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'{{About|the disaster|other uses|Halifax Explosion (disambiguation)}} {{featured article}} {{Use Canadian English|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox civilian attack |title=Halifax Explosion |image=Halifax Explosion blast cloud restored.jpg |caption=A view of the [[pyrocumulus cloud]] |alt=Tall cloud of smoke rising over the water |location=[[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], Canada |target= |date=6 December 1917 |time=9:04:35 |timezone=[[Atlantic Standard Time|AST]] |fatalities=2,000 (estimate) (1,950 confirmed) |injuries=9,000 (approximate) |perps= |motive= }} {{History of Halifax, Nova Scotia}} The '''Halifax Explosion''' was a maritime disaster in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], Canada, on the morning of 6 December 1917. {{SS|Mont-Blanc}}, a French [[cargo ship]] laden with high explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel {{SS|Imo}} in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper [[Halifax Harbour]] to [[Bedford Basin]]. A fire on board the French ship ignited her cargo, causing a large explosion that devastated the [[Richmond, Nova Scotia|Richmond district]] of Halifax. Approximately 2,000 people were killed by blast, debris, fires and collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured.<ref name=cbc>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/he2_ruins/he2_ruins_explosion.html |title=Halifax Explosion 1917 |publisher=CBC |date=19 September 2003 |accessdate=25 February 2011}}</ref> ''Mont-Blanc'' was under orders from the French government to carry her cargo of high explosives from [[New York]] via Halifax to [[Bordeaux]], France. At roughly 8:45&nbsp;am, she collided at low speed – approximately one knot ({{convert|1|to|1.5|mph|disp=or}}) – with the unladen ''Imo'', chartered by the [[Commission for Relief in Belgium]] to pick up a cargo of relief supplies in New York. The resulting fire aboard the French ship quickly grew out of control. Approximately 20 minutes later at 9:04:35&nbsp;am, ''Mont-Blanc'' exploded. The blast was the [[List of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions#Rank order of largest conventional explosions/detonations by magnitude|largest man-made explosion]] prior to the development of nuclear weapons,<ref name=TimeDisaster>{{cite book|title=Time: Disasters that Shook the World|publisher=Time Home Entertainment|year=2012|page=56|isbn=1-60320-247-1}}</ref> releasing the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9&nbsp;kilotons of [[Trinitrotoluene|TNT]].{{sfn|Ruffman|Howell|1994|p=276}} Nearly all structures within an {{convert|800|m|sing=on}} radius, including the entire community of Richmond, were obliterated. A [[pressure wave]] snapped trees, bent iron rails, demolished buildings, grounded vessels, and scattered fragments of the ''Mont-Blanc'' for kilometres. Hardly a window in the city proper survived the blast. Across the harbour, in [[Dartmouth, Nova Scotia|Dartmouth]], there was also widespread damage.<ref name=cbc/> A [[tsunami]] created by the blast wiped out the community of [[Mi'kmaq]] [[First Nations]] people who had lived in the [[Tufts Cove, Nova Scotia|Tuft's Cove]] area for generations. Relief efforts began almost immediately, and hospitals quickly became full. Rescue trains began arriving from across eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States, but were impeded by a blizzard. Construction of temporary shelters to house the many people left homeless began soon after the disaster. The initial judicial inquiry found the ''Mont-Blanc'' to have been responsible for the disaster, but a later appeal determined that both vessels were to blame. There are several memorials to the victims of the explosion in [[North End, Halifax|North End]]. == Background == {{further|History of Halifax|Dartmouth, Nova Scotia|History of Nova Scotia}} [[File:Halifax, Nova Scotia, looking north from a grain elevator towards Acadia Sugar Refinery, ca. 1900.jpg|thumb|250px|left|alt=Cityscape bisected by central traintracks, with dense buildings to the left and harbourfront to the right|Looking north from a grain elevator towards Acadia Sugar Refinery, circa 1900, showing the area later devastated by the 1917 explosion]] The community of [[Dartmouth, Nova Scotia|Dartmouth]] lies on the east shore of [[Halifax Harbour]], while [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] is on the west shore. Halifax and Dartmouth had thrived during times of war; the harbour was one of the British [[Royal Navy]]'s most important bases in North America, a centre for wartime trade, and a home to [[privateers]] who harried the British Empire's enemies during the [[American Revolution]], the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and the [[War of 1812]].{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=5}}{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=9}} The completion of the [[Intercolonial Railway]] and its Deep Water Terminal in 1880 allowed for increased steamship trade and led to accelerated development of the port area,{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=11}} but Halifax faced an economic downturn after the British garrison left the city in late 1905 and early 1906.{{sfn|Bird|1995|p=36}}{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=10–11}} After 1906, the Canadian Government took over the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax|Halifax Dockyard]] (now [[CFB Halifax]]) from the Royal Navy.<ref>{{cite book|isbn=978-1-55488-907-5|authors=Johnston, William; Rawling, William; Gimblett, Richard|title=The Seabound Coast|publisher=Dundurn Press|year=2011|page=96}}</ref> This dockyard later became the command centre of the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] upon its founding in 1910.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=9–11}} Just before the [[World War I|First World War]], the Canadian government began to make a determined, costly effort to develop the harbour and waterfront facilities.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=13}} The outbreak of the war brought Halifax back to prominence. As the Royal Canadian Navy had virtually no seaworthy ships of its own, the Royal Navy assumed responsibility for maintaining Atlantic trade routes by re-adopting Halifax as its North American base of operations.{{sfn|Bird|1995|pp=37–38}} In 1915, management of the harbour fell under the control of the Royal Canadian Navy under the supervision of Captain Superintendent Edward Harrington Martin; by 1917 there was a growing naval fleet in Halifax, including patrol ships, tugboats, and minesweepers.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=10, 14}} The population of Halifax/Dartmouth had increased to between 60,000 and 65,000 people by 1917.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1172270-halifax-explosion-memorial-service-draws-large-crowd|title=Halifax Explosion memorial service draws large crowd|author=Mellor, Clare|work=Journal News|date=6 December 2013}}</ref> Convoys carried soldiers, men, animals and supplies to the European theatre of war. The two main points of departure were in Nova Scotia at [[Sydney, Nova Scotia|Sydney]] in [[Cape Breton]] and Halifax.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Sydney, Nova Scotia and the U-Boat War, 1918|author1=Tennyson, Brian |author2=Sarty, Roger |journal=Canadian Military History|volume=7|issue=1|year=1998|pages=29–41}}</ref> [[Hospital ship]]s brought the wounded to the city, and a new military hospital was constructed in the city.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|pp=12–13}} The success of German [[U-boat]] attacks on ships crossing the [[Atlantic Ocean]] led the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] to institute a [[convoy]] system to reduce losses while transporting goods and soldiers to Europe.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=12}} [[Merchant ships]] gathered at [[Bedford Basin]] on the northwestern end of the harbour, which was protected by two sets of [[anti-submarine net]]s and guarded by patrol ships of the Royal Canadian Navy.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=13}} The convoys departed under the protection of British [[cruisers]] and [[destroyer]]s.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|pp=9–10}} A large army [[garrison]] protected the city with forts, [[gun battery|gun batteries]], and anti-submarine nets. These factors drove a major military, industrial and residential expansion of the city,{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=10–11}} while the weight of goods passing through the harbour increased nearly ninefold.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=8}} All [[Neutrality (international relations)|neutral]] ships, bound for ports in North America, were required to report to Halifax for inspection.<ref name=scan>{{cite journal|url=http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol10/tnm_10_4_39-50.pdf|author=Scanlon, Joseph|title=Sources of threat and sources of assistance: the maritime aspects of the 1917 Halifax Explosion|journal=The Northern Mariner|pages=39–50|volume=X|issue=4|date=October 2000}}</ref> ==Disaster== [[File:McNabs Island.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Map of present-day Halifax and Dartmouth. Bedford Basin is top left and the Narrows between Dartmouth and Halifax leads towards the Atlantic off the bottom on the right.|alt=The Narrows centres Bedford Basin in the northwest, the inner harbour in the southeast, Halifax on the south shore and Dartmouth on the north shore.]] The Norwegian ship {{SS|Imo}} had sailed from the Netherlands en route to New York to take on relief supplies for Belgium, under the command of Haakon From.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=16}} The ship arrived in Halifax on 3 December for neutral inspection and spent two days in Bedford Basin awaiting refuelling supplies.<ref name="nasa">{{cite journal|url = http://nsc.nasa.gov/SFCS/SystemFailureCaseStudyFile/Download/296|title = Kiloton killer|journal = System Failure Case Study|publisher = NASA|date = January 2013|volume = 7|issue = 1|last = Lilley|first = Steve}}</ref> Though given clearance to leave the port on 5 December, ''Imo''{{'}}s departure was delayed as her coal load did not arrive until late that afternoon. The loading of fuel was not completed until after the anti-submarine nets had been raised for the night. Therefore, the vessel could not weigh anchor until the next morning.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=16}}{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=18}} The French [[cargo ship]] {{SS|Mont-Blanc}} arrived from New York late on 5 December, under the command of Aimé Le Medec.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=16}} The vessel was fully loaded with the explosives [[Trinitrotoluene|TNT]] and [[picric acid]], the highly flammable fuel [[benzole]], and [[guncotton]].{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=16}} She intended to join a slow convoy gathering in Bedford Basin readying to depart for Europe, but was too late to enter the harbour before the nets were raised.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=16}} Ships carrying dangerous cargo were not allowed into the harbour before the war, but the risks posed by German submarines had resulted in a relaxation of regulations.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|pp=19–20}} Navigating into or out of Bedford Basin required passage through a strait called the Narrows. Ships were expected to keep to the [[Port and starboard|starboard]] (right) side of the channel as they passed oncoming traffic; in other words, vessels were required to pass port to port.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=34}} Ships were restricted to a speed of five [[knot (unit)|knots]] within the harbour.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=32–33}} ===Collision and fire=== ''Imo'' was granted clearance to leave Bedford Basin by signals from the guard ship [[CSS Acadia|HMCS ''Acadia'']] at approximately 7:30 on the morning of 6 December,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://marinecurator.blogspot.ca/2013/12/halifax-harbour-remembers-halifax.html|author=Conlin, Dan|title=The Harbour Remembers the Halifax Explosion|publisher=Maritime Museum of the Atlantic|date=6 December 2013}}</ref> with Pilot William Hayes aboard. The ship entered the Narrows well above the harbour's speed limit in an attempt to make up for the delay experienced in loading her cargo.<ref name=nasa/> ''Imo'' met American [[Tramp trade|tramp steamer]] SS ''Clara'' being piloted up the wrong (western) side of the harbour.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=23}} The pilots agreed to pass starboard to starboard.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|pp=30–31}} Soon afterwards though, ''Imo'' was forced to head even further towards the Dartmouth shore after passing the [[tugboat]] ''[[Stella Maris (ship)|Stella Maris]]'', which was travelling up the harbour to Bedford Basin near mid-channel. Horatio Brannen, the captain of ''Stella Maris'', saw ''Imo'' approaching at excessive speed and ordered his ship closer to the western shore to avoid an accident.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=24}}{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=17}}{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=33}} Francis Mackey, an experienced harbour pilot, had boarded the ''Mont-Blanc'' on the evening of 5 December; he had asked about "special protections" such as a guard ship given the ''Mont-Blanc's'' cargo, but no protections were put in place.<ref name=nasa/> The ''Mont-Blanc'' started moving at 7:30&nbsp;am on 6 December, heading towards Bedford Basin.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|pp=15–19, 27}}{{sfn|Flemming|2004|pp=17, 22}}{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=32}} Mackey kept his eye on the ferry traffic between Halifax and Dartmouth and other small boats in the area.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=32}} He first spotted ''Imo'' when she was about {{convert|0.75|mi}} away and became concerned as her path appeared to be heading towards his ship's starboard side, as if to cut him off his own course. Mackey gave a short blast of his ship's signal whistle to indicate that he had the right of way, but was met with two short blasts from the ''Imo'', indicating that the approaching vessel would not yield its position.{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=15}}{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=24}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.halifaxexplosion.org/collision3.html|authors=Ruffman, Alan; Findley, Wendy|year=2007|title=The Collision|work=The Halifax Explosion}}</ref> The captain ordered ''Mont-Blanc'' to halt its engines and angle slightly to starboard, closer to the Dartmouth side of the Narrows. He let out another single blast of his whistle, hoping the other vessel would likewise move to starboard, but was again met with a double-blast in negation.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=38}} [[File:Halifax explosion - Imo.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Two men observe a large beached ship with "Belgian Relief" painted on its side|SS ''Imo'' aground on the Dartmouth side of the harbour after the explosion]] Sailors on nearby ships heard the series of signals and, realizing that a collision was imminent, gathered to watch as ''Imo'' bore down on ''Mont-Blanc''.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=39}} Though both ships had cut their engines by this point, their momentum carried them right on top of each other at slow speed. Unable to ground his ship for fear of a shock that would set off his explosive cargo, Mackey ordered ''Mont-Blanc'' to steer hard to port (starboard helm) and crossed the Norwegian ship's bows in a last-second bid to avoid a collision. The two ships were almost parallel to each other, when ''Imo'' suddenly sent out three signal blasts, indicating the ship was reversing its engines. The combination of the cargoless ship's height in the water and the [[Propeller#Thrust and torque|transverse thrust]] of her right-hand propeller caused the ship's head to swing into ''Mont-Blanc''. ''Imo''{{'}}s prow pushed into the French vessel's No. 1 hold on her starboard side.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|pp=40–41}}<ref name=nasa/> The collision occurred at 8:45&nbsp;am.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=25}} While the damage to ''Mont Blanc'' was not severe, it toppled barrels that broke open and flooded the deck with benzol that quickly flowed into the hold. As ''Imo''{{'}}s engines kicked in, she quickly disengaged, which created sparks inside ''Mont-Blanc''{{'}}s hull. These ignited the vapours from the benzol. A fire started at the water line and travelled quickly up the side of the ship as the benzol spewed out from crushed drums on ''Mont-Blanc''{{'}}s decks. The fire quickly became uncontrollable. Surrounded by thick black smoke, and fearing she would explode almost immediately, the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship.{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=19}}{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=25}} A growing number of Halifax citizens gathered on the street or stood at the windows of their homes or businesses to watch the spectacular fire.{{sfn|Kitz|1989|pp=22–23}} The frantic crew of ''Mont-Blanc'' shouted from their two lifeboats to some of the other vessels that their ship was about to explode, but they could not be heard above the noise and confusion.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=49}} As the lifeboats made their way across the harbour to the Dartmouth shore, the abandoned ship continued to drift and beached herself at Pier 6 near the foot of Richmond street.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|pp=25–26}} Towing two [[scow]]s at the time of the collision,{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=17}} ''Stella Maris'' responded immediately to the fire, anchoring the barges and steaming back towards Pier 6.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=46}} The tug's captain, Horatio H. Brannen, and his crew realized they were not equipped to fight the fire with their one small hose and quickly backed off from the burning ''Mont Blanc''. They were approached by a whaler from [[HMS Highflyer (1898)|HMS ''Highflyer'']] and later a steam [[Pinnace (ship's boat)|pinnace]] belonging to [[HMS Niobe (1897)|HMCS ''Niobe'']]. Captain Brannen and Albert Mattison of ''Niobe'' agreed to secure a line to the French ship's stern so as to pull it away from the pier to avoid setting it on fire. The five-inch (127-millimetre) [[hawser]] initially produced was deemed too small and orders for a ten-inch (254-millimetre) hawser came down. It was at this point that the blast occurred.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|pp=50–51}} ===Explosion=== [[File:Halifax Explosion - harbour view - restored.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=Destroyed buildings, with harbour in background|A view across the devastation of Halifax two days after the explosion, looking toward the Dartmouth side of the harbour. ''Imo'' can be seen aground on the far side of the harbour.]] At 9:04:35&nbsp;am, the out-of-control fire aboard ''Mont-Blanc'' finally set off her highly explosive cargo.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=58}} The ship was completely blown apart and a powerful [[blast wave]] radiated away from the explosion at more than {{convert|1000|m}} per second. Temperatures of {{convert|5000|C}} and pressures of thousands of atmospheres accompanied the moment of detonation at the centre of the explosion.{{sfn|Ruffman|Howell|1994|p=277}}<ref name=nasa/> White-hot shards of iron fell down upon Halifax and Dartmouth.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=62}} ''Mont-Blanc''{{'}}s forward 90&nbsp;mm gun, its barrel melted away, landed approximately {{convert|5.6|km|mi}} north of the explosion site near [[Albro Lake]] in Dartmouth, while the shank of her anchor, weighing half a ton, landed {{convert|3.2|km|mi}} south at [[Armdale, Nova Scotia|Armdale]].{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=25}} A cloud of white smoke rose to over {{convert|3600|m|ft}}.<ref>The height of the blast at its peak was measured at 3,600 metres (11,811 feet or 2.25 miles) on a sextant by Captain W. M. A. Campbell of the inbound Canadian merchant ship, ''Acadian'', approximately {{convert|28|km}} from the harbour approaches. {{harvnb|Ruffman|Howell|1994|p=323}}</ref> The shock wave from the blast travelled through the earth at nearly 23 times the [[speed of sound]] and was felt as far away as [[Cape Breton Island|Cape Breton]] ({{convert|207|km|disp=or}}) and [[Prince Edward Island]] ({{convert|180|km|disp=or}}).<ref name=nasa/>{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=63}} An area of over {{convert|160|ha|acre}} was completely destroyed by the explosion,{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=25}} while the harbour floor was momentarily exposed by the volume of water that vaporized. A [[tsunami]] was formed by water surging in to fill the void;{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=66}} it rose as high as {{convert|18|m|-1}} above the high-water mark on the Halifax side of the harbour.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Krehl|first1=Peter|title=History of shock waves, explosions and impact a chronological and biographical reference|date=2007|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-540-30421-0|page=459}}</ref> ''Imo'' was carried onto the shore at Dartmouth by the tsunami.{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=26}} The blast killed all save one aboard the whaler, everyone aboard the pinnace and 21 of the 26 men aboard ''Stella Maris''; she ended up on the Dartmouth shore, severely damaged. The captain's son, First Mate Walter Brannen, who had been thrown into the hold by the blast, survived, as did four others.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=42–43}} All but one of the ''Mont-Blanc'' crew members survived.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=47}} Over 1,600 people were killed instantly and 9,000 were injured, more than 300 of whom later died.<ref name=nasa/> Every building within a {{convert|2.6|km|mi|adj = on}} radius, over 12,000 in total, was destroyed or badly damaged.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=66}} Hundreds of people who had been watching the fire from their homes were blinded when the blast wave shattered the windows in front of them.{{sfn|Gilmour|2001|p=119}} Stoves and lamps overturned by the force of the blast sparked fires throughout Halifax,{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=21}} particularly in the [[North End, Halifax|North End]], where entire city blocks were caught up in the inferno, trapping residents inside their houses. Firefighter Billy Wells, who was thrown away from the explosion and had his clothes torn from his body, described the devastation survivors faced: "The sight was awful, with people hanging out of windows dead. Some with their heads missing, and some thrown onto the overhead telegraph wires." He was the only member of the eight-man crew of the fire engine "Patricia" to survive.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=71}} Large brick and stone factories near Pier 6, such as the Acadia Sugar Refinery, disappeared into unrecognizable heaps of rubble, killing most of their workers.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=42}} The [[Nova Scotia Cotton Manufacturing Company|Nova Scotia cotton mill]] located 1.5&nbsp;km (0.93 mile) from the blast was destroyed by fire and the collapse of its concrete floors.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=43}} The Royal Naval College of Canada building was badly damaged, and several cadets and instructors maimed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chaplin |first=Charmion |url=http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=2862 |title=The Royal Naval College of Canada Closes |work=The Maple Leaf |volume=9 |number=23 |date=14 June 2006 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401182805/http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=2862 |archivedate=April 1, 2012 }}</ref> [[File:Panoramic view of damage to Halifax waterfront after Halifax Explosion, 1917.jpg|thumb|750px|center|alt=Panoramic view over traintracks to destroyed cityscape|View from the waterfront looking west from the ruins of the Sugar Refinery across the obliterated Richmond District several days after the explosion. The remains of Pier 6, site of the explosion, are on the extreme right.]] The death toll could have been worse had it not been for the self-sacrifice of an Intercolonial Railway dispatcher, [[Vince Coleman (train dispatcher)|Patrick Vincent (Vince) Coleman]], operating at the railyard about {{convert|750|ft}} from Pier 6, where the explosion occurred. He and his co-worker, William Lovett, learned of the dangerous cargo aboard the burning ''Mont-Blanc'' from a sailor and began to flee. Coleman remembered, however, that an incoming passenger train from [[Saint John, New Brunswick]], was due to arrive at the railyard within minutes. He returned to his post alone and continued to send out urgent telegraph messages to stop the train. Several variations of the message have been reported, among them this from the [[Maritime Museum of the Atlantic]]: "Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys." Coleman's message was responsible for bringing all incoming trains around Halifax to a halt. It was heard by other stations all along the Intercolonial Railway, helping railway officials to respond immediately.<ref name=conlin>{{cite web|url=https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/vincent-coleman-and-halifax-explosion|author=Conlin, Dan|title=Vincent Coleman and the Halifax Explosion|publisher=Maritime Museum of the Atlantic|accessdate=25 April 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|pp=1–3}} Passenger Train No. 10, the overnight train from Saint John, is believed to have heeded the warning and stopped a safe distance from the blast at [[Rockingham, Nova Scotia|Rockingham]], saving the lives of about 300 railway passengers. Coleman was killed at his post as the explosion ripped through the city.<ref name=conlin/> He was honoured with a [[Heritage Minute]] in the 1990s and inducted into the [[Canadian Railway Hall of Fame]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.railfame.ca/sec_ind/heroes/en_2004_ColemanV.asp|publisher=Canadian Railway Hall of Fame|title=Vince Coleman (2004)|accessdate=13 June 2015}}</ref> ==Rescue efforts== First rescue efforts came from surviving neighbours and co-workers who pulled and dug out victims from buildings. The initial informal response was soon joined by surviving policemen, firefighters and military personnel who began to arrive, as did anyone with a working vehicle; cars, trucks and delivery wagons of all kinds were enlisted to collect the wounded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1256017-weekend-focus-helping-hands-for-victims-of-halifax-explosion|work=The Chronicle Herald|title=Helping hands for victims of Halifax Explosion|author=Shiers, Kelly|date=6 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://marinecurator.blogspot.ca/2013/12/pennies-from-hell.html |author=Conlin, Dan|title=Pennies from Hell: A Milkman's pennies from the Halifax Explosion|publisher=Maritime Museum of the Atlantic|date=5 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/halifax/volunteers/|publisher=University of Virginia|title=Volunteers|work=From one moment to the next: the Halifax Explosion|year=2007}}</ref>{{sfn|Flemming|2004|pp=53–55}} A flood of victims soon began to arrive at the city's hospitals, which were quickly overwhelmed.{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=53}} The new military hospital, Camp Hill, admitted approximately 1400 victims on 6 December.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=73}} Firefighters were among the first to respond to the disaster, rushing to ''Mont-Blanc'' to attempt to extinguish the blaze before the explosion even occurred.{{sfn|Glasner|2011|p=30}} They also played a role after the blast, with fire companies arriving to assist from across Halifax, and by the end of the day from as far away as [[Amherst, Nova Scotia]] ({{convert|200|km|-1|disp=or}}) and [[Moncton, New Brunswick]] ({{convert|260|km|-1|disp=or}}) on relief trains.<ref name=conlin/><ref name=hpff/> [[Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency|Halifax Fire Department's]] West Street Station 2 was the first to arrive at Pier 6 with the crew of the ''Patricia'', the first motorized fire engine in Canada. In the final moments before the explosion, hoses were being unrolled as the fire spread to the docks. Nine members of the Halifax Fire Department lost their lives performing their duty that day.<ref name=hpff>{{cite web|url=http://www.hpff.ca/memorials/halifax-explosion/|title=Memorials – The Halifax Explosion|publisher=Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association|accessdate=29 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://halifaxmag.com/cover/the-last-alarm/|work=Halifax Magazine|title=The last alarm|author=Landry, Janice|date=28 November 2012}}</ref> Royal Navy cruisers in port sent some of the first organized rescue parties ashore. HMS ''Highflyer'', along with the [[armed merchant cruiser]]s HMS ''Changuinola'', HMS ''Knight Templar'' and [[HMS Calgarian|HMS ''Calgarian'']], sent boats ashore with rescue parties and medical personnel and soon began to take wounded aboard.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=21}} A [[United States Coast Guard|US Coast Guard]] cutter, USCG ''Morrill'', also sent a rescue party ashore.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Larzelere|first1=Alex|title=The Coast Guard in World War I: an Untold Story|date=2003|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-55750-476-0|pages=74, 79–80}}</ref> Out at sea, the American cruiser [[USS Tacoma (CL-20)|USS ''Tacoma'']] and armed merchant cruiser [[SS Kronprinz Wilhelm|USS ''Von Steuben'']] (formerly SS ''Kronprinz Wilhelm'') were passing Halifax en route to the United States. ''Tacoma'' was rocked so severely by the blast wave that her crew went to [[general quarters]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crhnet.ca/sites/default/files/library/HazNet_Special_Edition_2014-01-15.pdf|work=HazNet|date=Winter 2014|title=Blasts from the past|page=9}}</ref> Spotting the large and rising column of smoke, ''Tacoma'' altered course and arrived to assist rescue at 2&nbsp;pm. ''Von Steuben'' arrived a half-hour later.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=70}} The American steamship ''Old Colony'', docked in Halifax for repairs, suffered little damage and was quickly converted to serve as a hospital ship, staffed by doctors and orderlies from the British and American navy vessels in the harbour.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=28–29, 68}} Dazed survivors immediately feared that the explosion was the result of a bomb dropped from a German plane.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=70}} Troops at gun batteries and barracks immediately turned out in case the city was under attack, but within an hour switched from defence to rescue roles as the cause and location of the explosion were determined. All available troops were called in from harbour fortifications and barracks to the North End to rescue survivors and provide transport to the city's hospitals, including the two army hospitals in the city.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=57–58}} Adding to the chaos were fears that a second explosion was imminent. A cloud of steam shot out of ventilators at the ammunition magazine at Wellington Barracks as naval personnel extinguished a fire by the magazine. While the fire was quickly put out, the cloud of steam was seen from blocks away and quickly led to rumours that a second explosion was imminent.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=58–59}} Uniformed officers ordered everyone away from the area.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=100}} As the rumour spread across the city, many families fled their homes. The confusion hampered efforts for over two hours until fears were dispelled by about noon.<ref name="AtCityHall">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/he3_shock/he3_shock_city_hall.html |title=The Halifax Explosion – At city hall |publisher=CBC |accessdate=20 January 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=58}} However, many rescuers ignored the evacuation and naval rescue parties continued working uninterrupted at the harbour.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=58}}{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=60}} Surviving railway workers in the railyards at the heart of the disaster carried out rescue work, pulling people from the harbour and from under debris. The overnight train from Saint John was just approaching the city when hit by the blast but was only slightly damaged. It continued into Richmond until the track was blocked by wreckage. Passengers and soldiers aboard used the emergency tools from the train to dig people out of houses and bandaged them with sheets from the sleeping cars. The train was loaded with injured and left the city at 1:30 with a doctor aboard, to evacuate the wounded to [[Truro, Nova Scotia|Truro]].<ref name=conlin/>{{sfn|MacMechan|Metson|1978|pp=42–43}} Led by [[Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia|Lieutenant Governor]] [[MacCallum Grant]], leading citizens formed the Halifax Relief Commission at around noon. The committee organized members in charge of organizing medical relief for both Halifax and Dartmouth, supplying transportation, food and shelter, and covering medical and funeral costs for victims.<ref name="AtCityHall" />{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=31}} The commission would continue until 1976, participating in reconstruction and relief efforts and later distributing pensions to survivors.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=32}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-relief-commission/|work=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Halifax Relief Commission|author=Kernaghan, Lois|date=16 December 2013}}</ref> Rescue trains were dispatched from across Atlantic Canada, as well as the northeastern United States. The first left Truro around 10&nbsp;am carrying medical personnel and supplies, arrived in Halifax by noon and returned to Truro with the wounded and homeless by 3&nbsp;pm. The track had become impassable at Rockingham, on the western edge of Bedford Basin. To reach the wounded, rescue personnel had to walk through parts of the devastated city until they reached a point where the military had begun to clear the streets.{{sfn|Kitz|1989|pp=64–65}} By nightfall, a dozen trains had reached Halifax from the Nova Scotian towns of Truro, [[Kentville, Nova Scotia|Kentville]], Amherst and [[Stellarton, Nova Scotia|Stellarton]] and from the New Brunswick towns of [[Sackville, New Brunswick|Sackville]], [[Moncton]] and Saint John.{{sfn|MacMechan|Metson|1978|p=42}} Relief efforts were hampered the following day by a [[blizzard]] that blanketed Halifax with {{convert|16|in|cm}} of heavy snow. Trains en route from other parts of Canada and from the United States were stalled in snowdrifts, while telegraph lines that had been hastily repaired following the explosion were again knocked down. Halifax was isolated by the storm, and rescue committees were forced to suspend the search for survivors, though the storm aided efforts to put out fires throughout the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vgpkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v3oNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1667%2C4270484 |title=Injured dying in snowbound relief trains |work=Calgary Daily Herald |date=8 December 1917 |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.oumedicine.com/docs/ad-psychiatry-workfiles/allthedrt_fall_2008.pdf?sfvrsn=2|pages=9–12|journal=The Newsletter of the Child & Family Disaster Research Training & Education Initiative|title=Disasters in history: the Halifax Explosion of 1917|volume=4|issue=3|date=Fall 2008}}</ref> == Destruction and loss of life == [[File:Halifax Explosion Aftermath LOC 2 - restored.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=Large building with windows and part of roof missing|Explosion aftermath: Halifax's Exhibition Building. The final body from the explosion was found here in 1919.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=62}}]] [[File:Halifax Explosion Aftermath LOC 1 - retouched.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=Building with walls bent outward and floor collapsing|Explosion aftermath: St. Joseph's Convent, located on the southeast corner of Göttingen and Kaye streets]] [[File:Maritime Conservatory June 2015.jpg|thumb|Chebucto Road School, repurposed as a morgue]] The exact number killed by the disaster is unknown. The Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book, an official database compiled in 2002 by the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, identified 1,950 victims.<ref name=pans>{{cite web|url=http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/remembrance/ |title=Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book |publisher=Public Archives of Nova Scotia |date=26 November 2009}}</ref> As many as 1,600 people died immediately in the blast, tsunami, and collapse of buildings. The last body, a caretaker killed at the Exhibition Grounds, was not recovered until the summer of 1919.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=62}} An additional 9,000 were injured.<ref name=scan/> 1,630 homes were destroyed in the explosion and fires, and another 12,000 damaged; roughly 6,000 people were left homeless and 25,000 had insufficient shelter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-infosheet|title=Halifax Explosion infosheet|publisher=Maritime Museum of the Atlantic|author=Kitz, Janet|date=19 February 2009}}</ref><ref name=canen>{{cite web |last=Kernaghan |first=Lois |last2=Foot |first2=Richard |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-explosion/ |title=Halifax Explosion |work=The Canadian Encyclopedia |date=4 March 2015}}</ref> The city's industrial sector was in large part gone, with many workers among the casualties and the dockyard heavily damaged.<ref name=dev>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/he3_shock/he3_shock_destruction.html|publisher=CBC|title=The destruction|work=City in Shock|accessdate=30 April 2015}}</ref> A mortuary committee chaired by Alderman R. B. Coldwell was quickly formed at Halifax City Hall on the morning of the disaster. The Chebucto Road School in [[West End, Halifax|Halifax's west end]] was chosen as a central morgue.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=67}} A company of the Royal Canadian Engineers repaired and converted the basement of the school to serve as a morgue and classrooms to serve as offices for the Halifax coroner. Trucks and wagons soon began to arrive with bodies.{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=60}} Coroner Arthur S. Barnstead took over from Coldwell as the morgue went into operation and implemented a system to carefully number and describe bodies;{{sfn|Kitz|1989|p=73}} it was based on the system developed by his father, John Henry Barnstead, to identify [[RMS Titanic|''Titanic'']] victims in 1912.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/titanics-halifax-connection/titanic-information|title=Titanic Infosheet|publisher=Maritime Museum of the Atlantic|accessdate=30 April 2015}}</ref> Many of the wounds inflicted by the blast were permanently debilitating, such as those caused by flying glass or by the flash of the explosion. Thousands of people had stopped to watch the ship burning in the harbour, many from inside buildings, leaving them directly in the path of glass fragments from shattered windows. Roughly 5900 eye injuries were reported, and 41 people lost their sight permanently.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=234}} The many eye injuries led to better understanding on the part of physicians of how to care for damaged eyes, and "with the recently formed [[Canadian National Institute for the Blind]], Halifax became internationally known as a centre for care for the blind", according to [[Dalhousie University]] professor Victoria Allen.<ref name=jogc>{{cite journal|url=http://www.jogc.ca/abstracts/full/201107_GuestEditorial_1.pdf|author=Allen, Victoria|title=Barometer rising|journal=JOGC|volume=33|issue=7|date=July 2011|pages=693–694}}</ref> The lack of coordinated pediatric care in such a disaster was also noted by a surgeon from Boston named [[William E. Ladd|William Ladd]] who had arrived to help. His insights from the explosion are generally credited with inspiring him to pioneer the specialty of pediatric surgery in North America.<ref name=jogc/><ref name="Goldbloom">{{cite journal|last=Goldbloom|first=Richard B.|date=May 1986|title=Halifax and the Precipitate Birth of Pediatric Surgery|journal=Pediatrics|volume=77|issue=5|page=764|pmid=3517802|url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/77/5/764.abstract|ref=harv}}</ref> An estimated $C35 million in damages resulted (${{Inflation|CA|35|1917|r=0|fmt=c}} million today).<ref name=canen/> About $30 million in financial aid was raised from various sources,{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=213}} including $18 million from the federal government, over $4 million from the British government, and $750,000 from the state of [[Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.halifax.ca/halifaxexplosion/|publisher=Tourism Halifax|title=Halifax Explosion|accessdate=30 April 2015}}</ref> === Dartmouth === Dartmouth was not as densely populated as Halifax and was separated from the blast by the width of the harbour, but still suffered heavy damage. Almost 100 people were estimated to have died on the Dartmouth side. Windows were shattered and many buildings were damaged or destroyed, including the [[Oland Brewery]] and parts of the Starr Manufacturing Company.<ref name=dev/> [[Nova Scotia Hospital]] was the only hospital in Dartmouth and many of the victims were treated there.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=109}} === Mi'kmaq settlement === There were small enclaves of [[Mi'kmaq]] in and around the coves of Bedford Basin on the Dartmouth shore. Directly opposite to Pier 9 on the Halifax side sat a community in [[Tufts Cove, Nova Scotia|Tufts Cove]], also known as Turtle Grove. The settlement, dating back to the 18th century, was slated to be relocated as [[Indian reserve|reservations]] were established through [[First Nations|Indian]] lobbying for reserve status.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=87}} Fewer than 20 families resided in this community and the move had not occurred before the time of the collision. The fire aboard ''Mont-Blanc'' drew the attention of many onlookers on both sides of the harbour.<ref name=dev/> The settlement was completely obliterated by the tsunami.<ref name=canen/> There is little information on the effects of the disaster on the Mi'kmaq First Nations people; the number of residents and number of deaths in the community are both unknown.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=88}} A few of the casualties are listed in the Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia.<ref name=pans/> Records show that nine bodies were recovered, and the settlement was abandoned in the wake of the disaster.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=88}} === Africville === The [[black people|black]] community of [[Africville]], on the southern shores of Bedford Basin adjacent to the [[Halifax Peninsula]], was spared the direct force of the blast by the shadow effect of the raised ground to the south.<ref name=dev/> However, Africville's small and frail homes were heavily damaged by the explosion.<ref name=tat/> Families recorded the deaths of five residents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/remembrance/Results.asp?Search=Africville&fieldSelect=keyword |title=Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance |publisher=Public Archives of Nova Scotia |date=2 December 2010 |accessdate=25 February 2011}}</ref> Africville received little of the donated relief funds and none of the progressive reconstruction invested in other parts of the city after the explosion.<ref name=tat>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/africville/|work=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Africville|author=Tattrie, Jon|date=27 January 2014}}</ref><ref name=heb>{{cite journal|title=Building the old new order: Halifax in the wake of the great explosion|author=Hebert, Michelle|journal=New Maritimes|volume=14|issue=4|date=March–April 1996|pages=4–15}}</ref> == Investigation == Many people in Halifax at first believed the explosion to be the result of a German attack.{{sfn|Glasner|2011|p=123}} The [[The Chronicle Herald|''Halifax Herald'']] continued to propagate this belief for some time, for example reporting that Germans had mocked victims of the explosion.{{sfn|MacMechan|Metson|1978|p=143}} While John Johansen, the Norwegian helmsman of the ''Imo'', was being treated for serious injuries sustained during the explosion, it was reported to the military police that he had been behaving suspiciously. Johansen was arrested on suspicions of being a German spy when a search turned up a letter on his person, supposedly written in German.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/doc/556533267.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Dec%2014,%201917&author=&pub=Hartford%20Courant&edition=&startpage=&desc=HELMSMAN%20OF%20SHIP%20THAT%20HIT%20MONT%20BLANC,%20HELD%20AS%20SPY|title=Helmsman of ship that hit Mont Blanc held as spy|date=14 December 1917|work=[[The Hartford Courant]]|page=1}}</ref> It turned out that the letter was actually written in Norwegian.{{sfn|MacMechan|Metson|1978|p=143}} Immediately following the explosion, most of the German survivors in Halifax had been rounded up and imprisoned.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=113}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Elements still scourge desolated city of Halifax, 1050 bodies at morgues; all Germans being arrested|date=10 December 1917|work=[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]]|page=1|volume=CXLVL|issue=295}}</ref> Eventually the fear dissipated as the real cause of the explosion became known, although rumours of German involvement persisted.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society|title=The Halifax Explosion and the spread of rumour through print media, 1917 to the present|author1=Graham, Gayle |author2=MacDonald, Bertrum |year=2014|volume=17|page=92}}</ref> A [[judicial inquiry]] known as the Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry was formed to investigate the causes of the collision. Proceedings began at the [[Halifax Court House]] on 13 December 1917, presided over by Justice Arthur Drysdale.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=71}} The inquiry's report of 4 February 1918 blamed ''Mont-Blanc''{{'}}s [[Captain (naval)|captain]], Aimé Le Médec, the ship's [[maritime pilot|pilot]], Francis Mackey, and Commander F. Evan Wyatt, the Royal Canadian Navy's chief examining officer in charge of the harbour, gates and anti-submarine defences, for causing the collision.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=71}} Drysdale agreed with Dominion Wreck Commissioner L.A. Demers' opinion that "it was the ''Mont-Blanc'''s responsibility alone to ensure that she avoided a collision at all costs" given her cargo;<ref>{{cite book|authors=Johnston, William; Rawling, William; Gimblett, Richard; MacFarlane, John|title=The seabound coast|date=2010|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55488-908-2|pages=525–526}}</ref> he was likely influenced by local opinion, which was strongly anti-French, as well as by the "street fighter" style of argumentation used by ''Imo'' lawyer Charles Burchell.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=113–114, 122}} According to Crown counsel W.A. Henry, this was "a great surprise to most people", who had expected the ''Imo'' to be blamed for being on the wrong side of the channel.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=187}} All three men were charged with [[manslaughter]] and [[criminal negligence]] at a preliminary hearing heard by Stipendiary Magistrate Richard A. McLeod, and bound over for trial. However, a [[Nova Scotia Supreme Court]] justice, [[Benjamin Russell (Canadian politician)|Benjamin Russell]] found there was no evidence to support these charges. Mackey was discharged on a writ of ''[[habeas corpus]]'' and the charges dropped. The charges against Le Médec were also dismissed. This left only Wyatt to face a grand jury hearing. On 17 April 1918, a jury acquitted him in a trial that lasted less than a day.{{sfn|Mac Donald|2005|p=270}}{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=196–201}} Drysdale also oversaw the first civil litigation trial, in which the owners of the two ships sought damages from each other. His decision (27 April 1918) found ''Mont-Blanc'' entirely at fault.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=71}} Subsequent appeals to the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] (19 May 1919), and the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] in London (22 March 1920), determined ''Mont-Blanc'' and ''Imo'' were equally to blame for navigational errors that led to the collision.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=71}}{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=187}}<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society|author=Kitz, Janet|title=The Inquiry into the Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917: the legal aspects|volume=5|year=2002|page=64}}</ref> No party was ever convicted for any crime or otherwise successfully prosecuted for any actions that precipitated the disaster.<ref name=canen /> ==Reconstruction== Efforts began shortly after the explosion to clear debris, repair buildings, and establish temporary housing for survivors left homeless by the explosion. By late January 1918, around 5,000 were still without shelter.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=73}} A reconstruction committee under Colonel Robert Low constructed 832 new housing units, which were furnished by the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Fund.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=74}} The North End Halifax neighbourhood of Richmond bore the brunt of the explosion.<ref name=dev/> In 1917, Richmond was considered a working-class neighbourhood and had few paved roads. After the explosion, the Halifax Relief Commission approached the reconstruction of Richmond as an opportunity to improve and modernize the city's North End. English town planner [[Thomas Adams (architect)|Thomas Adams]] and Montreal architectural firm [[Ross and Macdonald]] were recruited to design a new housing plan for Richmond. Adams, inspired by the Victorian [[garden city movement]], aimed to provide public access to green spaces and to create a low-rise, low-density and multifunctional urban neighbourhood.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=53}}<ref name=heb/> The planners designed 326 large homes that each faced a tree-lined, paved boulevard.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|pp=80–81}} They specified that the homes be built with a new and innovative fireproof material, blocks of compressed cement called Hydrostone.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=81}}<ref name=heb/> The first of these homes was occupied by March 1919.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|p=81}} Once finished, the [[The Hydrostone|Hydrostone]] neighbourhood consisted of homes, businesses and parks, which helped create a new sense of community in the North End of Halifax. It has now become an upscale neighbourhood and shopping district.{{sfn|Kitz|Payzant|2006|p=56}} In contrast, the equally poor and underdeveloped area of Africville was not included in reconstruction efforts.<ref name=heb/> Every building in the Halifax dockyard required some degree of rebuilding, as did HMCS ''Niobe'' and the docks themselves; however, all of the Royal Canadian Navy's minesweepers and patrol boats were undamaged.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=98}} Prime Minister [[Robert Borden]] pledged that the government would be "co-operating in every way to reconstruct the Port of Halifax: this was of utmost importance to the Empire".{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=99}} Although Captain Symington of the USS ''Tacoma'' speculated that the port would not be operational for months,{{Sfn|Armstrong|2002|p=105}} in fact a convoy departed on 11 December and dockyard operations resumed before Christmas.{{sfn|Armstrong|2002|pp=108&ndash;110}} ==Legacy== {{see also|Halifax Explosion in popular culture}} [[File:Halifax Memorial Bell Tower.jpg|thumb|alt=Tall, oddly-shaped concrete structure with bells|The Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower]] The Halifax Explosion was one of the [[largest artificial non-nuclear explosions]]. An extensive comparison of 130 major explosions by Halifax historian Jay White in 1994 concluded that "Halifax Harbour remains unchallenged in overall magnitude as long as five criteria are considered together: number of casualties, force of blast, radius of devastation, quantity of explosive material, and total value of property destroyed."{{sfn|Ruffman|Howell|1994|p=266}} For many years afterward, the Halifax Explosion was the standard by which all large blasts were measured. For instance, in its report on the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombing of Hiroshima]], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' wrote that the explosive power of the [[Little Boy]] bomb was seven times that of the Halifax Explosion.<ref name=TimeDisaster/> [[File:Mont Blanc Anchor Site 1.JPG|thumb|alt=Metal shaft mounted on stone pyramid inscribed "The Dec 6 1917 Halifax Explosion hurled this 1140&nbsp;lb anchor shaft 2.35 miles from the SS Mont Blanc to this park."|''Mont Blanc'' Anchor Site]] Construction began in 1964 on the Halifax North Memorial Library, designed to commemorate the victims of the explosion. The library entrance featured the first monument built to mark the explosion, the [[Halifax Explosion Memorial Sculpture]], created by artist [[Jordi Bonet]]. The sculpture was dismantled by the Halifax Regional Municipality in 2004 and parts have been scattered and lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/atlantic/ns-group-tries-to-bring-memorial-sculpture-back-to-life/article2124752/ |title=Precious Metals: N.S. group tries to bring memorial sculpture back to life|work=Globe and Mail|date=9 August 2011|author=Moore, Oliver}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/hnmemorial/index.html|publisher=Halifax Public Libraries|title=Remembering the victims|year=2010}}</ref> The Halifax Explosion Memorial Bells were built in 1985, relocating memorial [[carillon]] bells from a nearby church to a large concrete sculpture on Fort Needham Hill, facing the "ground zero" area of the explosion. The Bell Tower is the location of an annual civic ceremony every 6 December. A memorial at the Halifax Fire Station on Lady Hammond Road honours the firefighters killed while responding to the explosion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.halifax.ca/HalifaxExplosion/Monuments.html |title=Halifax Explosion Monuments |publisher=Halifax Regional Municipality |year=2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105021841/http://www.halifax.ca/HalifaxExplosion/Monuments.html |archivedate=November 5, 2011 }}</ref> Fragments of ''Mont-Blanc'' have been mounted as neighbourhood monuments to the explosion at Albro Lake Road in Dartmouth, at Regatta Point, and elsewhere in the area. Simple monuments mark the mass graves of explosion victims at the [[Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia|Fairview Lawn Cemetery]] and the Bayers Road Cemetery. A Memorial Book listing the names of all the known victims is displayed at the Halifax North Memorial Library and at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which has a large permanent exhibit about the Halifax Explosion.{{sfn|Flemming|2004|pp=91–92}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/assets/files/resource-lists/hfx_explosion.pdf|publisher=Halifax Public Libraries|title=Explosion in Halifax Harbour, December 6, 1917|accessdate=2 May 2015}}</ref> [[Harold Gilman]] was commissioned to create a painting memorializing the event, although his work, ''Halifax Harbour at Sunset'', "tells very little about the recent devastation, as the viewpoint is set back so that the harbour appears undisturbed".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/camden-town-group/harold-gilman-r1105360|author=Bonett, Helena|work=The Camden Town Group in Context|date=May 2012|title=Harold Gilman|publisher=Tate}}</ref> [[File:2010 Boston Halifax Christmas tree on Boston Common USA 5273771973.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Tall evergreen decorated with strings of multicoloured lights|2010 [[Boston Christmas Tree]]]] The [[literary canon|canonical]] novel ''[[Barometer Rising]]'' (1941) by the Canadian writer [[Hugh MacLennan]] is set in Halifax at the time of the explosion and includes a carefully researched description of its impact on the city.{{sfn|Williams|2009|pp=78, 81–85}}<ref name=trio/> Following in MacLennan's footsteps, journalist [[Robert MacNeil]] penned ''[[Burden of Desire]]'' (1992) and used the explosion as a metaphor for the societal and cultural changes of the day.<ref name=trio>{{cite news|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|title=A trio on the verge of exploding|author=Macfarlane, David|date=7 March 1992|page=C20}}</ref> MacLennan and MacNeil's use of the romance genre to fictionalize the explosion is similar to the first attempt by [[Lieutenant-Colonel Frank McKelvey Bell]], author of the short novella ''[[A Romance of the Halifax Disaster]]'' (1918). This work follows the love affair of a young woman and an injured soldier.{{sfn|Veinot|2007|p=1}} Keith Ross Leckie scripted a miniseries entitled ''[[Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion]]'' (2003), which took the title but has no relationship to Janet Kitz's non-fiction book ''[[Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion and the Road to Recovery]]'' (1990).{{sfn|Veinot|2007|p=17}} The film was criticized for distortions and inaccuracies.{{sfn|Veinot|2007|pp=19–20}} In 1918, Halifax sent a Christmas tree to the City of [[Boston]] in thanks and remembrance for the help that the Boston [[Red Cross]] and the Massachusetts Public Safety Committee provided immediately after the disaster.<ref>{{cite news|last=Beam |first=Alex |url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2005/11/29/trees_roots_get_lost_in_this_flap/ |title=Tree's roots get lost in this flap|work=The Boston Globe |date=29 November 2005}}</ref> That gift was revived in 1971 by the [[Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia|Lunenburg County]] Christmas Tree Producers Association, who began an annual donation of a large tree to promote Christmas tree exports as well as acknowledge Boston's support after the explosion. The gift was later taken over by the Nova Scotia Government to continue the goodwill gesture as well as to promote trade and tourism.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Campbell, Mark|title=Tree Expert Picks Province's Annual Gift to Boston|journal=Nova Scotia Magazine|date=November 1993|page=12}}</ref> The tree is [[Boston Christmas Tree|Boston's official Christmas tree]] and is lit on [[Boston Common]] throughout the holiday season. In deference to its symbolic importance for both cities, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources has specific guidelines for selecting the tree.<ref name="Dedham Times">{{cite news | author=Heald, Hana | title=Nova Scotia's Christmas Tree gift to Boston has a Dedham connection| work=The Dedham Times| date=15 December 2006| volume=14| issue=51| page=3}}</ref> ==See also== {{portal|Nova Scotia|History of Canada}} *[[List of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunition]] * [[Black Tom explosion]] of 1916 * [[Port Chicago disaster]] in [[World War II]] * [[Bombay Explosion (1944)]], explosion on a ship in Bombay Harbour * [[Texas City disaster]], involving a French-registered ship carrying explosive cargo * [[Explosion of the RFA Bedenham|Explosion of the RFA ''Bedenham'']], explosion of an ammunition ship in the Port of [[Gibraltar]] {{Clear}} ==Footnotes== {{Research help|Mil}} {{reflist|30em}} ==Bibliography== {{refbegin|33em}} * {{Cite book| last=Armstrong |first=John Griffith |title=The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy |publisher=UBC Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7748-0891-0| ref=harv}} * {{Cite book| last=Bird |first=Michael J. |title=The Town That Died |publisher=Nimbus Publishing |orig-year=1967|year=1995|edition=Reprint |isbn=978-0-7700-6015-2| ref=harv}} * {{Cite book|last=Flemming|first=David|title=Explosion in Halifax Harbour|year=2004|publisher=Formac|isbn=978-0-88780-632-2|ref=harv}} * {{Cite book| last=Gilmour |first=Don |title=Canada: A People's History |volume=2 |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Ltd. |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7710-3340-7| ref=harv}} * {{cite book|last1=Glasner|first1=Joyce|title=The Halifax Explosion: Heroes and Survivors|date=2011|publisher=James Lorimer & Company |isbn=978-1-55277-943-9|ref=harv}} * {{Cite book |last=Kitz |first=Janet |title=[[Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion and the Road to Recovery]] |publisher=Nimbus Publishing |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-921054-30-6|ref=harv}} * {{Cite book |last=Kitz |first=Janet |last2=Payzant |first2=Joan |title=December 1917: Revisiting the Halifax Explosion |publisher=Nimbus Publishing|year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55109-566-0|ref=harv}} * {{Cite book |last=Mac Donald |first=Laura |title=Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-00-200787-0|ref=harv}} * {{Cite book |last=MacMechan |first=Archibald |last2=Metson |first2=Graham |title=The Halifax Explosion: December 6, 1917 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Ryerson |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-07-082798-1|ref=harv}} * {{cite book|editor1-last=Ruffman|editor1-first=Alan|editor2-last=Howell|editor2-first=Colin D. |title=Ground Zero: A Reassessment of the 1917 Explosion in Halifax Harbour|year=1994|publisher=Nimbus Publishing|isbn=978-1-55109-095-5|ref=harv}} * {{cite book|title=Courting Disaster: The Enforcement of Heteronormativity in Halifax Explosion Romances, 1918–2003|last=Veinot|first= Julie Ann|publisher=Acadia University|year=2007|ref=harv|isbn=978-0-494-31225-4}} * {{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=David|title=Media, Memory, and the First World War|date=2009|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|isbn=978-0-7735-7652-0|ref=harv}} {{refend}} ==Further reading== {{refbegin|33em}} * {{cite book|last=Beed|first=Blair|title=1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response|publisher=Dtours Visitors and Convention Service|edition=2nd|year=2002|doi=|isbn=0-9684383-1-8 }} * {{cite journal|author=Gilligan, Edmund|title=Death in Halifax|journal=American Mercury|volume=43|issue=170|date=February 1938|pages=175–181|url=http://www.unz.org/Pub/AmMercury-1938feb-00175?View=PDF&apages=0057}} * {{cite book|title=The Halifax Explosion: Surviving the Blast that Shook a Nation|author=Glasner, Joyce|publisher=Altitude Press|year=2003|isbn=978-1-55153-942-3}} * {{cite book|title=The Survivors: The Children of the Halifax Explosion|author=Kitz, Janet|publisher=Nimbus Publishing|year=1992}} * {{cite book|title=The Blue Tattoo|author=[[Steven Laffoley|Laffoley, Steven]]|publisher=Pottersfield Press|year=2014}} * {{cite book|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=l7X0MX2yGpwC&lpg=PP1&dq=Barometer%20Rising&pg=PP1|title=Barometer Rising|author=[[Hugh MacLennan|MacLennan, Hugh]]|publisher=Collins Publishing|year=1941}} * {{cite book|title=Too Many To Mourn – One Family's Tragedy in the Halifax Explosion|author1=Mahar, James |author2=Mahar, Rowena |publisher=Nimbus Publishing|year=1998|isbn=978-1-55109-240-9}} * {{cite book|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/catastrophesocia00prinuoft/catastrophesocia00prinuoft_djvu.txt|title=Catastrophe and Social Change: Based upon a sociological study of the Halifax Disaster|author=Prince, Samuel|publisher=AMS Press|year=1968}} * [http://www.damninteresting.com/the-halifax-disaster/ The Halifax Disaster] Alan Bellows updated 12 July 2015 * Maybee, Janet. Aftershock: The Halifax Explosion and the Persecution of Pilot Francis Mackey. Halifax: NS: Nimbus Publishing, 2015. xxii+130 pp. ISBN 978-1-77108-344-7 {{refend}} ==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.historica-dominion.ca/content/heritage-minutes/halifax-explosion? Historica Minutes: Halifax Explosion] * [http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/ CBC Halifax Explosion Web Site]: a large interactive web site about the explosion * [http://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Halifax Explosion web page] * [http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/remembrance/ The Nova Scotia Archives Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance], a database of victims with 1950 names * [http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/explosion/ A Vision of Regeneration], the explosion and reconstruction by the Nova Scotia Archives * [http://www3.nfb.ca/objectifdocumentaire/index.php?mode=view&language=english&filmId=30 ''"Just One Big Mess": The Halifax Explosion, 1917''] NFB documentary. *[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2841066/Unique-photographs-taken-WWI-sailor-biggest-manmade-explosion-history-two-warships-crashed-other.html Photos that emerged nearly 100 years after the event] {{Halifax Regional Municipality}} {{Coord|44|40|09|N|63|35|47|W|region:CA-NS_type:landmark|display=title}} [[Category:Explosions in 1917]] [[Category:Disasters in Nova Scotia]] [[Category:Maritime incidents in Canada]] [[Category:Explosions in Canada]] [[Category:Urban fires in Canada]] [[Category:History of Halifax, Nova Scotia]] [[Category:1917 fires]] [[Category:1917 in Nova Scotia]] [[Category:Maritime incidents in 1917]] [[Category:Industrial fires and explosions]] [[Category:Ship fires]] [[Category:Firefighting memorials]] [[Category:1917 tsunamis|Halifax]]'