Air India Flight 182 Memorial - Sundials on Waymarking.com

The bombing of Air India Flight 182 was an international tragedy. The terrorists that destroyed the plane were never properly brought to justice. The flight originated in Vancouver, stopped briefly in Toronto and was destroyed by a bomb near the coast of Ireland on 23 June 1985. All 329 people on board were killed. An associated bomb killed two baggage handlers in Narita Airport in Japan as the moved baggage from the flight from vancouver to a flight to India.

The memorial sundial is a 210 cm diameter horizontal dial of blue granite with a 56 cm high stainless steel gnomon. In addition to showing local time, the declination line that touches the base of the gnomon traces the path of the shadow on June 23 (date of the 1985 Air India terrorist-bomb air crash) and also marks solar noon at the crash site near Akahista, Ireland where there is a similar memorial sundial.

Stones forming the pedestal represent all the Provinces and territories of Canada, and the countries of India, Ireland, Japan andt the United States of America. The inscription is "Time Flies, Suns Rise and Shadows Fall, Let it Pass by, Love Reigns Forever Over All".

The sundial was designed by Ralph Bouwmesester and the builders included Jeremy Craig, Victor Ford & Associates, Landscape Architect, and UCC Group, General Contractor. Peter Klambauer was the Project Coordinator for the Toronto region Conservation Authority. Peter provided me with these pictures taken on 23 June 2007 at the dedication ceremony, 22 years after the tragedy.

I originally used this information and pictures to record the sundial as #596 in the NASS Registry of sundials in North America.

Detail are in this media release from Peter Klambauer.

"The Air India Flight 182 Memorial is meant to act as a counterpoint to the arbitrary nature of terrorist violence. It does not focus on that act, rather it appeals to the better parts of the human spirit in its focus on repose, geometry and celestial reference. It is meant to offer a gentle space on the surface of the earth, for the gathering of the spirits and memory of those who were lost during their journey in the skies.

The memorial evokes the experience and some of the features of the Air India memorial in Akahista, Ireland - the location near where Air India Flight 182 went down, and it links directly to that place in several ways.

The Air India Flight 182 Memorial is composed of three key features: the Memorial, the Remembrance Walk, and the Place of Reconciliation.

The Memorial is situated in a beautiful glade, stepped to follow the surface of the land that it rests upon. It is defined by the intersection of two walls; one aligns with the direction of approach, and the other points towards the place of the crash. The wall pointing to Ahakista is an inscription wall bearing the names of the 329 people that were aboard Air India Flight 182, and the two baggage handlers killed by an associated bomb in Narita Airport, Japan. The inscription wall faces a plaza that includes a sundial, which describes the path of the sun on June 23rd and marks solar noon over Ahakista. Various provincial and international organizations have donated stones that were incorporated into the masonry wall that supports the sundial itself. These stones represent all of the Provinces and Territories of Canada, and the countries of India, Ireland, Japan and the United States of America; all of whom were touched by this tragedy. The form of the Memorial echoes the sundial, its central element. It includes radial steps where visitors may lay wreaths and observe the adjacent lagoon. There is also small garden, which may over time be cultivated by visiting family members, adjacent to a higher plaza which includes two stone slab benches.

The Memorial was not intended to explicitly resemble Indian architecture. However, there are echoes of the stepped stupa temple in the radial plaza, and a resemblance to the magnificent sundial constructions of Jaipur. The upper plaza is surfaced with precisely set stonework, which evokes the inlaid stone and woodwork found in traditional Indian architecture. The detail of the black limestone surfacing of all walls other than the inscription wall resembles a cracked surface, hinting at the menace of the bombing.

The Memorial is linked to the shoreline of Lake Ontario by a Remembrance Walk, which is defined by a series of semi-circular gardens alongside an existing paved pathway. The gardens include native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs that are appropriate for the Humber Bay habitat.

The Place of Reconciliation is found overlooking the shoreline of Lake Ontario. The proximity to a large body of water is evocative of the anguished experience of those who travelled to Ahakista to learn of the fate of their loved ones as they waited on the Irish shore. It is semi-circular in shape and includes materials and plantings found elsewhere in the Memorial construction. There is a resting place identified with a single word: "RECONCILIATION".

The experience of encountering the shoreline is both evocative and healing. It reminds us of those who were lost at sea, and is a powerful image of life itself, constant yet constantly changing."

Sundial Type: Horizontal - Flat base, Ground or Pedestal mounted dial plate Related Web Site: Not listed

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