Part 1: Charlottetown-Norman Bay-Pinsent Arm-Williams Harbour
There’s a mix of permanent communities and summer fishing stations along this
part of the coast. The coastal boat stops at the four permanent settlements. The
fishing stations were places where fishermen from Newfoundland, who couldn’t get
a fishing berth (a place to fish) along the coast where they lived, went north
in summer to catch and salt cod. Sometimes the whole family went along and lived
aboard the family’s boat, or built summer quarters next to the flakes where fish
was cured. This was called the floater fishery and it lasted for more than two
centuries, declining only in the 1980s. Over time some of the floaters stayed
and became livyers - people who live in a place year round.
From Charlottetown you can catch the coastal boat north to Norman Bay. This used
to be a wintering station for people from the nearby coast until the 1960s. One
family resisted efforts to have them resettle to larger communities, and they
were eventually joined by a few others, who kept the tiny village alive,
commuting to Charlottetown for supplies by speedboat when the water was free of
ice, and via snowmobile in winter. Now they can take the coastal boat during the
shipping season.
Pinsent Arm is about 20 kilometres southeast of Charlottetown, and although it
was a winter residence for some stationers on and off from the 1860s onward, it
was permanently settled only in the 1950s, and was electrified only in 1985 when
a diesel generator was installed.
William's Harbour is south of Pinsent Arm and 35 km east of Port Hope Simpson
This is another community whose status has changed from summer fishing station
to permanent settlement. Migratory fishermen from England first fished here in
the 1700s, and the harbour was settled in the 1840s, declining and increasing
with the fortunes of the fishery. The establishment of a fish plant in the late
1970s persuaded residents to abandon their winter place at nearby Rexon’s Cove
and move to Williams Harbour permanently.
Part 2: Cartwright to Happy Valley-Goose Bay
The ferry from
Cartwright, to
Happy Valley-Goose Bay traverses the narrow
waterway of Hamilton Inlet that connects the ocean to Lake Melville. It was
probably here that Norse rovers Thorvald Eiriksson and Thorfinn Karlsefni landed
on their journey westward to undiscovered lands. Some people believe that the
Lake Melville area was the Markland - the Land of Forests - of the Viking sagas.
Eiriksson’s description of a river that flowed east to west fits the English
River which flows into the south side of Lake Melville.
The ferry ride takes about 12 hours and is a good opportunity to do some
shipboard bird-watching. Among the birds you might see from on deck are
Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Atlantic Puffin, Northern Gannet, Red-necked
Phalarope, Great Black-Backed Gull, Black-Legged Kittiwake, Jaegers, Arctic
Tern, and Common Murre.
From the mouth of Hamilton Inlet on Groswater Bay it’s 240 km to the head of
Lake Melville at Happy Valley-Goose Bay. At its narrowest the inlet is only two
or three kilometres wide, but then opens into Lake Melville, a salt water lake
that’s also the drainage basin for the Churchill and other rivers.
Aboriginal people were living here when Europeans began exploring in the 16th
century, and after a period of initial conflict, a fur trading relationship was
established. A fishery developed in the 19th century, and in 1898 a regular
coastal boat service was established between Newfoundland and Lake Melville
Part 3: The North Coast
Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the home port for the coastal steamer service along
the rugged north coast. Reservations for this trip must be made in advance, as
only a limited number of berths are available. Most people who use the coastal
boat are residents, and the vessel also brings cargo to half a dozen isolated
and widely separated communities north to Nain.
The first stop is on the shores of Hamilton Inlet at Rigolet a community with a
long - and continuing - history of fur trapping and fishing. This small town was
a fur trading centre, first for the French and later the English, starting in
the eighteenth century. The Hudson Bay Company took over the post in 1836.
Except for a brief period during World War II when this was the site of a
Canadian Army Base, life has not changed here for two centuries. In fact, the
Blakes, Olivers, Groves, Shepards and other families trace their arrival in
Rigolet to before 1800 and can tell visitors how their ancestors lived. Just
ask. The town is also well-known for various craft items made from a special
grass that grows in the area.
The coastal boat now takes a southern detour to Cartwright and Black Tickle
before heading north. Black Tickle, on Island of Ponds, is a year-round
settlement and a fishing community. It was founded in the mid-19th century by a
group of British naval seamen who jumped ship. Some of the winter residents are
stationers who go fishing elsewhere on the coast in summer.
The boat stops again at Cartwright before heading for the north coast.
Makkovik was first settled in the early part of the 19th century by a Norwegian
fur trader, Torsten Andersen, and his Labrador wife, Mary Thomas. By 1896, the
settlement had grown enough for the Moravian Missions to build a church complex
that was in use until 1948. Life here has not changed significantly through the
centuries. The people still fish and hunt and carry on many aspects of their
traditional culture. At the retail outlet you will be able to purchase duffle
parkas, mittens and slippers as well as bone jewellery, antler buttons and other
fine examples of native crafts.
Just north of Makkovik, at the head of Kaipokok Bay is Postville. While this
small town
began its life as a fur trading post in 1843 and a Quebec merchant, D.R.
Stewart, is listed as its first settler, people have been coming to Postville
for thousands of years. The Dorset Eskimo, who lived along this coast almost
4,000 years ago, came here every spring to fish and to hunt.
Further up the coast at Hopedale you can visit the
Hopedale Mission, the oldest
wooden frame building east of Quebec. This structure, now a National Historic
Site, includes a church, a store, a residence for missionaries, a storehouse and
several small huts that were used to house the visiting native people. It has
stood on this site since 1782 when the Moravian Church was granted permission by
the British Government to establish a mission in this remote community.
The Innu who have lived at Davis Inlet since the 1960s moved to a completely new
community 15 kilometres away on Sango Bay called Natuashish in 2003. After
calling at Sango Bay, the boat heads for Voisey’s Bay where a huge nickel
deposit is being developed.
The northernmost community - and the last stop for the coastal boat - is Nain
where a Moravian Mission was established in 1771. Craftsmen in this community
are justifiably famous for their soapstone carvings.
Long-abandoned Hebron was once one of the most northerly communities on the
north Labrador coast. A Moravian Mission station was constructed here from 1829
to 1831 but the main buildings - the church, the mission house and the store -
were not inhabited until 1837. The station was abandoned in 1959 but, since that
time, the structure has been stabilized. Visitors are invited to tour this
National Historic Site. You’ll have to make arrangements with a local outfitter
for a boat trip to Hebron or other northern areas.
At the very tip of Labrador you will marvel at such sights as the stark and
ruggedly beautiful Torngat Mountains. The northern tundra region and the
mountains of the Torngat Ranges regularly attract experienced naturalists and
mountain climbers of international acclaim. If you have the skill and the
spirit, this is the vacation for you. A new national park reserve is being
established in this area and should be in service in five years.
You can also reach coastal Labrador by regularly scheduled air service or air
charter.
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