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Halifax in Halifax Region, Nova Scotia — The Atlantic Provinces (North America)
 

Halifax’s Cable Wharf

 
 
Halifax’s Cable Wharf Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 14, 2014
1. Halifax’s Cable Wharf Marker
Captions: (left side) CS Cyrus Field docked at The Cable Wharf; (right side) Senior staff members of the Lord Kelvin and the Cyrus Field.
Inscription. The Cable Wharf was purpose built in 1913 by the Western Union Telegraph Company and measures 108 x 17 metres (355 x 54 feet). It is where the company’s cable ships, Minia, Lord Kelvin and Cyrus Field docked and underwent minor repairs. Also serving as a supply and maintenance depot for the vessels and their equipment, The Cable Wharf was a prominent feature of the city’s waterfront and a thriving enterprise for over 50 years.

Cable Ready
The bottom floor of the 91 x 9 metres (300 x 30 foot) Cable Wharf building was a warehouse of hundreds kilometres of cable. Carefully coiled into massive storage tanks, the cable then be readily off-loaded into similar tanks located within the cable ships’ hull by cable crews. Such equipment included: grapnels and anchors, chains, buoys, bales of wire and wire rope, batteries and lanterns.

In April of 1912, Minia which in later years was based at The Cable Wharf was one of four vessels chartered to search in the icy waters off Newfoundland for Titanic victims. Of the 17 deceased located by the Minia’s crew, two were buried at sea and 15 were brought to Halifax for burial in local cemeteries.

Learn more about this story by visiting the Titanic exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

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is strategically located in relation to Europe. Its deep, ice-free harbour and excellent marine repairs and supply facilities meant that this port became the service headquarters for the transatlantic cable links to North America. The city was home to three cable wharves: the Commercial Cable Company facility at Karsen’s Wharf (now the site of Casino Nova Scotia), the Compagnie Française Des Câble Télégraphiques wharf in north Dartmouth and the Western Union facility located here.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: CommunicationsWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1912.
 
Location. 44° 38.945′ N, 63° 34.264′ W. Marker is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Halifax Region. Marker can be reached from Lower Water Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1749 Lower Water Street, Halifax NS B3J, Canada. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Here We Began (within shouting distance of this marker); The Dockyard Clock / L'horloge de L'arsenal (within shouting distance of this marker); Celtic Cross (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); The Mitchell House (about 150 meters away); Samuel Cunard (about 180 meters away); Province House (about 180 meters away); Halifax Waterfront Buildings
Halifax’s Cable Wharf Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 14, 2014
2. Halifax’s Cable Wharf Marker
(about 210 meters away); South African War Monument (about 210 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Halifax.
 
More about this marker. This marker is on the Halifax waterfront at Cable Wharf.
 
Also see . . .
1. Cable Wharf History Highlighted on Halifax Waterfront. Ten panels located around the wharf highlight the stories of ships and crew that were part of the cabling era in the 1900s. The Cable Wharf was a prominent feature of the city's waterfront and a thriving enterprise for more than 50 years. (Submitted on September 30, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.) 

2. History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications. from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network. (Submitted on September 30, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on September 30, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 742 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on September 30, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024