News release

Nova Scotia Archives Commemorates Titanic Disaster Online

Tourism, Culture and Heritage (Dec. 2003 - Jan. 2011)

TOURISM, CULTURE AND HERITAGE--Nova Scotia Archives Commemorates Titanic Disaster Online


Nova Scotians and Titanic researchers alike now can learn more about victims of the Titanic disaster and Halifax's role in the rescue and recovery effort.

To mark the 93rd anniversary of the Titanic sinking, Nova Scotia Archives has launched an online resource: Disposition of Bodies ex Titanic Recovered up to May 13, 1912.

The Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage and sank on April 15, 1912. Halifax was the closest seaport to the disaster, so it became the staging-point for several search and recovery missions. While searching for, retrieving, identifying and forwarding the remains found during these expeditions, various official records were created and some of them have survived.

Nova Scotia Archives has produced one of these records as its newest online resource. Disposition of Bodies ex Titanic Recovered up to May 13, 1912 is a printed list of 328 bodies retrieved from the North Atlantic, and either buried at sea or brought back to Halifax.

The list is the most complete known record of the dead recovered from the disaster site. Details include the individual's name, if known; physical features and information about clothing and personal effects, to aid in identifying the unknown; and directions for the disposition of remains.

According to Provincial Archivist Brian Speirs, the list has been at the Archives since 1933, however it has seldom been seen. The Archives received funding from Industry Canada's Community Access Program to produce the list electronically.

"We added this searchable database to the Archives' website in response to the continuing public interest in the Titanic disaster," said Mr. Speirs. "These records are an important part of Nova Scotia's documentary heritage and we are pleased to make them more accessible to the public."

The resource is available on the Archives' website at www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/cap/titanic .

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax also has a permanent Titanic exhibit, which includes the world's largest collection of wooden Titanic artifacts.