Dramatic Debate at Maritime Museum

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is staging a dramatic trial and everyone is invited to join the jury.

The goal of the event, to be held Tuesday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m., is to determine the authenticity of a figurehead that was supposedly salvaged from the barque Saladin in 1844, after a mutiny that caused the vessel to wreck. The event prompted the last major piracy trial in Nova Scotia, as well as the hanging of four pirates on the Halifax Common.

An object of great interest, the figurehead has belonged to the Nova Scotia Museum for decades, but has never been accessioned as an artifact, because of doubts over its connection to the Saladin massacre. The museum is taking a unique approach to determine the artifact's status.

The public is being asked to judge a mock trial where one staff member will act as prosecutor and another as defence. At the end of the trial, the audience will vote to determine the figurehead's fate.

This presentation is free. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is located at 1675 Lower Water St., Halifax.