Museum Celebrates Anniversary of Historic Ship's Launch
N.S. MUSEUM--Museum Celebrates Anniversary of Historic Ship's Launch
On Wednesday, May 8, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and the Canadian Hydrographic Service are celebrating the 89th anniversary of the launch of the Titanic-era ship CSS Acadia. The event is one of a series this year marking the museum's 20th year on the waterfront.
Acadia was launched in 1913 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, at the yards of Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. She was specifically designed and built to survey Canada's coastal waters, and her career took her from the dangerous, ice-infested waters of Hudson's Bay to Nova Scotia's South Shore.
In her early years, she was the among the first Canadian vessels to chart Canada's Arctic waters. At the end of her career, she was used to chart the coast of Newfoundland after it joined Confederation in 1949, creating entirely new charts and updating some that were nearly a century old.
Acadia also holds the distinction of being the only surviving ship to have served the Royal Canadian Navy during both world wars, serving as a patrol and escort vessel from 1916 to 1919 and as a patrol and training vessel from 1939 to 1945.
As a state-of-the-art vessel and an important part of the operations of the Canadian Hydrographic Service, Acadia often tested new technology, including wireless, a Sperry gyro-compass, and a DECCA navigational system.
In 1969 after 56 years of service, Acadia was retired. Thirteen years later, she moved to the wharves behind the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and became part of the museum's collection.
The public is invited on board Acadia between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to meet and chat with former crew members and hydrographers, tour the old ship, create messages in Morse code and visit with staff of today's Canadian Hydrographic Service to learn more about the important work they do.
Admission to the ship is free for the day. For those who are aboard ship at noon, birthday cake will be available.