Cunard Celebrates 175th in Halifax
Cunard will celebrate 175 years of history, tradition and industrial achievement in Halifax on July 10 when Queen Mary 2 calls on the ancestral home of its founder Sir Samuel Cunard.
This commemorative transatlantic crossing will pay tribute to the original voyage made by the company’s first flagship, Britannia, in 1840. The flagship vessel is scheduled to arrive in port at 6 a.m.
Cunard will mark the milestone anniversary with a series of commemorative events, beginning with a special outdoor ceremony on the Halifax waterfront. Local dignitaries, port officials and key members of the Halifax community will be in attendance as a part of the new public space of the future waterfront development will be named in honour of Cunard.
Cunard has also joined forces with the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to create the first Samuel Cunard Prize for Vision, Courage and Creativity. The prize will be given each year to an extraordinary individual who has demonstrated the qualities exemplified by Samuel Cunard throughout his life.
Cunard, together with its partners, will award the first Samuel Cunard Prize to James D. Irving, whose family enterprise has been growing business in Canada and the US for more than 130 years. Working with his brother Robert and his father, J.K. Irving, the family’s visionary leadership has transformed the company into a world class performer in various industries, including ship building. Irving Shipbuilding Inc. in Halifax is engaged in reinventing and revitalizing a traditional industry in ways that promise to transform the economic prospects of the region.
“We look forward to honouring Sir Samuel Cunard in his birthplace of Halifax, and to celebrating the company’s first North American port of call,” said Richard Meadows, president, Cunard, North America. “Cunard is honoured to be one of the few companies who can claim a 175-year history and Halifax plays an instrumental role in that story.”
As part of the celebration, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will re-open the Cunard portion of their Age of Steam exhibition and launch a new Samuel Cunard retrospective exhibit that will showcase the founder’s impact on global business, transportation and world events.
