RMS Titanic surfaces again at Halifax Public Gardens

The RMS Titanic still lies in the inky depths of the North Atlantic after its ill-fated maiden voyage more than a century ago but a model of the ship returned to Griffin's Pond in the Halifax Public Gardens on Saturday.

An enthusiastic crowd lined the banks of the pond to watch as the latest model was rowed out to its mooring spot.

Built by Brad Browne of the Maritime Ship Modelers Guild, the new replica ship is the third to grace the pond and the first to be 3D-printed.

The first Titanic model was placed in the pond in the mid-1990s.

Browne documented the construction of the 90-kilogram replica online, noting that some of the modules used in the project took 50 hours to print.

The printed modules are reinforced with multiple layers of fibreglass.

A metal keel strike plate is fitted inside and outside to provide support and act as ballast.

An excited Deanna Ryan-Meister, president of the Titanic Society of Atlantic Canada, was at the Public Gardens to see the new model moved into position.

According to Ryan-Meister, there is a tradition of launching pond models in Victorian gardens dating back to the 1800s.

She credited the large turnout for the event to the fact it coincided with the 40th anniversary party for the Friends of the Public Gardens and was held on a weekend.

Ryan-Meister said the previous Titanic launches were staged on weekday mornings in April or May, limiting the number of people who could attend.

She said the presence of the model is a poignant reminder of the role Halifax played after the Titanic struck an iceberg south of the Grand Banks and sank on April 15, 1912.

Ships were dispatched from Halifax to respond to the disaster and 150 of the victims brought back to the city were buried in Halifax cemeteries. Ryan-Meister said the local effort took nearly two months.

"That's how long the recovery took and the burial of bodies and things like that," she said. "So when people come, they get that sense of the Titanic history. It keeps the history alive."

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