Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
, is a Canadian
cemetery that is perhaps best known as the final resting place for over one hundred victims of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Officially known as Fairview Lawn Cemetery, the non-denominational cemetery is run by the Parks Department of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
of Halifax at the Northern End of Windsor Street. It is bordered by the Saint John Anglican cemetery on one side and the Baron de Hirsch Cemetery on another.
was built at the site in the 1750s to protect Halifax from attacks by the Mi'kmaq people. The land was subsequently developed as small farms. In 1893, the land was acquired by a private company, the Fairview Lawn Cemetery Limited, for a non-denominational cemetery because the Camp Hill Cemetery
in the centre of the city was running out of room. The city of Halifax took over the cemetery in 1944. Fairview contains a cross section of Halifax's 20th century residents including a Greek section and a Chinese section as well as a mass grave of victims from the Halifax Explosion
and many other graves.
of the sloping site. By co-incidence, the curved shape suggests the outline of the bow of a ship. A complete listing of those victims buried in Fairview can be found here.
One of the more well-known Titanic markers is for an unidentified child victim. No one claimed the body, so he was buried with funds provided by sailors of the CS Mackay-Bennett, the cable ship that recovered his body. The marker bears the inscription 'Erected to the memory of an unknown child whose remains were recovered after the disaster of the "Titanic" April 15th 1912'. In November 2002, the child was identified as 13-month-old Eino Viljami Panula
of Finland. Eino, his mother, and four brothers all died in the Titanic disaster. After additional forensic testing, the unknown child was re-identified as 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin
, an English child who perished with his entire family.
A grave marked "J. Dawson" gained brief fame following the release of the 1997 film Titanic
, since the name of Leonardo DiCaprio
's character in the film was Jack Dawson. The grave actually belongs to Joseph Dawson, an Irishman who worked in Titanics boiler room as a coal trimmer
. Film director James Cameron
has said the character's name was not inspired by the grave. Many filmgoers, moved by the story, left flowers and ticket stubs at Dawson's grave when the film was first released.
The Fairview Titanic graves also include the burial place and marker of William Denton Cox
, a heroic steward who died while escorting third class passengers to the lifeboats.
Twenty-nine other Titanic victims are also buried in Halifax; nineteen in the Roman Catholic Mount Olivet Cemetery
and ten in the Jewish Baron de Hirsch Cemetery.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
cemetery that is perhaps best known as the final resting place for over one hundred victims of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Officially known as Fairview Lawn Cemetery, the non-denominational cemetery is run by the Parks Department of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Location
Fairview Lawn Cemetery is located in the North EndNorth End, Halifax
The North End of Halifax is a neighbourhood located in the urban core of Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality, occupying the northern part of the Halifax Peninsula.-Geography:...
of Halifax at the Northern End of Windsor Street. It is bordered by the Saint John Anglican cemetery on one side and the Baron de Hirsch Cemetery on another.
History
A blockhouseBlockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
was built at the site in the 1750s to protect Halifax from attacks by the Mi'kmaq people. The land was subsequently developed as small farms. In 1893, the land was acquired by a private company, the Fairview Lawn Cemetery Limited, for a non-denominational cemetery because the Camp Hill Cemetery
Camp Hill Cemetery
In 1844 Camp Hill Cemetery on Robie Street in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada replaced the city's first cemetery known as the Old Burying Ground that had been established almost 100 years earlier in 1749...
in the centre of the city was running out of room. The city of Halifax took over the cemetery in 1944. Fairview contains a cross section of Halifax's 20th century residents including a Greek section and a Chinese section as well as a mass grave of victims from the Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
and many other graves.
Titanic victims
One hundred and twenty-one victims of the RMS Titanic sinking are interred at Fairview, more than any other cemetery in the world. Most of them are memoralized with small gray granite markers with the name and date of death. Some families paid for larger markers with more inscriptions. The occupants of a third of the graves, however, have never been identified and their markers contain just the date of death and marker number. Surveyor E. W. Christie laid out three long lines of graves in gentle curves following the contoursContour line
A contour line of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value. In cartography, a contour line joins points of equal elevation above a given level, such as mean sea level...
of the sloping site. By co-incidence, the curved shape suggests the outline of the bow of a ship. A complete listing of those victims buried in Fairview can be found here.
Eino Viljami Panula
Eino Viljami Panula was a young Finnish boy who died during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. From 2002 to 2007, he was believed to be "The Unknown Child", the name given to the remains of a small boy recovered after the disaster.- RMS Titanic :Eino was traveling with his mother, Maria Emilia Panula...
of Finland. Eino, his mother, and four brothers all died in the Titanic disaster. After additional forensic testing, the unknown child was re-identified as 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin
Sidney Leslie Goodwin
Sidney Leslie Goodwin was a 19-month-old English boy who died during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. His unidentified body was recovered after the sinking by the Mackay-Bennett, and for decades referred to as the unknown child; the body was identified as that of Goodwin in 2007...
, an English child who perished with his entire family.
A grave marked "J. Dawson" gained brief fame following the release of the 1997 film Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, since the name of Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
's character in the film was Jack Dawson. The grave actually belongs to Joseph Dawson, an Irishman who worked in Titanics boiler room as a coal trimmer
Coal trimmer
A coal trimmer is an occupation involving the positioning of boats to be loaded with coal. It may also involve the spreading of coal evenly using a shovel inside the hold of a ship....
. Film director James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
has said the character's name was not inspired by the grave. Many filmgoers, moved by the story, left flowers and ticket stubs at Dawson's grave when the film was first released.
The Fairview Titanic graves also include the burial place and marker of William Denton Cox
William Denton Cox
William Denton Cox was a third class steward aboard RMS Titanic who died while bringing groups of third class passengers to lifeboats during the sinking. Cox was from Southampton and transferred to Titanic from the RMS Olympic...
, a heroic steward who died while escorting third class passengers to the lifeboats.
Twenty-nine other Titanic victims are also buried in Halifax; nineteen in the Roman Catholic Mount Olivet Cemetery
Mount Olivet Cemetery-Halifax
Mount Olivet Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada at which 19 bodies recovered from the RMS Titanic are buried. Many of the dead from the Halifax Explosion are also buried here, including Vincent Coleman, the heroric railway dispatcher who sent warning of...
and ten in the Jewish Baron de Hirsch Cemetery.