South African War Memorial
Municipality/Province: Halifax, NS
Memorial number: 12004-007
Type: Shaft, statue
Address: 5138 Prince Street
Location: Province House
GPS coordinates: Lat: 44.6485127 Long: -63.5734587
Submitted by: Marilyn Gurney; Hellmut Shade; Terry MacDonald
The South African War Memorial honours those who served and those who fell during the war, 1899 - 1902. It is one of two memorials erected in Halifax to honor Boer War combatants, the other being the Boer War Memorial Fountain in the Public Gardens. On October 19, 1901, the Prince of Wales laid the cornerstone for the monument and gave medals to returning soldiers. Two weeks later, on November 1, the heroes of Paardeberg returned and marched triumphantly down George Street.
The statue was made by Hamilton P. MacCarthy. At the base of the statue are four panels. One panel is of the departure of troops from Halifax en route to South Africa; another is the Battle of Witpoort, which made Harold Lothrop Borden the most famous Canadian Casualty of the War; another depicts the Battle of Paardeberg (Canada's most significant battle of the war, with the most casualties); and the fourth panel is of the Siege of Mafeking. These panels honour the three Canadian Services that fought in the war: the infantry, mounted rifles and artillery. The Nova Scotia Princess Louise Fusiliers and the Nova Scotia Highlanders participated in the war.
Hamilton P. MacCarthy was born on 28 July 1846 in London, England. He studied with his father, sculptor Hamilton Wright McCarthy and at the Royal Academy Schools. MacCarthy moved to Toronto, Ontario, in 1885. Thirteen years later he moved to Ottawa and studied at the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. MacCarthy had 15 children and his son Coeur de Lion MacCarthy was a sculptor who produced numerous commemorative works after the First World War.
Other memorials by Hamilton MacCarthy include: Lieutenant Harold Lothrop Borden Memorial in Nova Scotia; Soldiers Monument in Prince Edward Island; South African War Memorial and General Isaac Brock Monument in Ontario.
Inscription found on memorial
[front/devant]
ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF NOVA SCOTIA
IN HONOUR OF THOSE WHO SERVED AND
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE
SOUTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN 1899 - 1902
DEPARTED FROM HALIFAX
THIS STONE WAS LAID BY HRH THE DUKE OF
CORNWALL AND YORK WHO WITH HIS ILLUSTRIOUS
CONSORT VISITED HALIFAX OCTOBER 9, 1901
GOD SAVE THE KING
[right side/côté droit]
ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
[6 names are listed, but are not visible in the photo./6 noms sont inscrits, mais ils ne sont pas visibles sur la photo.]
WITPOORT
[back/arrière]
ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
[9 names are listed, but are not visible in the photo./9 noms sont inscrits, mais ils ne sont pas visibles sur la photo.]
MAFEKING
[left side/côté gauche]
ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT
[5 names are listed, but are not visible in the photo./5 noms sont inscrits, mais ils ne sont pas visibles sur la photo.]
PAARDEBERG
Street view
Note
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