HALIFAX Halifax is part of Canada's federal state of Nova Scotia. The peninsula has a population of 333,000 and it is the country's oldest British settlement yet has managed to retain all the charm and tranquillity of a small town. After Sydney, Halifax has the second largest harbour in the world and is one of the region's few harbours that is free from ice throughout the year. Lobsters, oysters, mussels and fish soup are but a few of the menu items that appear in the seafood restaurants of the Atlantic District. The Maritime Museum covers the history of the fishing industry on Canada's Atlantic coastline and also the history of navigation. Boats and small models illustrate the development of ship-building and include great seafarers and many remarkable exhibits. In 1917 two ships collided in Halifax Harbour. This led to an explosion that destroyed half the city when two thousand people perished and nine thousand were injured. In April 1912 the loss of the supposedly unsinkable passenger ship, the Titanic, was caused to its collision with an iceberg and it was from Halifax that the rescue ships embarked. The famous train, The Ocean, embarks from close to the harbour and its impressive stainless steel carriages date back to the 1950's. Halifax is an historic city set in a country with a vast and amazing landscape, a flamboyant metropolis that unites the past with the present day.