The King's Yard: An Illustrated History of the Halifax Dockyard

Bryan Hayter worked as a marketing and communications co-ordinator for a consulting engineering firm; he lived in Elora, Ontario.

Perhaps “Introductory History” might be a more appropriate title for The King’s Yard, an illustrated work that describes the long history of the Halifax Dockyard’s development and changes.

It’s a ground-breaking start to the task of telling the full tale of a marine installation dating all the way back to the mid-1700s. It offers a full roster of photographs and charts and alludes to many a fascinating character and interesting event in the Yard’s years of playing a role in world-shaking British, and then Canadian, naval history.

However, the narrative never gets below the surface. It’s long on facts about buildings that rose and fell, but short on insights into the people and policies that colored those years. That, regrettably, is the major shortcoming of introductory volumes.

There’s the pity. Given the nature of the times in which the Yard has operated — from the American Revolution through the Civil War and on through the two World Wars — the rather brief description, focusing as it does on the physical layout of the Yard, fairly begs for elaboration.

Those who find romance in naval exploits will value the information in The King’s Yard, such as it is. But they may wonder if the photographic records can yield no more than formal group poses and static ships at anchor or in drydock. One exception, H.M.S. Ariadne coaling at Wharf Number 4, is a visual feast showing people at work in a panoramic, detail-filled scene. It allows the reader to get closer to the subject matter.

The important contribution of the book is its role as a reminder of how important Halifax has been in the Atlantic’s annals. Libraries will welcome a book that spans such a long period. Chronicling the ebb and flow of British interest in the Nova Scotia harbour reflects much about the motherland’s use of a colony.

If The King’s Yard falls short in capturing some of the seafaring spirit that such a place must have had, it does open up a door for others to explore. Let’s hope that someone will carry the idea into a more in-depth, character-filled account that really celebrates Canada’s most romantic seaport.