Crowd, including officers from Queen Mary 2, gathered for unveiling of statue of Samuel Cunard, Halifax waterfront, October 7, 2006
With the Queen Mary 2 providing a magnificent backdrop, a large crowd gathered on the Halifax waterfront on October 7, 2006 to witness the unveiling of a 10′ bronze statue of Halifax native and company founder, Sir Samuel Cunard. Just two years from its inception, the Samuel Cunard Memorial Committee( of the Halifax Foundation), with Commodore Ronald W. Warwick as its Honorary Chairman, brought to fruition the long held dream for the construction of a suitable memorial to Samuel Cunard. This Halifax native, the ‘Steam Lion’, revolutionized transportation and communication between the Old and New Worlds with the introduction of his steamships to the North Atlantic beginning with the Cunard Line flag ship Britannia, in 1840.
The statue was designed by Halifax sculptor Peter Bustin and cast by Artcast Foundry in Georgetown, Ontario. Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis, aided by Samuel (8) and Benjamin (6) Paton, Cunard descendants, formally unveiled the statue with hundreds of spectators, including a large contingent of officers from the QM2 looking on.
Statue unveiled. L to R, Jack Keith, Chairman Halifax Foundation, Hon. Alan Abraham, Chairman Sir Samuel Cunard Memorial Project; Commodore Ronald Warwick, Honorary Chairman Implementing Committee, Carol Marlow, President Cunard Line with Paton boys, Peter Bustin, Sculptor, Karen Oldfield, CEO Halifax Port Authority and John G. Langley, Committee member and Chairman Cunard Steamship Society
A sit down luncheon hosted by the Halifax Foundation followed in the nearby Cunard Centre.
Addresses during the luncheon were made by Jack Keith, Chairman of the Halifax Foundation, Carol Marlow, President & Managing Director of Cunard Line, John G. Langley, Q.C., Chairman of the Cunard Steamship Society and member of the Monument Committee, Commodore Ronald W. Warwick, and Pete Paton, great-great grandson of Samuel Cunard.
 ‘Home At Last’ – 10′ bronze statue of |
 Jackie Matthews, Manager Public Relations, Cunard Line talking with Cunard descendants, Pete Paton and son Hugh Paton, of Charlottetown, PEI. |