Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada

Nova Scotia

Halifax

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Findlay's Pleasure Grounds
(1882 - 1925? - 1928)

    After retiring from The Royal Navy, James Findlay who had likely partaken in the festivities at earlier events on McNab's Island, saw a business opportunity and purchased some property known as The Hugonin Estate, of which he had been the caretaker. He opened his own picnic area in 1892 with the same attractions as Woolnough's Pleasure Grounds, which had been operating since the mid 1850s.

    By the early 1890s, Findlay's had a canteen, croquet & quoits areas, a dance pavilion, foot-race track. picnic tables, and swings. Buildings were fairly primitive, being built out of trees cut on the property. They had the appearance of a latter day summer camp. The dance pavilion was a simple hall with a vaulted roof and open-beam interior construction held in place by steel rods and turnbuckles. Numerous windows lined each side of the wide-planked walls, above which ads for various products were displayed. Entertainment was provided by a piano in one corner, but dance bands of the times would likely have played, as well. To compete further with Woolnough's, Findlay also added carnival games, and later, a steam-driven carousel.

    The 1895 season saw a surge in business with the construction of Garrison Pier. Although only about 750 metres from Woolnough's, Findlay's became the more popular. Many military personnel would come & go to the fortifications on the island via this new pier. If heading to the north, they would reach Findlay's before getting to Woolnough's, while Findlay's was already closest to those on the south end of the island. Many school & church groups booked their outings at this park with the men often going to the local forts where beer was only 5 cents for about the equivalent of today's 600 millilitre soft drink bottles.

    The carousel that was put in was a simple affair which had a substantial home-made look to it. It consisted of a central pole supported by two guy wires running to the ground beyond the perimeter of the ride. A turntable platform was supported on this pole and around the perimeter of it were two rows of horses and 2 X 2-seat chariots. The platform was not solid for its entire length, but had board slats with gaps which were narrow, or closed completely where one might stand or rest one's feet, while under the horses and chariots the gaps became quite wide. There was no covering or upper cranking rod mechanisms, so none of the horses were jumpers. Both horses and chariots were supported on sweeps coming from the center and extending out under each row of horses and under each chariot. (Most carousels have the sweeps overhead with the horses supported via drop rods.) Additional support came from strap iron under each horse and chariot that extended below each sweep to attach to the platform. Decoration was on the sides of each chariot and on a small rounding board on the the platform just inside and below the inner row of horses. Total horses appear to be 24, with 4 four-seat chariots. Rides were 10 cents.

    Near the center of the platform and facing the entrance side of the ride was a calliope (kal-LIE-oh-pee) which possibly may have been a band organ. However, since the entire unit was steam-driven, I suspect that the music provider was a calliope. However, it still could have possibly had band-organ instruments included such as drums and bells.

    The steam engine was to the left of the front of the ride and consisted of a boiler with what appears to be two large flywheels, a metre or more in diameter. The power train, likely a belt or series of belts, went through a covered wooden raceway along the ground to underneath the ride. If the calliope was steam driven, which it probably was, a steam pipe would also likely have been run in the raceway to power the music unit.

    For at least one season there was a short picket fence that only ran about 1/8th of the perimeter of the platform near the front- left side of the ride. It ended near what appears to have been some booths. These booths likely had games, as both the ride and games were operated by the same owner. In a later season, the ride was covered with a roof that had fence rails between the support posts to protect persons from the rotating platform.

    The ride turned counter clockwise, which suggests a Canadian or American builder although some European carousels also turned in that direction. Given the unique home-made look of the unit, it may have been made locally in Nova Scotia. The province has a rich ship-building tradition, so artistic carvers, woodsmiths, and mechanical engineers were close at hand. Investigation continues.

    It is not known what year the carousel went into Findlay's, but it would likely have been sometime between 1895 and 1910 after which the park ran into troubles, as described shortly. I suspect the 19-0s as being the most likely time, perhaps after the park changed owners.

    After the 1905-1906 British Military pull-out of Halifax, business dropped on McNab's, but James Findlay was able to hang on and he even eventually bought out his competition Woolnough's Pleasure Grounds. An advantage Findlay's had over competitors, besides its superior location between the dock and some of the forts, was that an A.J. Davis soft drink called "Pure McNab" was made and bottled right at Findlay's Grounds. It would be Davis who would gain control of the Findlay operation shortly after its purchase of Woolnough's. Davis had built a summer home on the Woolnough property. That home, known today as The Conrad House, may still be visited.

    Despite the soft drink draw, business declined in later years to the point where the bottling plant ceased operations sometime between 1912 and 1915, further depriving the remaining patrons. Two factors that contributed to this decline were The Temperance Act of 1910 which eliminated the sale of alcohol on Sunday, and a religious group which had successfully stopped ferry service on Sundays. Of course for many, one of the few days available for recreation was Sunday and this decree made the island accessible only by private boat on that day. Business suffered again after the start of The Great War in 1914 because the island was restricted to military personnel as a security precaution.

    Another thing which would have been a factor in reduced numbers for the 1918 and possibly 1919 seasons was The Halifax Explosion. Two ships collided in a narrow channel of Halifax Harbour on December 6th, 1917. One, Mont Blanc, was a munitions ship bound for the war in Europe. It collided with the Belgium Relief ship Imo (Ee-moh). The resulting fire caused an explosion which was the largest man-made one up until the first atomic bomb was set off at the Trinity Test Site near Alamagordo in July of 1945. Most of Halifax and Dartmouth were destroyed or heavily damaged, and at least 1600 people were killed directly, or in the resulting fires, or by hypothermia from the cold weather and snowstorm which blanketed the area on the next day. (Some sources give about 2,000 deaths, but it may have been as high as 3,000 based on the number of coffins made at the time. Many people simply vanished with no trace, so the true number will never be known.)

(City of Toronto Archives: James Collection)

Halifax Explosion Ground Zero 1917

This view, facing east, looks past a Halifax-side residential community's remains toward the harbour "narrows". The explosion happened near the docks, just out of frame to the left, after Mont Blanc drifted to the Halifax side following the collision. The destruction is total and is reminiscent of the remains of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as would befall those cities almost three decades later. Here, streets may be seen, but the wooden houses have been blown away to the point where not even substantial debris is left. The solitary structures seen close to the water were industries that were made of brick or concrete. Still, only shells stand. Dartmouth is in the background where the Imo, may be seen beached at Top Center. A covering of snow fell a day after the disaster, hampering rescue efforts and killing some trapped survivors due to hypothermia. These photos were taken after that snowfall.

Halifax Explosion Waterfront 1917	(MacLaughlin Photo)
	This scene of the waterfront was taken facing south east and left of the above. It is also nearer to the harbour. The same building may be seen in both shots, as may The Imo on the Dartmouth shore.

(MacLaughlin Photo)

Halifax Explosion Rail Yards and Waterfront 1917

This is to the right of the above, looking south. It was taken from the top of the locomotive in the foreground and looks along the rail yards to what had been industries along the waterfront. The ship at far Center Left is in a dry dock. Some of the vessels seen in the harbour would have been bringing aid to the stricken city. McNab's Island lies in the far background out of sight behind the sailing ship at Top Left.

    Although the island was far enough away at the mouth of the harbour to not suffer any serious damage, patronship for the 1918 season surely must have been diminished. This was because so many in the city had lost family members or had neighbours whom did. 6,000 were homeless, and 25,000 others had inadequate shelter. Most of 1918 had what military could be spared from the war being involved in the rebuilding of the city and helping people pick up what was left of their lives - not spending time at an amusement park.

    After the war, the grounds continued to operate but Davis sold his interest to Bill Lynch, whose father, Matthew, was a lighthouse keeper on the island. Bill had worked at a games concession and operated the carousel at Findlay's during his early teens. An exact year of the sale is unknown, but by the early 1920s, he was providing midways for local Nova Scotia events, so it's likely he had the money to make such a purchase by then. However, declining business saw Lynch remove the ride(*) & games from the island in 1925, to include in The Bill Lynch Carnival Company, a business he had formed with a partner, Ray Rogers whom provided entertainment concessions. This later became Bill Lynch Shows after the partnership dissolved. It's unclear if this company was the one providing midways elsewhere, or if it was formed upon leaving Findlay's.

    Regardless, the travelling carnival grew into Atlantic Canada's largest, and eventually the world's second largest by the late 1950s. It provided midways for the area's major exhibitions. Bill died in 1972, but his family kept on until a car accident in 1995 killed two of the principals which eventually caused the company to be divided and sold. However, the primary part remains the leading carnival operation in the Atlantic area today. The present owner is John T. Drummey, who was the controller for Lynch Shows during the 1980s and 90s. Its new name is Maritime Rides and Attractions. Another part of the Lynch Shows has become Carnival Time Amusements. Both remain based in Nova Scotia.

    By 1928 The Dartmouth Ferry Commission cancelled runs to McNab's, and Findlay's ceased to exist, except that Lynch would keep his ponies there during the off-season. Only private picnics occurred after that via small boat companies, except during World War II when the military exercised control once again.

    Since the 1970s, the island has come under public control after a regional parks plan suggested that McNab's be part of it. In 1983, The Province of Nova Scotia assumed responsibility for forming the park and has since been buying up private properties. With that and the handing over of military properties to Parks Canada, 99% of the island is now public owned, either federally or provincially. Today, although there are no amusements there, the island is once again open to the public for sight-seeing, fort exploring, picnicking, swimming, and hiking. Several ferry services schedule regular runs in the summertime, with service available in winter by request.

(*) The steam carousel was apparently used by Lynch Shows until gasoline and/or electric power became more practical. The unit was then stored somewhere in the Halifax area for decades in a disassembled state until sold piecemeal to collectors in the 1970s or 80s.

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