The town of Hawke's
Bay is situated at the mouth of the mighty
Torrent River, nestled at the end of a beautiful
inland bay protected from the cold wind and fog
often experienced along the coast. Hawke's Bay
was named in 1766 by Captain James Cook to honor
British Admiral Edward Hawke and his great navel
victory over the French fleet at Quiberon Bay in
1759.
With its two major rivers and excellent
sport fishing, Hawke's Bay became a favoured
enclave for tall ships from both the British &
French navies during the early struggle for
control of North America. The first known
permanent settler was Michael Walsh in the early
1900s.
There was no resident population until
then because it was too far inland from the
coast for fishing and was considered remote. A
whaling factory was established in 1903 on the
north side of the bay, but due to the decline in
whale oil it closed the following year.
Hawke's Bay also played a part in early aviation as one
of the stops on the "First Round the World
Flight" by U.S. Army Air Service in 1924. The
first Air Mail service in Newfoundland was run
from Hawke's Bay, by Major Sydney Cotton who
operated a seaplane base as well as a small
hotel catering to American sportsmen.
Hawke's Bay is historically a logging town. with the
first major economic activity and growth coming
in 1933, when the International Pulp and Paper
Company established pulpwood harvesting in the
area.
Hawke's Bay was incorporated as a town in
1956, and despite the many "boom and bust"
periods during the past seven decades, many
residents of Hawke's Bay still work today in the
forestry. During the 1970's & early 1980's, all
the zinc mined at Daniel's Harbour was shipped
from here creating employment in trucking and
stevedoring.
Today the community boasts having
two unique natural attractions including the
Torrent River Nature Park & The Hogan trail
boardwalk, which leads hikers to a fantastic
view of Torrent River Falls and Fishway and the
all new Atlantic Salmon Interpretation Centre
where Atlantic Salmon can be seen heading
upriver to spawn.
A little-known Newfoundland
geological treasure is the Glacier Striae, right
in the middle of the community of Hawke's Bay.
There are three sets of striae that show the
directions of glacial flow in the flat rock
limestone beachfront of Hawke's Bay.
Miles of
inland roads link countless lakes and ponds,
where anglers challenge the large speckled brook
trout, well known in this region and where you
can expect to encounter many local species of
wildlife and unforgettable scenery. Nature
lovers will enjoy a visit to this area.
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