Ahern banded together to present a Christmas concert and gifts to the refugees on Christmas Eve. Local seamstresses assembled a costume to represent an Estonian version of Santa Claus, Youluvana, for the captain of Walnut to wear as he gave presents to all the children aboard including silver dollars given the youngest child; the oldest refugee and the mother of the largest family meant to mark the "start of the wealth they would accumulate when they were allowed to settle in Canada". Public pressure and widespread press attention made Canadian immigration officials investigate and consider each passenger's background. In the end, Canada admitted all but two passengers from Walnut, waiving the immigration restrictions of the time by issuing an Order in Council for each individual. The two individuals denied entry as "security risks" were deported overseas. In January 1949, the Walnut refugees held a farewell party with local immigration officials before leaving by train to settle in various regions of Canada. The arrival of the small ex-warship had pushed Canadian immigration officials to change Canadian immigration intervention and interception policies. Later career After Walnuts arrival in Halifax, the ship was detained at the French Cable Wharf in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The ship was sold by auction to pay for expenses from the voyage. During the protracted legal process surrounding her refugee passengers, the ship was stripped of its brass fittings by thieves and scuttled in shallow water in Dartmouth. The ship was sold at another auction in 1951 and rebuilt by the Quebec firm Borromee Verreault. Walnut was renamed Keta and worked on the St. Lawrence River and Canadian Arctic until the ship was scrapped in 1975. Commemoration Passengers who arrived aboard Walnut and their families remained in contact and organized several re-unions. Many shared photographs to remember their journey which were featured in a display at the Pier 21 museum which opened in the former immigration terminal in 1999. When the Pier 21 museum reopened as national museum, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in 2014, Walnut was featured in an interactive video which presents visitors with the 1948 Walnut controversy and asks them how they would have responded. References Citations Sources Tree-class trawlers World War II patrol vessels of the United Kingdom International maritime incidents 1939 ships History of immigration to Canada History of the Baltic states Refugees in Canada Immigration to Nova Scotia