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Sailors Memorial monument soon to have new home in North Sydney
Sailors Memorial monument soon to have new home in North Sydney.
A monument to remember sailors once located at Archibald’s Wharf will soon have a new home in North Sydney.
The Sailors Memorial monument is expected to be placed at the entrance to Indian Beach, overlooking the harbour, next week.
The monument was purchased, designed and placed on the North Sydney wharf by the Friends of the Waterfront committee, consisting of Vince Gardiner, Reggie Jobes and former town councillor Gordon MacLeod.
“The base is already poured where it’s going,” said District 2 Coun. Earlene MacMullin.
“Indian Beach is very historic by itself, aside from it being a loved area, so I think with the addition of the monument and the location that was chosen, it’s almost like the cherry on top — it’s a beautiful addition.”
In December 2014, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality council approved the sale of Archibald’s Wharf to allow Canadian Maritime Engineering to expand its shipyard.
Council approved the final sale of the property, which featured a field, restaurant and boardwalk, in May 2015. The company purchased the wharf for $500,000.
Once the sale was complete, the monument was removed from the wharf and stored at John D. Steeles and Sons Monuments in North Sydney, the company that will install the stone monument at Indian Beach.
MacMullin confirmed she has received phone calls from concerned residents seeking information about the monument.
“The questions have been pretty consistent since just before Remembrance Day 2017 because a lot of people were hoping that it would be installed prior to Remembrance Day,” said MacMullin.
“We were hoping that would be the case as well, but we hit a few snags and unfortunately it didn’t make it there — and then winter set in — some things take a little longer then you’d like, but as long as the outcome is there, that’s the main thing.”
The monument is dedicated to the memory and honour of the men and women who left North Sydney harbour to bring peace and freedom to Canada. The stone is also in memory of the Corvette NorSyd, a navy vessel named after North Sydney, which was used as an escort ship during the war.
Meanwhile, the monument also remembers the 137 lives that were lost when the SS Caribou was torpedoed by a German Uboat and sank in October 1942.
Indian Beach has undergone extensive renovation over the past year including the installation of a new septic system, upgrades to the drainage system and storage building as well as paving and parking lot upgrades and landscaping. An accessible gazebo has also been placed at the site.
An estimated $675,000 in federal and municipal funding went into the beach renovations, which were completed in June.
MacMullin believes the addition of the monument at the entrance will only add value to the beach.
“There’s a ton of history with the monument and a lot of town’s people have worked very hard to have it installed — it’s a beautiful monument and everybody has missed it,” said MacMullin.
“It’s really unfortunate that it had to be moved in the first place, but to have it at the entrance of Indian Beach overlooking the harbour, it’s a perfect second home for it.”