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History
At the turn of the century, North Sydney was a bustling port town; by 1870 it was the fourth largest port in Canada dealing in ocean-going vessels. This was due to steamships coming here from all over the world for bunker coal, and also to the fact that The Western Union cable office had been established here in 1875. The railroad had come to Cape Breton Island in 1891, at this time there were 2,513 people in North Sydney, compared to 2,417 in Sydney.
In 1898 North Sydney was chosen by the Reid-Newfoundland Company as the Canadian mainland terminal for a ferry service to Newfoundland; in June of that year the SS Bruce sailed from Port Aux Basques, it was the first ship to make that run.
World Wars
During the first and second World wars, North Sydney played an important role in the relay of information from Europe to both Ottawa and Washington. North Sydney was home to a Western Union Cable office. It was here where coded messages were sent from overseas then relayed on to the rest of North America.
On the morning of November 10, 1918, the office received a top-secret coded message from Europe. It stated that effective at 11 am the next day (November 11, 1918) all fighting would cease on land, sea and in the air.
Therefore the people of North Sydney, in particular Mrs. Annie Butler Smith, were the first to know about the end of the Great War. It is reported that on the night on November 10, 1918, over 200 servicemen celebrated by marching through the streets of the town to celebrate the end of the war, one day before the rest of the world knew.
German U Boats
On the night of October 13, 1942, the SS Caribou (a passenger ferry) left North Sydney harbour for Port aux Basques with 237 on board.
At 3:40 am on the morning of October 14, the Caribou was hit with a single torpedo on her starboard side. 136 people perished.
United States Navy
During the Great War, the United States Navy had an air base in North Sydney. The base was primarily used as a landing/launching area for sea-planes. Known as APO North Sydney, it was located on what is now called Munroe Park/Kelly's Beach.
Filmography
Even though North Sydney does not have a big arts community, it has served as the back drop for three movies.
In 1995, scenes for Margaret's Museum were filmed in the town. Most were shot on King Street, where a house was used as a mine managers house.
In 1999, two films were shot in North Sydney. First, was New Waterford Girl. Downtown North Sydney was used to represent downtown New Waterford in the 1970s.
The other film from this year was a CBC made for TV movie named Win Again, staring Gordon Pinsent. This time, North Sydney posed as a small town in Newfoundland. The closing scene of the movie has a nice shot of the whole town, taken from a large crane from the downtown area.
Northside General Hospital
The only public hospital in the northside is in North Sydney, it is the Northside General Hospital. It covers healthcare for the entire northside area of Cape Breton. There is another hospital on the northside and that hospital is the Harbourview Veterans Hospital, but it is a facility for veterans only. The Northside General has 5 floors not including the ground floor. The hospital doesn't perform any major surgeries, but it does have an emergency room, that's not open all the time, which in that case you would have to go to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, in Sydney.
Schools
There are two elementary schools in town, Seton Elementary and St. Joseph's Elementary. Saint Joesph's Elementary was once part of a complex which included Saint Mary's Elementary, but St. Mary's was demolished in March 2008 to make way for a new multi million dollar school. The junior high is Thompson Junior High. There is no high school in North Sydney. All the students attend Memorial Composite High School, in the neighboring town of Sydney Mines. Memorial is the high school for the entire Northside area.
North Sydney is also host to the Maritime Drilling School. Students from all over the world attend this institution to learn how to work on oil rigs.
Exhibition
North Sydney is home to the Cape Breton County Farmer's Exhibition. Held every August, the Exhibition is quite possibly the largest tourist attraction in the town. People from all over Industrial Cape Breton attend the event, while there are exhibitors from all over the Province of Nova Scotia. The main attraction, however, is not the agricultural or cultrual displays, but rather the midway with all of its rides and games.
Started in 1916, the Exhibition started in Sydney and a few years later relocated to its present location at the top of Regent Street.
Famous People Born In North Sydney
- Harold Russell, Academy Award winning actor
- Bobby Smith, Retired NHL hockey player
- Flora MacDonald, Former federal cabinet minister
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