In 1901 when Karl wrote about the shipyards of Harland and Wolff he referenced that it was where the White Star liners are built. The White Star Line, established in 1869, was primarily a shipping company focusing on services within the North Atlantic. Fuelled by competition with its rival, the Cunard Line, the two shipping companies spurred each other to innovate faster transatlantic travel and enhance their passenger experience. We need to remember that this was the only method to travel across oceans at the time of Karl’s adventure, and there was a lot of buzz about transportation advancements. So while the Cunard Line was the first to build faster ships, the approach taken by the White Star Line was for more luxury, and they were building almost all of their vessels in the Belfast shipyard.
At the beginning of Karl’s journey, while he was biking across North America, the White Star Line launched Oceanic on her first crossing of the Atlantic with almost 1500 passengers. The reviews of the passage — including members from Harland and Wolff upper management — were positive and inspired the design of the next fleet of liners. And, while Karl was writing to the Truro daily news about his travels in Belfast, the Celtic and the Cedric were under construction at the Harland and Wolff shipyards.
The Celtic was launched in 1901 as the largest ship globally in tonnage until the Cedric launched a year later. Still, beyond the additional tons, the Cedric had more private bathrooms and cabins accommodating 2,600 passengers. But to up the ante even more, the White Star Line set out to develop a trio of British ocean liners, the RMS Olympic (1911), RMS Titanic (1912) and the RMS Britannic (1915), the promise was these ships would be more prominent with more luxurious elements than anything before.
And then we all know what happened next. The Titanic departed from England on April 10, 1912, and a mere five days later, on April 15, 1912, after failing to swerve an iceberg, the unsinkable boat went under. The Titanic sunk while 70% of the passengers and crew were stranded on board due to the lack of lifeboats, resulting in a death count of 1,500 people.
To truly get an understanding of the story of the Titanic, from the shipping industry — including the mass emigration at the time, which influenced the design of the large ship — to the labourers who worked at Harland and Wolff and built the Titanic. Then to learn about that fateful voyage, who boarded the ship, and who was lucky enough to get on a lifeboat. I can’t recommend enough a visit to Titanic Belfast.
Opened in 2012, constructed in that very place where the Titanic was built to a cost of over 100 million pounds, the building is impressive. The design is a complicated geometric shape that combines an iceberg merged with the contours of the gantries, overlaid with a shimmery layer of aluminum sheets to represent ice crystals. The design inside is based on a compass rose with the four quadrants representing different periods in shipbuilding history.
It’s a fully immersive experience and what made it even better for me was that my visit coincided with a meet-up with my two aunties who had travelled from England. We posed on the replica grand staircase after our afternoon tea served in crockery modelled from that used onboard Titanic and other White Star Line vessels.
Aunty Freda (left), Aunty Elizabeth (right)
Just to note, dear reader, the feather boas are not compulsory, and unless you have Aunty Freda joining you, don’t fear, you won’t have to wear them.
When the Titanic sank in 1912, Karl was back living in Canada. I can imagine that he keenly followed the story, having just visited the shipbuilding yards of Harland and Wolff and being astute to the evolving landscape of travelling across the ocean. Then, there is the Nova Scotia connection.
In response to that fated tragedy, four Canadian ships were dispatched to recover bodies and bring them back to a makeshift morgue in a Halifax curling rink. Some of these bodies were sent to family members while the remaining 150 were buried amongst three Halifax cemeteries. And although the beginning of Titanic’s story is in Belfast, Ireland, the ending is certainly in Halifax, Nova Scotia which houses some of the most significant artifacts and records at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. It’s certainly an ironic connection to our young adventurer.