The Halifax Explosion - a sad chapter in Canadian history.
On the morning of December 6, 1917, a mist rose over the Eastern Passage at Halifax Harbour. Then the sun rose and the entire city and harbour were bathed in golden light. At 8.30 a.m. workers were busily on the job in the shipyards, while others were heading to their jobs in the shipyard offices. In the harbour, only one ship was moving north into the Narrows - the French vessel SSMont-Blanc. Suddenly, the Norwegian SS Imo appeared out of the Bedford Basin, coming directly at the slow-moving Mont-Blanc. By this time, people on shore and crews of the other ships in the Narrows were watching in dismay as a collision was imminent. No one had any idea how catastrophic that collision would be, for no one knew what Mont-Blanc’s cargo was.
World War One was in its third year, and Halifax was a busy port. New ships were being designed and built in the shipyards along the shore. Many of the ships at anchor in the harbour were filled with troops waiting to be sent to Europe. Others were filled with much-needed supplies for the devastated countries in Europe.
It seemed to viewers that it was only at the last moment that the captain of Imo realized that there was a ship in his path. Horns blared but it was too late. With a grinding crash, Imo carved a third of the way through the Mont-Blanc deck, releasing and breaking open the canisters of benzol that were on the deck, and creating sparks that set the cargo below on fire. For twenty minutes, everyone seemed paralyzed, although there were attempts to put out the fire and scuttle the Mont Blanc.
At 9.05 the Mont Blanc exploded. Every building within a 1.6 mile radius was destroyed. For a moment, the floor of the Basin was exposed, then a tsumi was formed wiping out Mi’kmaq and Africville settlements along the Bedford Basin shore. It was the loudest manmade sound before the atomic bomb, heard hundreds of miles away. The entire lower town of Halifax and the waterfront were decimated. There were 1782 people killed instantly, about 9000 wounded. Doctors treated many eye wounds as shards of glass rained on anyone who was out of doors.
There were many heroes in the day. One of them was railway dispatcher Patrick Vincent Coleman who started to run from the explosion, then went back to his post to send a message to an incoming train to stop and not come into Halifax. He saved the 300 passengers on that train. Other stations heard his message and began at once to send help, although it would not arrive for a day due to the isolated position of Halifax, and the poor roads.
The local survivors rallied quickly to provide accommodation for those who had lost their homes, as well as first-aid stations and soup kitchens.
The Halifax explosion is one of those times in history which truly does provide a snapshot in time, a snapshot that those who were there would never forget or on first hearing the dreadful news - moments like JFK’s assassination or 9/ll.
Below, a map of The Narrows, and part of an anchor that was thrown 2 miles to a park where it remains to this day.