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Halifax Explosion 100th anniversary
December, 6th 1917
This deserves its own thread, as a Haligonian I believe we need to recognize this enormous event which changed the lives and landscape of our city. https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/my6T5toXw2Y...halifax-23.jpg Quote:
https://100years100stories.ca/ http://mashable.com/2016/02/15/halif.../#.jL7G3FoDuqj |
The Nova Scotia Archives film footage is always fascinating to watch. The film, from about 3:49, depicts scenes from the Intercolonial Railway's North Street Station, including the trainshed where the glass roof collapsed killing many inside. Contrast the images in the film with this photo taken five years earlier inside the trainshed:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4554/...3bd91b10_o.jpg The train in the photo is the Dominion Atlantic Railway's Halifax-Yarmouth express The Flying Bluenose. The photo is from the collection of the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology, photo number STR04089b. A notable story of survival from North Street Station: DAR general manager George Graham was having breakfast with his family in the railway's business car "Nova Scotia" at the time of the explosion. Graham (and the car) survived the disaster; he made his way out of the wreckage, and walked through the devastation to Rockingham to find a working telegraph line, which he used to order the first relief trains from Kentville. "Nova Scotia" also survived the demise of the DAR. It was part of a railway-themed restaurant in Orillia for many years. After the business went bankrupt the car was moved in 2012 to the Toronto Railway Museum but I'm not sure what, if any, plans the museum has to preserve the car (which was substantially altered for restaurant use). There was a reported proposal to return the car to Nova Scotia, which apparently went nowhere. Unfortunate, as it could have been a significant element in the Explosion centennial. I spoke at length to a Herald reporter about the car in 2010 and referred him to other knowledgable sources but, as far as I know, they never produced a story about it. Another example of how indifferent we can be to the preservation of our own history. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4530/...71ba638f_z.jpg The photo of DAR business car "Nova Scotia" was taken in Kentville in 1956. (From the Bud Laws collection on Trainweb.org.) |
This is a subject of which I have always had an interest, as I recall my grandmother's stories of how she survived after her house in Dartmouth was destroyed from the explosion while she was in it. Though she has been gone many years, I still remember her stories about how her arm was almost amputated in the post-explosion triage and how her brother, who was in the medical corps of the military, had intervened before the amputation took place, saving her arm. I vividly recall seeing the scars from the many stitches on her arms and face, and the patches of gunpowder still visible through her skin. The film depicts the aftermath of the terrible blizzard that happened the next day, as she had described to me.
On the explosion, NS archives also has quite a bit of info available online: https://novascotia.ca/archives/virtu...THexp&List=all I haven't been to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in a number of years, but I recall that they have a good explosion exhibit as well. https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca...ifax-explosion Some bits of info: The Piercey's building, which was torn down 2 years ago almost to the day... http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...tion-1.3324084 ...was a cotton mill originally built by the Nova Scotia Cotton Manufacturing Company in 1882. It was mostly destroyed in the Halifax Explosion, with loss of life of many of its occupants. After the explosion the bottom floor was roofed over and used by Piercey's until it was closed and demolished in 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_S...turing_Company I believe this to be a photo of its ruins, looking towards the Halifax exhibition grounds (in the background). https://novascotia.ca/archives/image.../200311013.jpg https://novascotia.ca/archives/MacAs...es.asp?ID=2511 I've read quite a bit on the subject, but will say the book that brought the event alive to me the most was The Blue Tattoo by Steven Laffoley. It is a novel interwoven with facts about the historical event, and really helps to lay out the event from the perspective of how it must have been experienced by the people in the city at the time. I recommend the read if anybody has interest - the Halifax Public Library has 13 copies listed at the moment. |
Another important Novel set during the explosion: Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer_Rising
His house was on South Park Street, just North of the Lord Nelson, I remember it being there in the 80's, but is of course now just a memory. From this report, the MacLennan House was still there in 2011: http://legacycontent.halifax.ca/coun...8ca1014iii.pdf |
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Was the house one of these? http://gencat1.eloquent-systems.com/...51pvc1j6q1.jpg South Park Street from Sackville Street, looking south… |
It was not a grand house, I remember it being a white wooden house, quite plain. Those look impressive, nice find.
The building on the right (west side of street) was in the public gardens? |
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...1863-1.3387645 and this: http://thechronicleherald.ca/thenova...rate-150-years Quote:
https://novascotia.ca/archives/image.../200714529.jpg https://novascotia.ca/archives/Notma...ves.asp?ID=406 Also, I did find part of a thread on this site where it was discussed in the past: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...=143037&page=5 The map shown in that thread is on the NS archives site: https://novascotia.ca/archives/maps/plate.asp?ID=18 |
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it was relocated to the exhibition building, and demolished in 1899. the building was run down, and prone to flooding. |
A city destroyed: The Halifax Explosion, 100 years later in 360-degrees
CBC News Published on Nov 26, 2017 CBC News Interactives has recreated the city of Halifax as it existed in 1917 to show how the Halifax explosion unfolded and its effects on the people who lived there. http://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/ |
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http://gencat1.eloquent-systems.com/..._5003661_1.jpg Source |
Hey I made a movie about my Grandad William S. Owen being a baby in Dartmouth during the Halifax Explosion- hope you dig it. I had a lot of discoveries seeing how much Halifax has changed from 1917 to now!
https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/712252 https://art.ngfiles.com/images/61700...pg?f1528399286 |
The Alderney Landing piece of art has been installed.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1797/...09b85655_k.jpg20180620_152823 by Jonovision23, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1764/...5c210b09_k.jpg20180620_152832 by Jonovision23, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1836/...61f70302_k.jpg20180620_152914 by Jonovision23, on Flickr |
Ah, I saw the same thing on the Dartmouth Commons while driving by this morning. I was wondering what it was!
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Going to bump this thread because of the Beirut explosion. The Beirut explosion is perhaps the most similar explosion we have video of an explosion seen in Halifax.Some details I notice:
- In the re-enactments like in the CBC documentary, they fail to capture what would have been a mighty white cloud created by the shockwave. - The seismic waves are omitted from the re-enactments. Any other details people are noticing? |
A century after the Halifax Explosion, Beirut tragedy hits close to home
https://i.cbc.ca/1.5675817.159666810...explosions.jpg The explosion in Beirut Tuesday next to a historical image of the Halifax Explosion. (Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images/Maritime Museum of the Atlantic) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...anon-1.5675794 |
Saw something posted somewhere listing the strongest recorded explosions. They were listed as the two atomic explosions in Japan, then Beirut, then the Halifax explosion.
Not sure where all the nuclear testing through the 50s and 60s winds up but that was the list I saw, anyway. |
Saw something posted somewhere listing the strongest recorded explosions. They were listed in order as the two atomic explosions in Japan, then Beirut, then the Halifax explosion.
Not sure where all the nuclear testing through the 50s and 60s winds up but that was the list I saw, anyway. |
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The Halifax Explosion was bigger, estimated to be 3 kT of TNT equivalent. Beirut is estimated to be 1.5kT. Regardless, the video out of Beirut is very instructive as to what the Halifax Explosion must have been like. I can't imagine any other single accidental man made explosion in the last century that was anywhere near equivalent to these two spectacular events. Between the explosions and the pandemic, 2020 is 1917 all over again...….. :eek: |
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba |
First thing I thought when I saw this on the news was how similar the situation was to the Halifax Explosion. Massive fire, curious people gather to watch and then unfortunately were exposed to the blast unexpectedly.
I'm surprised that they are still saying there are only 150 casualties as I expected it to be in the thousands based on the videos. Horrible situation, and totally unnecessary. Very poor management of the stored 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate! |
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Ammonium Nitrate can be very volatile especially if it's formulated for mining and not agricultural fertilizer. Videos of the warehouse prior showing the label Nitrophil suggest a mining application. That said, it's nowhere near as efficient as a military grade high-explosive, even in 1917. In comparison the materials in Halifax were high-grade explosives. The difference as explained in the article was the over pressure created by the detonation. There are two types of blast wave, a pressure wave or a shock wave. A pressure wave doesn't move as fast and builds more slowly. A shock wave goes from 0 to Max almost instantly and moves hyper-sonically. The difference to people who are hit is akin to falling down a steep hill and rolling to a stop vs. falling from the high in the air and hitting flat ground at terminal velocity. By measuring videos of the condensation cloud in Beirut, they determine that the explosion created a pressure wave, not a shock wave. This greatly reduced catastrophic injury at distance. Halifax's explosion almost certainly created a shockwave which would have caused instantly fatal injuries to those unlucky enough to be in the way. |
The Washington Post picked up on the parallels with the Halifax Explosion in this piece by John Bacon that appeared on the weekend:
How the explosive destruction of Halifax holds lessons — and hope — for Beirut Bacon authored the 2017 book The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism. It's a very readable book, if a bit US-centric. In my opinion the best book about the Explosion remains Curse of The Narrows: The Halifax Disaster of 1917 by Laura MacDonald (2005). MacDonald saw the parallels between Halifax and another traumatic event of our time, the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Centre (which she watched from the window of her Harlem apartment). Both books are worth reading. A final note, for those who haven't seen it. CBC reported a few weeks ago the discovery of what appears to be a previously unknown photo of the Explosion. A municipal archives in Belleville ON discovered the photo in a collection they acquired in 2012. The validity of the photo is still uncertain, but the research done so far seems to support the theory the image was shot by Reginald Stevens, a mate aboard HMCS Niobe at the time of the Explosion. The photo and the article: Is this 'surreal nightmare' an unpublished photo of the Halifax Explosion? |
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Interesting, thanks for posting. |
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Probably a couple other factors that contribute to the higher death rate in the Halifax Explosion were as follows (IMHO): 1) The Beirut explosion occurred in an industrial area that offered a bit of a buffer zone for the residential areas. In 1917 Halifax, although there was industrial activity in the city, residential was pretty much built right down to the water. 2) Structural integrity of Halifax's wooden buildings of the time would not have stood up to the blast as well as more modern structures, plus would not have been as susceptible to fire - many of the deaths in Halifax happened from building collapse and the resultant fire as in December everybody had a wood or coal stove heating their home/business. Additionally there was a lot of blindness in Halifax caused by broken glass when people were looking out their windows towards the fire. Interesting discussion. ns_kid, thanks for posting the link but unfortunately it's behind a paywall. I don't want to sign up for it at the moment, but it sounds interesting. I also have been following the discussion on that photo that turned up on CBC - IMHO it's the real deal. |
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In his article, Bacon reviews the well-known history of course, making the observation that, "The Halifax government coordinated one of the most miraculous rescue and relief efforts ever conducted, while Beirut's fails to provide reliable garbage pick-up, electricity or potable water." But he compares the international response to Beirut with the aid that flowed to Halifax after the Explosion, noting that this has the power to break down old barriers. (Even Israel offered humanitarian assistance despite recent cross-border attacks; Tel Aviv illuminated its municipal building in the colours of the Lebanese flag.) He concludes that "the generosity that flowed into Halifax showed human kindness could not be erased by even the greatest man-made explosion the world had ever seen. Of the many lessons Canada's disaster holds for Beirut -- and a watching world eager to help -- that might prove to be the most lasting." MacDonald made a similar observation in her book contrasting the Explosion and 9/11. Of course the Bush administration later squandered that international goodwill with its ill-advised war on Iraq. |
Thanks, ns_kid. I was finally able to read the article by accessing it on a different computer. I probably could have just cleared the cookies from my browser, but I tried the other computer first.
In reading about the compassion shown by Boston to dispatch aid immediately, I'm reminded of the stories from my Grandmother and how much that aid was appreciated by the survivors of the explosion. It went over and above medical aid as well - she and her family basically lost everything except their lives in the explosion, yet I recall her telling me that some of the furniture in her house (I recall a nice hutch, but there were other items) was supplied by the relief efforts to help people rebuild their lives. When you have lost everything, these bright spots of generosity and empathy help to give you the strength needed to get through the toughest of times. The acts of kindness are significant and need to be remembered for their importance. In these days of political nastiness and arguing over minutia on the internet, it's easy to forget some days that kindness and compassion are what connects us as a society, and reading about how Halifax recovered from this disaster mostly through these acts of kindness is a good reminder for all of us. Hopefully Beirut will experience a similar resurgence. |
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