Museum Holds 90th Anniversary Reunion for Ship's Crew

N.S. MUSEUM--Museum Holds 90th Anniversary Reunion for Ship's Crew

On Saturday, July 5, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic continues the 90th anniversary celebrations of the launch of the historic ship CSS Acadia with a reunion of former ship's crew and hydrographers. It is the first reunion since the 75th anniversary in 1988.

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 one of 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. Her crew created entirely new charts and updated 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; as a patrol and escort vessel from 1916 to 1919 and as a patrol and training vessel from 1939 to 1945.

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.

On Saturday, 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 and tour the old ship. Birthday cake is available first come, first served at 1 p.m. Throughout the afternoon of Sunday, July 6, there will be a drop-in workshop to make small models of CSS Acadia.

Admission to the ship is $2 per person or is included in a day pass to the museum. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is located at 1675 Lower Water St. in Halifax. For more information about the weekend's event, call 902-424-7490.