Pier 21 Story and Photo Collections

When Pier 21 closed in the early 1970's, there was a grassroots effort to keep the site alive for Canada's many immigrants as well as the many servicemen and women who passed through the shipyard on their way to and from Europe. The museum encourages Canadians who immigrated through Pier 21, as well as those who came from other sites to submit their immigration story so that it can be used in the future for research as well as in the development of exhibits within the museum. There hundreds of stories that are currently online, visible to anyone who is interested. The stories are set into 10 different categories: Immigrants, British Home Children, Veterans, War Brides, British Evacuee Children, Jewish War Orphans, Child Migrants, Displaced People and Refugees, Hungarian Revolution Refugees and Pier 21 Staff and Volunteers.

The detail of the stories differs between each one. Some describe briefly the journey over to Canada, or the reasons they left, while other stories go into great detail about life in their home country and their new experiences within Canada.

The stories gathered on the pier 21 site have a wide range of countries and nationalities represented throughout, though a majority of the stories collected are from people who immigrated from the UK. A majority of the people immigrating to Canada during the time that Pier 21 was in operation were from England, as the British were preferred over other European immigrants.

During and directly after the war, there was a large influx of children and brides coming from England, and these groups have a special focus on the site. British children evacuated from England were sent to Canada, amongst other countries of the Empire while England was being attacked. British children were sent all over Canada as part of a program until one of the boats was attacked and sank, killing many.

The stories from some of the 50 000 war brides that arrived in Canada often discuss the fear and apprehensions that these women felt as they came to a new foreign country, often with children. They describe the shock that they experienced when they arrived. Many were expecting lives very different from the ones that they had in the Prairies, and some had it much easier than others.

After the Second World War, immigration shifted to many other European countries. There is a lot of information about many Dutch, Italian, German and Hungarian immigrants that arrived in Canada.


While there is a lot of information about many different nationalities of people immigrating to Canada, the website lacks information about any immigrants past 1971, and almost all of the stories collected are from European people. While their focus is on immigrants during the early part of the 20th century, this leaves out Canadians who have immigrated from anywhere East of Europe.

Pier 21- "The Gateway to Canada"

Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Pier 21 was originally a terminal for passengers from trans-Atlantic ocean liners. It was opened in 1928 and operated until 1971. During this time it was Canada's primary and most popular immigration point-of-entry. During World War II it was a major entry point for the 1.5 million immigrants and refugees of Europe. Canadian Troops also departed from Pier 21 on their way to the battlefront. The different cultural identities that crossed onto Canadian land now make up much of Canada's multiculturalism.

In realizing the importance of this landmark, the Pier 21 Society reopened the Pier 21 doors as a museum in 1999 to become a National Historic Site. It is now Canada's last ocean immigration shed and offers a look into the past as well into how Canada's cultural identity was created. It has been compared to New York's Ellis Island in this sense.

Recently, through the CBC, Pier 21 was nominated and then won as one of the seven wonders of Canada. This contest consisted of listeners calling in and nominating things that they felt would give tribute to and define Canada. Judges then chose seven overall wonders, and Pier 21 was among them. [Video]

Pier 21 is currently still trying to collect more exhibits and expand its knowledge of the immigrants and their lives now. One way that they are doing so is through the Pier 21 Oral History Project. The Society collects stories and memories in an attempt to give a wider view of Canada's multiculturalism.

This museum and its exhibits gives not only immigrants to Canada a chance to look back on their history and path that led them to where they are today, but also gives Canadians who were not immigrants a chance to discover and learn about what has made Canada the multicultural nation that it is today. The Pier 21 Society has also made strides to include the First Nations community through asking for imput and insight as to how immigration and the First Nations have worked together.

Pier 21- Exhibitions

Exhibitions

The exhibitions at the Pier 21 museum focus on personal stories and intercultural connections. The exhibits share experiences from many immigrants, wartime evacuees, refugees, troops, war brides and their children. There are many mediums used, including photos, movies and paintings as well as actual passports, immigration papers and ships’ menus. The interactive centrepiece of the Pier 21 museum is located in Rudolph Peter Bratty Exhibition Hall. It represents the different stages of immigration using displays, soundscapes and interactive technology. Some of the different stages include: Leaving Home, The Voyage, Immigration Hall, Customs, The Annex, Face of Immigration, WWII Deck, and Travel Across Canada.

Traveling Exhibits

Traveling exhibits at the Pier 21 museum are meant to better communicate Canadian immigrant experiences. Examples of traveling exhibits include, Nowhere to go, and no one who seemed to care by Thomas Delohery and Open Hearts- Closed Doors, both exhibits tell stories about the Holocaust.


Community Presents Program

The Community Presents Program allows people to create their own exhibitions to tell their own cultural experiences. Examples of these exhibits include the Global Chinese New Year, Spanish Rhythms of Dance and Greeks of Halifax.

Pier 21 Virtual Exhibits

The Virtual exhibits allow people to view images online. The current exhibit is A Day in May, a collection of photos taken during May of 1936. The images show the diverse cultures and the tumult and emotion that they were feeling as they arrived at the pier.

(http://www.travelandtransitions.com/interviews/pier_21.htm)
(https://www.pier21.ca/)

Pier 21 - Oral History Collection

The Pier 21 Museum provides an oral history collection which contains interviews of people who have immigrated into Canada from all over the world such as Iraq, Scotland, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain and Europe, etc. Oral history interviews are listened to and used by people ranging from researchers, writers, filmmakers, and school children preparing Heritage Fair projects. Hence it provides useful information and detailed descriptions of the personal experiences of Canadian immigrants.
The Pier 21 Museum has collected oral histories from a variety of immigrants. For example, British Home Child Hubert Boucher was one of the immigrants interviewed for the oral history collection. He emigrated with the Church Army. This interview showed that Hubert Boucher was only one out of the one hundred thousand British children who came to Canada as part of the Home Child movement between the 1860 and the Second World War.
These sample oral history interviews also makes apparent the different types of people who immigrated into Canada. For example, the interviews show that even artists from around the world such as Qahtan Ibrahim from Iraq came to Canada as a refugee. Other people such as Canadian Veteran, Albert Stewart Logan were also interviewed. He was one of half a million young men who left for service overseas from Pier 21 in 1944.
Maria and Luigi Fiume’s interview shows how the tremendous expansion of the Canadian labour market contributed to Canada’s increased immigration in the post-war era. It brought many Italians in Canada. In addition, the interview with Maria Kauremsky is an indication of how the Hungarian revolution also created an increase in refugees fleeing to Canada.
Overall, this collection of oral histories preserves and shares the stories of Canadian immigrants. It illustrates the importance of immigration in shaping our Canadian society and culture. More importantly, it shows that Canada benefits from the talents, experience and energy of immigrants, whether they are skilled workers, business people, foreign students, temporary workers or others. On the whole, immigration has stimulated Canada’s growth, prosperity and cultural diversity.