Chebucto Head is a Canadian headland on

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Chebucto Peninsula The Chebucto Peninsula is a peninsula located in central Nova Scotia, Canada, entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality on the Atlantic coast. It is bordered by St. Margarets Bay in the west, the open Atlantic Ocean to the south, and ...

located within the community of Duncan's Cove. Chebucto Head forms the most easterly point on the peninsula and is used to define the southwestern limit of

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

; historically known to the

Mi'kmaq Nation The Mi'kmaq Nation (formerly the Aroostook Band of Micmacs) is a US federally recognized tribe of Mi'kmaq people, based in Aroostook County, Maine. Their autonym is Ulustuk. Of the 28 bands of Mi'kmaq people, the Mi'kmaq Nation is the only one i ...

as "Jipugtug", (anglicised as "Chebucto") meaning "the biggest harbour", or simply, "the big harbour". A line drawn northeast from Chebucto Head to Pennant Point defines the southern geographic limit of the harbour. The actual legal limit of the harbour is located further inland to the north of this line.

Lighthouse

The first lighthouse at Chebucto Head was built in 1872 with a steam foghorn just below it. It was replaced by a second tower in 1928. This tower was demolished in 1940 and a new lighthouse and combined keeper's dwelling was built several hundred metres to the north to make way for a gun battery. In 1967 the light was moved from the house to the a new concrete tower which still stands today. The house remained the keeper's dwelling until the light was destaffed in the 1990s. The house fell prey to repeated vandalism after the

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...

(CCG) cancelled the lease of the tenants who lived in and looked after the house. The plight of the lighthouse helped to inspire the

Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society (NSLPS) is a non profit charitable organization that works to save lighthouses in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest and oldest lighthouse heritage organization in Canada. The so ...

to push for the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, a campaign that was launched at the Chebucto Head lighthouse on March 11, 1999. The house was destroyed by a suspicious fire on March 25, 2004. The Chebucto Head Lighthouse Society, a group formed to try to save the lighthouse continues to work to keep the site preserved and open to the public. Chebucto Head was used by the CCG as the control centre for the

vessel traffic service A vessel traffic service is a marine traffic monitoring system established by harbour or port authorities, similar to air traffic control for aircraft. The International Maritime Organization defines vessel traffic service as "a service implemente ...

or VTS that controlled vessel movements in Halifax Harbour until the 1980s when a new control centre was opened at Shannon Hill, above the

Bedford Institute of Oceanography The Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) is a major Government of Canada ocean research facility located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. BIO is the largest ocean research station in Canada. Established in 1962 as Canada's first, and currently la ...

in Dartmouth. It continues as a Remote Aids to Navigation Station. Chebucto Head inspired the name of the large harbour tug '' Point Chebucto'', built at

Halifax Shipyard The Halifax Shipyard Limited is a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded in 1889, it is today a wholly owned subsidiary of Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and is that company's largest ship construction and repair facil ...

in 1992.

Gun battery

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Halifax Harbour was the primary fast

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

departure and arrival point in eastern North America. The

Royal Canadian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery () is the artillery personnel branch of the Canadian Army. History Many of the units and batteries of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery are older than the Dominion of Canada itself. The first arti ...

operated a searchlight and coastal gun battery at Chebucto Head as part of "Fortress Halifax" as a means of providing an integrated defence for the port. The Chebucto Head battery was the key outer battery of the western side of harbour defending it from possible attacks by German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s or surface raiders. The fortified battery was armed with three Elswick naval guns with associated searchlight, director tower, generators, a long-range optical rangefinder and by 1943 a radar artillery control unit. The battery was decommissioned in the early 1950s but many bunkers remain, now privately owned. On 16 April 1945, , a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

ed and sunk off Chebucto Head by , becoming the last

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

warship lost to enemy action in World War II.

References

External links

Webcam view of Chebucto Head

{{Coord, 44, 30, 03, N, 63, 31, 14, W, region:CA-NS_type:landmark_source:http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/CAGXI, display=title Headlands of Nova Scotia Landforms of Halifax, Nova Scotia History of Halifax, Nova Scotia Military forts in Nova Scotia Landforms of Halifax County, Nova Scotia