Historic monument re-dedicated on Halifax Waterfront

Dozens of people take part in the Last Post Ceremony at the Halifax Waterfront on Sunday. (CTV/Vanessa Wright)

Dignitaries, Royal Canadian Navy members and the public gathered at Halifax’s waterfront Sunday for “The Last Post Ceremony” and the official re-dedication of the Last Steps Memorial Arch.

The ceremony paid tribute to the thousands of soldiers who took their final steps on Canadian soil before heading overseas in the First World War in May 1915.

“We can only imagine the thoughts they may have had as they boarded the ship and watched the port of Halifax disappear from view behind them,” says emcee Ken Hynes.

Hynes says Nova Scotians were among those who volunteered for military and naval service, with 3,400 of them never returning home.

In 2016, a public artwork was made to commemorate the historic departure, but its then wooden structure didn’t sustain weather conditions over the years.

The Nova Scotia artist behind the newly improved monument, Nancy Keating, says it’s a commemoration of a “moment in time” and “a memory imagined.”

“The arch or portal was inspired by ancient triumphal arches. The words the last steps represent not only those who did not or could not return to Canada, but also all those who did return. Their lives forever changed,” says Keating.

The piece will remain at the waterfront for those with close ties to the war and members of the public to witness.

“It’s a reminder that the past lives on not just in memory, but in the very places that we that we shape with purpose and with reverence. A place that we can. People come now, come and visit and remember,” says Halifax Mayor, Andy Fillmore.

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