Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Eastern Passage is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

urban community in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

's Halifax Regional Municipality.

Located at the southeastern edge of Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

, fronting the Atlantic Ocean, Eastern Passage derives its name from the narrow strait separating the mainland from McNabs Island

McNabs Island

McNabs Island is the largest island in Halifax Harbour located in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It played a major role in defending Halifax Harbour and is now a provincial park...

and Lawlor Island

Lawlor Island

Lawlor Island is a small island near the mouth of Halifax Harbour. Measuring approximately 55 hectares, it is located opposite MacCormacks Beach in Eastern Passage and McNabs Island in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia...

, both of which lie several hundred metres west of the community. This "Eastern Passage" into the harbour is not the main shipping channel due to its shallow depths; the main shipping channel lies west of McNabs Island. The Eastern Passage is largely used by small recreational boats and fishing vessels during inclement weather as the island affords shelter from prevailing winds.

Eastern Passage has historically been tied to the fishing industry and its waterfront demonstrates this with multiple small wharves and piers. The construction of CFB Shearwater

CFB Shearwater

Canadian Forces Base Shearwater , commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater, was a Canadian Forces Base located in Shearwater, Nova Scotia on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality....

, a military air base, at the northern boundary of the community during World War I, along with the construction of the Imperial Oil (later Esso), Texaco (later Ultramar) oil refinery, the Volvo Halifax Assembly

Volvo Halifax Assembly

The Volvo Halifax Assembly Plant located in Halifax, Nova Scotia was opened on 11 June 1963 by H.R.H Prince Bertil. It was the only North American assembly plant Volvo ever opened. Volvo decided to open to the plant to bypass hefty North American import tariffs on foreign goods and to capitalize...

plant and automobile import/export facility following World War II redefined the local economy. New highway connections have resulted in the majority of area residents commuting to Downtown Halifax

Downtown Halifax

Downtown Halifax is the city centre of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern-central portion of the Halifax Peninsula, on Halifax Harbour, it serves as the business, entertainment, and tourism hub of the region.- Municipal:...

or Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...

History

Prior to the European settlers, Eastern Passage was a season home to the Mi'kmaq for thousands of years. Europeans began seasonal use of the channel starting about 1712 and the Mi'kmaq, shifted to McNab's island. The Eastern Passage area was initially granted to ranger Joseph Gorham but he did not settle the passage and the land was regranted in 1798 to Jacob Horn, the first recorded settler who was soon followed by other families. The first European settlers who moved there were mainly German, French, Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

and English. These ethnic group

Ethnic group

An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

s continue to make up a large portion of the population of Eastern Passage.

Fort Clarence, a large gun battery was constructed beside Eastern Passage in the 1860s to defend the harbour, providing a cross fire with batteries on Georges Island and McNabs Island

McNabs Island

. During the American Civil War, a southern naval vessel CSS Tallahassee

CSS Tallahassee

The CSS Tallahassee was a twin-screw steamer and cruiser in the Confederate States Navy, purchased in 1864, and used for commerce raiding off the Atlantic coast.-History:...

is believed to have used the Eastern Passage channel to escape unnoticed from Union naval forces believed to be waiting at the main harbour entrance.

An American naval air station was constructed at Eastern Passage during World War I to patrol against German submarines. It was taken over by the Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

in the 1920s and became a large air base during World War II.

In the 1920s and 30s, A number of Eastern Passage residents from the Hartlan and Henneberry families proved important sources of Canadian folk songs and stories to Nova Scotia folklorist Helen Creighton

Helen Creighton

Mary Helen Creighton, CM was a prominent Canadian folklorist. She collected over 4,000 traditional songs, stories, and myths in a career that spanned several decades, and she published many books and articles on Nova Scotia folk songs and folklore...

.

Serious reductions to the CFB Shearwater

CFB Shearwater

base in the 1990s and the shutdown of the Ultramar Refinery challenged the economy of Eastern Passage in the 1990s. One response was the redevelopment of the small craft harbour, long known as "the Crick" or "the cove" but rechristened in 1996 as "Fisherman's Cove", a tourist attracton which combines a working fishing harbour with gift shops and restaurants.

In the summer of 2003, the fourth season of Trailer Park Boys

Trailer Park Boys

Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...

was filmed in Eastern Passage. It would be the last season of the show filmed in a privately-held park.

Statistics

Population (2001): 8,872
Population (2006): 13,000+
Total Area: 29.38 km²
Latitude: 44.614296
Longitude: -63.470833

Ocean View Elementary School

Type: Elementary
Grades: Primary to 4
Constructed: 1954
Current Square Footage: 44061 sq ft (4,093.4 m²).
Website: http://www.oves.ednet.ns.ca

Tallahassee Community School

Type: Elementary
Grades: Primary to 4
Constructed: 1991
Current Square Footage: 64600 sq ft (6,001.5 m²).
Website: http://www.tcs.ednet.ns.ca

Seaside Elementary

Type: SR. Elementary
Grades: 4 French Immersion, 5, 6
Constructed: 1974
Current Square Footage: 44737 sq ft (4,156.2 m²).
Website: http://seaside.ednet.ns.ca

Eastern Passage Education Centre
Eastern Passage Education Centre
Eastern Passage Education Centre is located in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada, and is run by the Halifax Regional School Board.EPEC is one of the largest and most successful schools in Nova Scotia. The majority of the students who attend EPEC are from Sea Side Elemetary and Tallahassee...

Type: Junior High
Grades: 7 to 9
Constructed: 1999
Current Square Footage: 82645 sq ft (7,678 m²).
Website: http://www.epec.ednet.ns.ca

Note: High school (Grades 10-12) students are bussed out of the community to neighboring Cole Harbour District High School

Cole Harbour District High School

Cole Harbour District High School is a Canadian public school in the Cole Harbour area just east of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It is operated by the Halifax Regional School Board , and is an International Baccalaureate world school, offering the Diploma program.-History:Cole Harbour Disrtict High is...

. There is talk of a new high school being built by 2011 for students from Eastern Passage and neighbouring Woodside.

Whether elementary students attend Oceanview or Tallahassee is dependent on living location within the area.

Parks and playgrounds

There are several parks and playgrounds in the area. Two are located in the Heritage Hills subdivision (on Melrose and Serop Crescent, respectively), and there are playgrounds at Tallahssee, Oceanview, and Seaside schools. In August 2006, a new skateboard park opened near Seaside Elementary.

Fields

Playing fields are plentiful within the community. There is a large playing field

Playing field

A playing field is a field used for playing sports or games. They are generally outdoors, but many large structures exist to enclose playing fields from bad weather. Generally, playing fields are wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand without many obstructions...

at Eastern Passage Education Centre, and numerous baseball and general purpose fields located within the vicinity of the 3 elementary schools.

Other recreation

A public tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

court is located near Seaside Elementary. The community Rec. Centre (located in the Tallahasasee Community School building) often has various activities going on year-round for both families and individuals.

Several beaches are in the area. McCormick's Beach is located at Fisherman's Cove near the boardwalk. A salt water beach (Rainbow Haven Beach), is located towards the Cow Bay area of the community. A large serviced beach (MacDonald Beach) is located between Eastern Passage and Cole Harbour. There is also a smaller beach located down the road from MacDonald Beach.

Youth Sports

Eastern Passage hosts a variety of youth sport programs, including soccer, basketball, baseball, and softball.

Eastern Passage Soccer is organized by Soccer Nova Scotia

Soccer Nova Scotia

Soccer Nova Scotia is the governing body for soccer in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is a member association of the Canadian Soccer Association...

and features both mini and youth leageus. Mini soccer includes Under-6, U-8 and U-10 teams, which are composed of both boys and girls. Youtb soccer, however, is divided by gender; it includes U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-18 teams.
Registration for soccer starts in February and is open until June for both mini and youth leagues, and the soccer season ends in August.

Eastern Passage Soccer also hosts the Dartmouth region’s year-end mini festival, which is called Soccer By The Sea. The tournament celebrated its 19th year in 2010, and has seen well over 1500 players over the two and a half day event.

Eastern Passage Tigers Basketball is a youth basketball organization dedicated to providing a safe athletic environment that focuses on the development of physical fitness, sportsmanship and team play for children in the Eastern Passage, Cow Bay and Shearwater communities.
Eastern Passage Tigers Basketball has teams for both boys and girls in Steve Nash - Junior Mini (ages 8 & 9), Mini (ages 10 & 11), Bantam (ages 12 & 13), Midget (ages 14 & 15) and Juvenile (ages 16 & 17). Basketball registration begins in September and the season runs through March.

Water

While much of the community is serviced by municipal water, areas on the outer edges of the community require the use well water/septic systems.

Telecommunications

All of Eastern Passage is serviced by both Aliant

Aliant

Bell Aliant Inc. is a communications company providing services in various areas throughout eastern Canada, as Bell Aliant throughout Atlantic Canada, and under the NorthernTel, and Télébec brands in rural areas of Ontario and Quebec....

(Telephone

Plain old telephone service

Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....

and DSL Broadband) and Eastlink (Telephone

Hybrid fibre-coaxial

Hybrid fiber-coaxial is a telecommunications industry term for a broadband network which combines optical fibre and coaxial cable. It was commonly employed globally by cable television operators since the early 1990s.-Description:...

, Cable Broadband

Cable modem

A cable modem is a type of network bridge and modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a HFC and RFoG infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high...

, Cable TV). The area has cellular

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

coverage for both GSM (Rogers

Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...

/Fido

Fido Solutions

Fido Solutions is a Canadian cellular telephone service provider currently owned by Rogers Communications. It was formerly owned by Microcell Telecommunications. Fido does, however, remain a separate entity from Rogers...

) and CDMA (Telus

TELUS

Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...

/Aliant).

Health and fitness

Curves for Women, is a facility specially designed for women. Currently there isn't a male only option in the community.

External links

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