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Birth of the Navy (1910-1914)
HMCS Niobe

HMCS Niobe, one of the Naval Service of Canada's first two ships, was intended in part to train Canadian sailors. A large, obsolescent cruiser, Niobe required many crew and was expensive to operate. Lengthy repairs after it ran aground in 1911, and subsequent budget cutbacks, limited the ship's activities.

At the dockside, HMCS Niobe, Halifax
At the dockside, HMCS Niobe, Halifax

The logistics of keeping a large ship like HMCS Niobe provisioned with supplies, fuelled with coal, and adequately maintained required sophisticated dockyards and port facilities.

The largest storehouses in the Halifax naval dockyard were located at Wharf Number 3, seen here. This photograph shows an ant-like group of crew members carrying supplies past large pieces of equipment. The naval, government, and commercial dockyards clustered on Halifax's waterfront combined to make the city a hive of activity throughout much of the twentieth century.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 20030174-020





Model, HMCS Niobe
HMCS Niobe at Anchor
Boxing Match, HMCS Niobe
Visitors Exploring HMCS Niobe
Oil Lamp, HMCS Niobe
Coaling the Ship, HMCS Niobe
Gun Practice, HMCS Niobe
Gun Deck, HMCS Niobe
"Seeing the World in Comfort," HMCS Niobe
HMCS Niobe in Drydock, around 1911
Diver Going over the Side
View of "Victory" Boat alongside HMCS Niobe
Rope-work, HMCS Niobe
Two Stokers, HMCS Niobe
Boys' Mess, HMCS Niobe
Sailors Sewing Flags, HMCS Niobe
Playing Chess Below Decks, HMCS Niobe
HMCS Niobe's Goat
HMCS Niobe Gun Crew and Gunnery Target
Cecil George Corke, Boy Sailor, HMCS Niobe
Dominion Day, Niobe Boys
At the dockside, HMCS Niobe, Halifax
"Stokers Band," HMCS Niobe
Ceremony on the Quarterdeck, HMCS Niobe