Pier 21

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Pier 21

• The gateway that changed Canada forever.
• A presentation by Marzieh, 2003-2004.

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Introduction

• If a building could speak, its walls whisper,
  its floors utter a word, then Halifaxs pier 21
  would have an incredible story to tell.

From 1928 to 1971, this long, low lying shed in
Halifaxs waterfront greeted a steady steam of
ocean liners, and was Canadas front door to over
a million immigrants, refugees, wartime evacuees,
troops, war brides and their children.
Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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The Beginning

• On March 28, 1928, the Nieuw Amsterdam was the
  first vessel to be received at the newly opened
  Pier 21, a large immigration complex situated on
  the prime waterfront property in the South end of
  Halifax.
• This building was surely one of the most modern
  buildings of its time, it had been erected as a
  replacement for Pier 2, an aging, sagging
  structure which was no longer capable of handling
  the immigrant traffic to Halifax.

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The Beginning

• The newly completed Pier 21 of that time was
  two-storey building, 584 feet in length which was
  connected by covered ramps to an annex and to the
  nearby railway stations.

Over the next forty years of its opening, pier
21 was to greet a process of steady stream of
newcomers to Canada. In time it was to become
known as the Gateway to Canada.
Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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The Great Depression

• In 1929 an estimated 165,000 immigrants were
  received at Pier 21. The arrival of a large ocean
  liner meant that as many as 1,500 newcomers would
  flood the reception area at one time, each hoping
  to be promptly examined and accessed entry into
  the nation that would allow them to live a new
  life.

Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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The Great Depression

• But then, during the 1930s the number of
  newcomers arriving annually dwindled to a mere
  one-tenth of the numbers of the previous decade.
• The era of the great depression had settled over
  North America, and therefore ocean traffic, and
  immigration was greatly reduced as the economic
  times grew increasingly difficult.
• But then the decade of 1930s was destined to end
  quit unhappily as war was declared against
  Germany. It was the beginning of World War II.

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The War Years

• In the weeks immediately following the
  declaration of World War II, Pier 21 was quickly
  readied for her part in what was to unfold.
• As a year-round port on the east coast, Halifax
  had to play a very important role in the movement
  of the troops to the European front.
• It was estimated that 368,000 troops were to be
  transported across Canada in 300 ships sailing.

Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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The War Years

• Beginning in 1939, the departure of troops
  through the Pier 21 was a common, almost daily
  occurrence.

During this time much of the militarys
maneuvers at Pier 21 was shrouded in secrecy.
Neither the public nor the press had access to
departure timetables. Ships arrived and left
during all hours of day and night, always under
protection.
http//novascotia.cbc.ca/features/pier21/
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The War Years

• The war also brought to Pier 21 an unlikely group
  of ocean travelers. As the war had begun, Britain
  had initiated a plan to evacuate British children
  to Canada and other British dominions.
• Of course the plan was very well received, but
  unfortunately during this time two vessels
  carrying young Britons were destroyed at see.
  Therefore many people decided against their
  participation in the program and by 1941 only
  about 3000 children had been evacuated to
  Canada.

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The War Years

• The vital contributions made by Pier 21 to the
  war effort is not well known. Through out the war
  years Pier 21 witnessed it all departure and
  return of thousands of hundreds and thousands of
  troops, the coming and going of the prisoners of
  war, the return of the wounded, the disabled and
  the dead.

And as always the arrival of people, passionate
to find a better place to live.
Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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War Brides Refugees

• The Second World War had left Europe in a state
  of complete devastation. At this time Canada, as
  well as Pier 21 immediately became involved in
  helping the victims of war The refugees, and the
  Displaced Persons.
• At the same time all available ships were
  enlisted to bring back the troops to Canada. This
  was a joyous and yet grim one, for each day, it
  became more and more apparent this war had cost
  many lives and spirits.

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War Brides Refugees

• During the final years of war, preparations were
  underway for transporting to Canada 48,000 women
  who had met and married Canadian servicemen
  during the war, and their 22,000 children.

Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
These War Brides mostly came from England,
Scotland and Wales, as well as Holland, France,
Belgium and Italy.
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War Brides Refugees

• Many of these young women had struggled
  throughout the war years, and had now come t a
  foreign land, with children in their hands, and
  very little information, to start a new life.
• Later in 1949, the arrival of yet another group
  of refugees attracted public attention. Orphans,
  with their parents lost, alone in a new land.
• The plight of these post-war refugees had a
  profound effect on many ordinary Canadians, who
  embraced and welcomed these people into their
  lives.

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People of the Pier

• One of the most important factors that allowed
  Pier 21 to become as great as it was were the
  people of the Pier.
• They were the workers and the volunteers, from
  various organizations as well as the public who
  kept everything running.

Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
Many who passed through the doors of Pier 21
remember to this day, and are grateful for the
kindness that they received upon entering Canada.

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People of the Pier

• Throughout the war years and the decades that
  followed, interpreters and volunteers proficient
  in languages other than English were in great
  demand in Halifax.
• Organizations such as YWCA offered counseling
  services and helped in locating residence and
  employment for immigrants.
• Chaplains representing various denominations
  continued to stand in Pier 21 as well, ready to
  assist those in need.

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A New Wave of Canadians

• For Pier 21, the 1950s was a decade of animated
  activity, and energetic immigration to Canada.
  Along with the new arrivals came a rich and
  colorful mosaic of culture, customs and ethnic
  particularities, that continue to enrich this
  country to this day.

Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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The Ending of an Era

• By the end of the 1950s, the era of Pier 21 was
  slowly drawing to a close. The age of the jet
  liner had arrived, and ocean liners were quickly
  fading into the past.
• Throughout the 1960s the aging Pier continued to
  be upgraded, perhaps as a tangible protest to her
  inevitable retirement.

By the end of the decade, as ocean traffic all
but ceased, a facility like Pier 21 was no longer
needed. And so, in March of 1971, Pier 21 was
quietly closed.
Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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Preserving the Legacy

• In March of 1971, the Immigration Service left
  Pier 21. The lights were turned off and the doors
  locked. No one paid much attention to the
  structure that had operated, for a memorable 43
  years, during significant periods of immigration
  to Canada.

www.historyattractions.com
Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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Preserving the Legacy

• Today, Pier 21 is alive, once again with the
  steps of people walking through its doors.
• Though, now, they enter gazing in awe at the
  silent walls, at the floors and at all the things
  that are in this national heritage museum, as
  remembrance of the million rushing through these
  doors, and as a remembrance of the great legacy
  of this magnificent historic landmark.

www.pier21.ca
Courtesy of www.pier21.ca
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The Voices of the Past

• Today it stands, rested into a gracious sleep
  proud of the brilliant, and humanitarian role
  that she played for decades. A simple structure,
  a building on Halifaxs waterfront. Within its
  walls are voices, whispers, the stories of men
  and women, of millions struggled, and braved all
  dangers, to walk through these doors, within
  their hearts hope and uncertainty.
• Pier 21 stands, all its stories distant memories
  of the past, of a dynamic and colorful chapter of
  Canadian history, of a building that changed the
  lives of millions, and helped build a nation.

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The End
www.pier21.ca
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Resources

• Websites
• http//www.pier21.ca/
• http//novascotia.cbc.ca/features/pier21/
• http//www.canadianwarbrides.com/pie r21.html
• Books
• Pier 21 The gateway that changed Canada By
  Trudy Duivenvoorden Mitic
• Pier 21 Gateway of Hope By Linda Granfield