Terence Bay, Nova Scotia


Terence Bay is a rural fishing community on the Chebucto Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. It is located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, 10 km off the Prospect Road, off Route 333, 21.2 kilometers from Halifax.
The community has the status of designated place in Canadian census data. Its name may also sometimes be seen as Terrence Bay, although Terence is the correct spelling.

History and local geography

The area, which is located at the tip of the Chebucto Peninsula, was originally settled in the early 1880s or possibly before, probably by Irish fishermen. Early records for the area include the 1827 Census of Halifax and the parish register of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Prospect, whose entries begin in 1823 and include Terence Bay families. By the 1850s, the population of Terence Bay consisted mainly of the descendants of Irish and German immigrants to NS, many of whose descendants still reside there.
The origin of the name "Terence" in reference to the community is uncertain; theories have included that it is a mispronunciation or misspelling of "Terns", or of "Turner", although "Turner" is unknown in the community as a historical surname. What is certain is that the 1865 A. F. Church Map of Halifax County names it "Turns Bay".
The area in which Terence Bay is situated also contains the communities of Lower Prospect at which the disaster occurred, and Sandy Cove, at which a cemetery and monument to the wreck and an interpretive centre are located.

Communications