North Sydney, Nova Scotia, is situated on the north
side of Sydney harbour. Since its founding in 1871,
it has been a home port to the fishing fleets of the
world, coal tramp streamers, warships, convoys and
the Newfoundland ferries. The chief claim to fame of
this small port town is that it served for 87 years
as the main communication centre linking Europe and
North America.
Through the years of its existence in North
Sydney, Western Union employed up to 300 at rush | periods, paid top dollar of the day, and, while
serving as the east coast communications capital,
was an intricate part of the downtown’s ancillary
industries and the town's economy, which was wounded
by a depression.
It was from North Sydney that journalists filed
to the world their stories of Admiral Peary's
discovery of the North Pole. The calls went forth to
ships at sea and the world's capitals that the
unsinkable Titanic was no more, taking 1517 crew and
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