The Harbour Explosion - Halifax, NS
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 44° 39.957 W 063° 36.078
20T E 452333 N 4946018
Partly as a Millennium Project, the Halifax Regional Municipality has sprinkled two dozen blue plaques throughout the Municipality recognizing historical achievements of the HRM.
Waymark Code: WMPMMG
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/21/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 6
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One of 24 Markers of Distinction plaques placed throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality, this plaque was created in memory of the 2,000 dead and 9,000 injured in the largest man-made non-nuclear explosion ever to occur. The explosion devastated the northern ends of both Halifax and Dartmouth.

On June 5, 1985, a large concrete bell tower was dedicated in Fort Needham Memorial Park, in memory of those killed and injured, and to those who rebuilt the cities, bigger and better than before. The tower originally held a carillon of ten bells, to which four more were added in 1990.

This, the Blue Plaque, was added and mounted beside the tower in 2000.

From the bell tower one may see the spot where the explosion occurred and much of the area which was devastated.

THE HARBOUR EXPLOSION

On the morning of December 6, 1917, the French munitions ship Mont-Blanc, inbound for a brief stop on her way from New York to the war in Europe with a cargo of benzol, gun cotton, picric acid and TNT, collided with the outbound Belgian relief ship Imo. Reversing her engines, Mont-Blanc went astern to pull out the deep gash in Imo's side: steel rasped against ragged steel, sparks flew, Mont-Blanc caught fire and blew up at 9:04:35 a.m.

The toll of identifiable dead, ashore and in ships, was 1,963; more than 9,000 others suffered injuries, often to carry their marks and scars for life. Many of the northern parts of Halifax and Dartmouth were devastated. Phoenix-like, they rose again, stronger and finer, from the ashes.

Look east, down the hill, towards Dartmouth on the opposite shore, in line with the opening between two sections of the explosion Memorial. You are looking at the place in the harbour Narrows where the most violent man-made explosion before the atomic bomb occurred there in 1917.
From the Blue Plaque
Halifax Foundation Markers of Distinction
The Markers of Distinction program was active 1998-2000. It began as a project, coordinated by The Halifax Foundation in celebration of the new millennium, to commemorate the various historical achievements of the Halifax Regional Municipality, and based on this initial concept, partnering seemed a natural fit to both the Foundation and the HRM Millennium Committee. The program completed the installation of 24 individual Markers of Distinction erected around the Municipality.

On 28 June 2000, the Halifax Foundation hosted a day of remembrance, as four of seven special markers of distinction were unveiled in Dartmouth to serve as testimony to the historical significance of various Dartmouth events. During the morning Dr. Edmund Morris, Chair of the Halifax Foundation was joined by several others as the official unveilings took place. The markers were titled:
• How Dartmouth Has Grown
• William Roue and Bluenose
• Joseph Howe Lived Here
• Sullivan's Pond

The following is a complete list of the Markers of Distinction located throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality.

• Bedford, Convoy Quay, "Bedford Basin Place of History"
• Sheet Harbour, Tourist Bureau, "Saw Milling Industry"
• West Chezzetcook, Acadian Heritage Cottage
• Dartmouth, Alderney Landing, "How Dartmouth Has Grown"
• Dartmouth, Boardwalk North, "William Roue and Bluenose"
• Dartmouth, Windmill Road, "Mi’kmaq Memorial"
• Dartmouth, Victoria Park, "Joseph Howe Lived Here"
• Dartmouth, Sullivan’s Pond
• Dartmouth, Albro Lake Road, "Harbour Explosion"
• Dartmouth, Portland Street, "Ice-Skate Capital of the World"
• Dartmouth, Black Cultural Centre, "History of the Black Community"
• Eastern Passage, "Fisherman’s Cove"
• Peggy’s Cove, Lighthouse
• Terence Bay, S.S. Atlantic Heritage Park
• Halifax, Chebucto Landing, "Here We Began"
• Halifax, "Province House"
• Halifax, Grand Parade, "Old Dalhousie and City Hall"
• Halifax, Downtown, "Commercial Heart of the Maritimes"
• Halifax, "Public Gardens"
• Halifax, Brunswick Street, "Samuel Cunard, Great Haligonian"
• Halifax, George Dixon Centre, "Halifax Mosaic"
• Halifax, Almond Street, "Sir John S.D. Thompson"
• Halifax, "Fort Needham Explosion Memorial"
• Halifax, Fleming Park-Dingle, "Sir Sandford Fleming"
From HRM 2000
Blue Plaque managing agency: Halifax Regional Municipality Markers of Distinction program

Individual Recognized: 2,000 dead and 9,000 injured

Physical Address:
Fort Needham Memorial Park
Union Street at Novalea Drive
Halifax, NS Canada
B3K 3E6

Web Address: [Web Link]
Visit Instructions:
To log an entry for a "Blue Plaque," please try to include a picture of you next to the plaque!
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