Sunday, May 6, 2012

Halifax history, part the second


Along with the Citadel, there's an excellent museum of maritime history in Halifax, featuring extensive exhibits from the age of sail up to the present day.  The highlight for me was the age of sail material, including an excellent range of scale models:




One bit that was especially appealing for me was an exhibit on the wreck of the Celebre, one of the French ships involved with the siege of Louisburg during the seven years war.  Those of you who've been reading the blog know that I'm a bit of a SYW buff, and ironically, had been reading about the fall of the fortress just a day or two prior to leaving on my trip east.


While records indicated that two ships had been sunk in Louisburg harbour, researchers were originally puzzled as two which of the two ships had been found.  As it turns out, this pump tube was the answer:


The length of these tubes were standardized, by the docks that produced them.  As the two ships were built in different docks, it was possible to identify this ship as the Celebre (which, if I recall, was built in La Rochelle).

There are also fairly extensive displays of other material, including boarding equipment, rigging, and cannonballs recovered from the hundreds of wrecks surrounding Nova Scotia.




I'd strongly recommend the museum to anyone with an interest in maritime, colonial, or north american history.  Nova Scotia has been a key centre of conflict, settlement, and trade for some time now, and there's more than enough to interest anyone with a interest in the past.


  1. Excellent!!!! What is that in the last pic, I can't make out the writing???

  2. Three rope tackle block, used to hoist a yard up the mast. If I'd been thinking, I would have tried to get something in the shot for scale - it was pretty big.

  3. Those ships look wonderfull. Also the historical showcases are very interesting. Thanks for sharing!