The Provincial Museum or RAM (Royal Alberta Museum), renamed in honour of a visit made by the Queen, has an exhibit on the Empress of Ireland. The ship was one of the CP cruiselines's finest vessels. In the water's of the Saint Laurence the ship went down in 14 minutes. She ran into another vessel and took 1012 people down with her. The sinking of this lady remains Canada's worst maritime disaster, and is considered one of the greatest shipwrecks of all time alongside the Titanic, Lusitania, etc.
This entry is dedicated to Paul, a very good friend and an even bigger steamship lover, who has made me write this post a number of times now for accuracy sake ;-P
3 comments:
I have no idea whether they are related at all, but my father used to work on a ship called the Empress of Australia.
Much to my shame, I’d not heard of this tragic tale.
The Empress of Astralia was another CP liner. It was called "The Gay cruiser" I bet your father has some wonderful stories to tell.
The story of the Ireland was so close to the war that it was quickly forgotten about by the public and did not recieve much international press. Unknowen to most, the disaster made shipbuilders revamp the way boats were designed making them much safer.
Very interesting. Now living on an island that has a many sea and shipbuilding links I am beginning to find myself fascinated with the history. Excellent post.
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