Wright perished in the sinking. His ornate Edwardian mansion still stands on 989 Young Avenue in Halifax’s South End while his commercial buildings, The Marble Building and St. Paul’s Building, continue to house businesses on Barrington Street in the heart of downtown Halifax.

View the interactive map of Titanic-related sites in Halifax.