HMS '' Niobe '' was a ship of the of protected cruisers in the Royal Navy . She served in the Boer War and was then given to Canada as the second ship of the newly created Naval Service of Canada as HMCS '' Niobe '' . The Naval Service of Canada became the Royal Canadian Navy in August 1911 . The ship was nearly lost when she went aground off Cape Sable Island , Nova Scotia overnight 30 – 31 July 1911 . Repairs were completed at the end of 1912 and the ship returned to service in late 1914 . During the First World War , '' Niobe '' patrolled the approaches to the St. Lawrence River and then joined the Royal Navy 's 4th Cruiser Squadron to patrol off New York City . The cruiser returned to Halifax , Nova Scotia on 17 July 1915 and never put to sea again . '' Niobe '' was paid off in September and served as a depot ship in Halifax . Damaged in the 1917 Halifax Explosion , she was sold for scrap and broken up in the 1920s
Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
HMS Niobe (1897)