The visit to the Viking site at L’Anse aux Meadows, was a highlight of our trip to Newfoundland. Our guide, local resident Kayla, was educated as a folklorist, which means she was trained to tell stories. These were informative. We certainly gained a better understanding of the Viking settlement there. Lots of talk about the use of bog iron to make iron. In a reconstructed viking house, we also met a freeman who was doing wood working, and a freewoman who was weaving. Both of them should be happy that they did not need to rely on their crafts to support themselves!
There is a Norwegian connection that begins with Helge Ingstad. He is one of few people who have lived in three different centuries. He was born in 1899-12-30 in Meråker and died 2001-03-29 in Oslo. Meråker is in Trøndelag county where we live, but perhaps 100 km further south, and adjacent to Sweden. Helge was educated as a lawyer, and had a practice in Levanger, about 50 km further south from Cliff Cottage. In 1926 he explored the wilderness of Canada, working at times as a fur trader, before becoming the Governor of Norwegian territories on Greenland, then Svalbard = Spitsbergen.
In Svalbard he met Anne Stine Moe (1918-1997). They married in 1941. In 1946, they moved to the Holmenkollen area of Oslo, where they lived when not travelling the world. Anne Stine was an archaeologist. The couple also began to go through saga texts and archaeological material from the northern regions, where they came across a hypothesis put forward by the Swedish philologist Sven Söderberg (1928 – 2004), that the prefix -vín in Vinland did not necessarily have to do with wine, but rather with the old Norse language vín in the sense of meadow, field, grassland, as in the old name for Bergen, Bjørgvin.
“Anne Stine and Helge Ingstad, they discovered the Viking’s America.” This is the inscription in Norwegian on the support for their busts at the entrance of L’Anse aux Meadows visitor centre. It was made by Inderøy sculptor Nils Aas, and given from Norway to Canada in 2001, after Helge Ingstad’s death.
Between 1961 and 1968, the Ingstads discovered settlement traces at L’Anse aux Meadows, that turned out to be Nordic from the Viking period. Folklorist Kayla thought that the reason why the Ingstads managed to discover them had to do with Helge’s personality. People did not view him as an aloof academic or professional, but an ordinary person local residents could relate to. He established rapport with the people he spoke to, before asking questions. This meant he received honest replies. His questions often had to do with humps and bumps in the local landscape that could conceal an archaeological site! When he asked local resident George Decker that question, he was shown L’Anse aux Meadows!
The outside of a reconstructed Viking longhouse at L’Anse aux Meadows. No, the Vikings did not use chimneys, but modern fire regulations require them. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.The inside of a reconstructed Viking Longhouse at L’Anse aux Meadows. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
L’Anse aux Meadows was not located in Vinland. That was further south, possibly in New Brunswick. L’Anse aux Meadows was a boat repair centre, sometimes referred to as a pit stop, used seasonally. After about one generation of use, valuable possessions were removed from the settlement, and what remained was deliberately destroyed.
“Anne Stine and Helge Ingstad, they discovered the Viking’s America.” This is the Norwegian inscription on the sculpture at the entrance of L’Anse aux Meadows visitor centre, made by Inderøy sculptor Nils Aas, who was raised in Straumen, 13 km from Cliff Cottage. The sculpture was given by the people of Norway to the people of Canada in 2001, mediated by the Norwegian king Harald, after Helge Ingstad’s death.
Sandra (1943 – ), one of the visitors, was having some difficulty walking, so I slowly walked with her through the site, while the young people walked quickly on, but had to wait for us to catch up. Little at the site is a thousand years old. Luben Boykov (1960 – ) and Richard Brixel (1943 – 2019) created each their half of The Meeting of Two Worlds, unveiled 2002-07-06. The sculpture symbolizes the suspected meeting of the Norse and the Indigenous peoples of North America
Sandra (1943 – ) with her back to the camera, and other, half hidden visitors, listening to the guide Kayla, at The Meeting of Two Worlds sculpture.
YAY
Of course we visit airports when given an opportunity. On the Great Northern Peninsula, YAY airport is located at St. Anthony. We visited it on our way to L’Anse aux Meadows. There are about eight scheduled flights a week: five involve YXB at Blanc-Sablon, Quebec; three YYT at St. John’s.
After entering the airport, we (as in Alasdair) were able to take a lot of photographs without having to disturb or be disturbed by passengers. The security guard was unperturbed by our presence.
The exterior of the YAY airport at St. Anthony, Newfoundland. Photo: Alasdair McLellanThe transit hall of YAY airport at St. Anthony. We were advised by a sign that the floor could be slippy. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
Meanwhile back at the Genevieve Bay Inn
I talked to Wilfred Doyle, who – with his wife Donna – owns the Genevieve Bay Inn where we stayed. Wilfred’s area of responsibility is maintenance, as well as Thirsty’s Lounge = the largest bar in Newfoundland, opened 2003-12-31. Donna seems to be in charge of everything else. At the inn, most rooms are fitted with two home-made double bunk beds, to accommodate eight. These are family rooms. Not everyone is expected to share a bed with someone. I complimented Wilfred on the use of Robertson screws in the beds he made. He admitted, he prefers to use Robertson, but will use Torx if there is nothing else.
Four Robertson screwdrivers, known for their sloping/ inclined square bits: black (#3), red (#2), green (#1) and yellow (#0), Orange (#00) and brown (#4) screwdrivers are also available, but are not in common use. Photo: Luigi Zanasi, 2005-10-16.
One of the guests had hit a Moose on the highway with his smallish Toyota. All the passengers (including his two younger children) had survived without injury. We talked about this, snow, studded snow tires and moose hunting.
I am not overly enthusiastic about Toyota cars, but was impressed with the condition of this one, after it had encountered a moose travelling at highway speeds in Newfoundland. In Newfoundland, license plates are only fitted to the rear of a vehicle.
Wilfred says that there is less snow now than previously, so he changes his “tires and rims” close to the end of November, then back again, some time in April. He is an active moose hunter. Which means he watches the moose from inside the Inn. When one is coming through, he gets his rifle, goes outside and shoots it. This is not hunting for sport, but food, possibly the difference between survival and starvation, a century before.
A selfie taken at the border between Quebec (to the left) and Labrador (to the right). Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
As a naturalized Norwegian, one acquires a number of skills that people of other nationalities can only dream about. In today’s weblog post, the focus is a detailed insight into ferry operations. Perhaps I should start by bragging about living 300 meters from a ferry terminal, although that ferry was replaced by a bridge on 1991-12-19.
This is mentioned because our visit to Red Bay in Labrador, required the use of a ferry across the Strait of Belle Isle. The route is between terminals at St. Barbe on Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula and Blanc-Sablon in Quebec. Theoretically, the crossing takes 1 hour 45 minutes, and covers 36 km. The first problem is that one has to meet up one hour ahead of the scheduled departure time, if one has a reservation. The second is that the ferry was not ready to leave at its scheduled departure time.
MV Qajaq W (the middle part is pronounced kayak) has been used on the route since 2019. It can carry 120 standard vehicles, including up to 8 tractor trailers, along with 300 passengers.
The MV Qajaq W
Qajaq was built in 2010, it has a length of 97.84 m, and has 5 233 gross tonnage. Working backwards from 5.6 MW of power, it is likely that it is equipped with 4 Wärtsilä BL20 engines, each providing 1 400 kW. It has an ice classification 1A, which is immediately below the best joint Finnish-Swedish ice-classification for merchant ships, 1A Super. Both bows are ice-strengthened. It was built in Norway at Fiskerstrand, outside of Ålesund, As MV Muhumaa, it sailed in the Baltic between Saaremaa island in Estonia and Ventspils in Latvia from 2011 to 2017.
This vessel replaced the 108.7 m long MV Apollo completed in 1970, that was unsuitable for the route, despite it being a Baltic ferry. The Apollo was equipped with accommodation for 1 500 people, that was never used. The Apollo had 2 x 3 400 kW MAN 9L32/36 diesel engines (altogether 6.8 MW), and 6 609 gross tonnage. At times, ice prevented it from landing at St. Barbe, and it would be redirected to Corner Brook, taking 12 hours for the crossing from Labrador. It was taken out of service in 2019, and scrapped in Turkey, in 2021.
Most Norwegian ferries simply drive into the dock (at low speed), and use their engines/ motors to keep their position as vehicles and passenger leave and enter. An even more advanced Auto-docking eliminating human input, has been a reality on some routes since 2018. Electric ferries have been used since 2015, and complete electrification is expected in 2025.
The interior of the MV Qajaq W, showing the middle lane of the lower car deck. Hélène’s Mazda 5 is immediately in front of ours. Photo: Alasdair McLellan
The ferry left about half-an hour late, mainly due to a design feature where, after service in the Baltic, the number of lanes of vehicles onboard the lower car deck was reduced from six to five, because north Americans prefer larger vehicles. With the middle lane being underused, because the crew spent precious loading minutes parking vehicles between support columns. We were shunted into this middle lane. Immediately ahead of us was a Mazda 5, identical to Alasdair’s. On my way to the passenger deck, I complemented the woman owner, Hélène, on her very attractive vehicle.
As for the ferry, my advice would be to just use four lanes, in an attempt to speed up loading, and in doing so, be able to make an extra trip each way, each day. I also note that some days there are an odd number of trips made, meaning that the ferry overnights on a different side of the strait.
After landing in Quebec, it did not take us many minutes to drive the 6 km to the Labrador border. We continued onwards to the tourist office, to make important enquiries, such as finding places to buy a Labrador flag.
The Labrador Flag as specified, and originally made in 1973-4.
The Labrador flag was the most popular flag in Newfoundland. Yes, much more popular than the Canadian or Newfoundland flags. It was created in 1973 by a small group of Labradorians led by Michael S. Martin (1938 – ), then representative for Labrador South in the provincial legislature, to celebrate the then upcoming 25th anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador’s entry into Canadian confederation, Many regard the creation of the Labrador flag as an act of political mischief/ vexation aimed at Premier Joey Smallwood (1909 – 1990) and his Liberal government’s perceived indifference to Labrador.
Patricia (Bryne) Martin sewed 64 flags, while her husband used a marker pen to add a spruce twig to each: 59 of the flags were given to Labrador communities, 3 to Labrador representatives in the provincial House of Representatives, One was for her husband, and another for herself.
The flag can be regarded as being 10:5 = 2:1 in proportions, with three fesses = wide horizontal bands, in flagspeak. From the top they are white, green (Pantone Green 356) and blue (Pantone Blue 306), in a proportion of 2:1:2. On the left of the white field is a stylized representation of a black spruce sprig, which is the most common tree, not just in Labrador but also in Newfoundland. Its is intended to remind viewers that Labrador is part of that province.
The flag’s colours are mirrored in the flag of Nunatsiavut = the Labrador Inuit Association. The black spruce twig was adopted for use on the Franco-Terreneuvien = French Newfoundlander flag.
Any six-year old, following a flag description, should be able to draw and colour any flag. If s/ he can’t, then the flag is too complex. We ended up buying both a Quebec and Labrador flag. Most Labrador flags (including ours) are fake/ bootleg. Michael Martin commented, “The problem stems from efforts by unscrupulous dealers and manufacturers to get around the copyright requirements by creating flags that have the wrong dimensions, wrong colours and wrong shape and size of the black spruce twig.” This is a common problem when attempting to buy flags! Justin Brake wrote about this situation ten year ago! The Labrador flag is now over 50 years old.
Red Bay
About 80 km north of Blanc-Sablon is the former whaling station at Red Bay. Starting in 1530 and lasting for almost 100 years, it was a major Basque whaling area. Several whaling ships, both large galleons and small chalupas, sank there. Their discovery led to the designation of Red Bay in 2013 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Data from the 2021 census shows that Red Bay had a population of 142 living in 65 of its 69 total private dwellings. That is down 16% from its 2016 population of 169. It’s land area is 2.31 km2.
A bus load of tourists, travelling on our ferry, arrived at about the same time as us. They managed to inundate the local museum, so Alasdair and I thought the best counter move was to visit the Whaler’s Restaurant. When I asked for a meal of whale meat, I was politely told that they were sold out. Both Alasdair and I ate their fish and chips.
Coffee with Fish and Chips, but not many vegetables
Return to Newfoundland
The Bella Desgagnés cargo-passenger ship arrived minutes before the Qajaq W at Blanc Sablon. Its voyage from Rimouski to Blanc Sablon and back to Rimouski takes a week. The first stop is at Sept-Îles on the north shore, then it stops at Anticosti Island, before stopping at other coastal villages. The return trip on Qajaq was considerably delayed according to its schedule. This gave us an opportunity to view the unloading of the Bella Desgagnés. Many unloaded vehicles were making their way to Newfoundland on the Qajaq.
Future Trips
I will probably not visit Labrador again, but Alasdair expressed an interest. The Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) is the primary public road in Labrador, with a length of 1 149 km. The original western/central portion of the TLH is designated as Route 500 and measures 543 km from the Quebec – Labrador boundary through Labrador City/Wabush, Churchill Falls, and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. From there, heading southeast is Route 510 = Labrador Coastal Drive, 606 km. Centres en route include Cartwright Junction, Port Hope Simpson, Mary’s Harbour, Lodge Bay and Red Bay.
The TLH runs through dense wilderness for most of its length. Route 500 connects with Quebec Route 389, which runs 567 km through wilderness north from the Quebec – Labrador boundary to Baie-Comeau, where it connects with Quebec Route 138. At one time Quebec promised that the route would follow the entire north shore of the St. Lawrence River eastwards to Blanc-Sablon. This has not happened. However, The western terminus is in Elgin, at the border with New York State south-west of Montreal. At the Trout River Border Crossing, it connects with New York State Route 30. Route 30 leads to Schenectady County, where some of my biological relatives settled about 1660.
Back to Happy Valley
If one wants to explore the coastal communities north of Happy Valley – Goose Bay, there is a ferry service that operates each summer in the ice-free season, from roughly June to November. The Kamutik W is often described as a sister ship to the Qajaq, although it is outfitted very differently. It began life as the Hiiumaa in 2011, and sailed in Estonia.
In its new life it has a weekly schedule. It departs Happy Valley-Goose Bay and visits each community on its voyage north. At Nain (most northerly community), it turns around and revisits each community on the return trip to Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Unloading vehicles from the Belle Desgagnés at Blanc-Sablon. Photo: Alasdair McLellanUnloading vehicles from the Qajaq W at Blanc-Sablon. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
Wikipedia tells us that demography is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition and how they change through the interplay of fertility, mortality and migration. In trying to learn more about the population of Newfoundland and Labrador I consulted Statistics Canada data, but allowed Wikipedia editors to summarize some findings to gain further insights. Since entering confederation in 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador have always been the 9th most populated Canadian province.
In terms of provinces, only Prince Edward Island is less populated, at about 177 000. On 2024-04-06, Statistics Canada’s population clock indicated that New Brunswick’s population had grown to 850 000. Nova Scotia has seen record population growth in recent years, with young people moving in from Ontario and other provinces. Nova Scotia is attempting to reach 2 000 000 by 2060, but faces challenges in health care, education and housing.
Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) reached their maximum population in about 1991, at somewhere around 568 500 people. Since then, it has declined, reaching about 510 500 people in 2021, the last census year. More than half live on the Avalon peninsula.
Labrador has an area of 294 330 km2 and a population in the last census (2021) of 26 655.
In terms of NL, one has to ask why its population has stagnated, if not declined? NL has been overly dependent on one resource, fish, and cod in particular. There are some exceptions. In Corner Brook and Grand Falls – Windsor, there is an emphasis on forestry and pulp and paper production.
In the following section, a comparison will be attempted between Trinity and Twillingate. Both are small villages, yet they are very different.
Trinity
This is not just a photograph of Trinity, Newfoundland. It is also a screenshot of a jigsaw puzzle I created on 2024-07-21, using 1 hour 44 minutes and 53 seconds to complete the puzzle.
If I have one piece of advice to travellers to Newfoundland, it is to avoid visiting the village of Trinity. The problem with Trinity, is that they have done everything right to make it into a model village. It is more Disneyland, than a thriving village.
The Rising Tide Theatre is one of many attractions in Trinity.
There are many attractions in the village, including the Rising Tide Theatre. However, there is little coordination, and almost no parking. We were able to park at the museum because it was closed for an hour long lunch in the middle of the day.
Twillingate
About 300 km north-west of Trinity, and about 112 km = 1.5 hours driving, north of Gander, is the town of Twillingate, with a population just over 2 000. It calls itself the Iceburg capital of the world. To arrive there, one travels across several islands connected by causeways, including New World Island, which commemorates the 1523–24 expedition of Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485–1528) to Newfoundland that established the coast to be part of the New World rather than Asia. Yes, that was over 500 years ago! Fogo is the one island in the area still requiring a ferry connection.
Our stay there was the most refreshing of the trip, we rented a cottage outside of the town. Across the street from our cottage, retired fisherman Jim Gillard has expanded his horizons, setting up a $16 000 telescope in the hand-built Twillingate Astronomical observatory, in his front yard.
Across the street from our cottage, Skipper Jim had opened the Twillingate Astronomical Observatory. It was a way to transform a hobby into a livelihood, and less competitive than turning a fishing boat into a whale watching vessel.
This is not the only attraction. A few hundred meters away, is the Top of Twillingate walk, which provided a refreshing view of the area. This is the one part of Newfoundland that I would want to visit again. We also visited the town, which is divided between two islands, South and North Twillingate. We also visited the Long Point lighthouse, located in the town (?) of Crow Head, also located on North Twillingate. The town’s current population is 156, and declining.
Low Mist Pond with the Top of Twillingate pathway around it.
Travelling to New France from St. John’s, Newfoundland involved a day of travel: one drives on the Trans Canada Highway across the Avalon peninsula to the Burin peninsula, then turns left at Goobies onto Highway 210. One keeps driving on it, until one reaches Marystown. A right turn onto Highway 220, leads to the port of Fortune, which is where the SPM ferries dock in Canada. From there those with vehicles reverse onto the ferry, so they can drive forward when they arrive in Saint-Pierre. Altogether, this involves 363 km and almost 4 hours of driving. The ferry from Fortune to Saint-Pierre is about 45 km, and takes another 1.5 hours.
If one is fortunate in Marystown, one meets the Little Green Devil, a 1965 Rambler American 2-door sedan. This model, and many others in the Rambler lineup, was designed by Dick Teague (1923 – 1991). From my perspective, it is Teague’s most successful design. These vehicles are known for their smooth ride, despite their compact size. WhiIe I would not criticize anyone’s vehicle preferences (with the possible exception of motorcycles), i prefer utility vehicles ( vans and station wagons). Vehicle solidity is my focus. Thus, I prefer vehicle construction incorporating a frame around every door, in contrast to flimsier hardtop models. Despite having a driving license since Tuesday, 1965-01-05, I have owned only four vehicles, including one jointly with my wife, Trish.
At Fortune, we were able to eat a chicken dinner at Mary Brown’s. This was our first experience of this fast food chain. Originally it was named Golden Skillet, the first location was at St. John’s Avalon Mall. However, the owners were forced to rename the establishment for legal reasons. Currently, there are over 300 locations across Canada.
After that meal we picked up our ferry tickets, then went next door to arrange to park our rental car for two days on the outskirts of town. We were driven back to the ferry terminal. The 1.5 hour ferry ride was uneventful. There was little to see apart from waves on the ocean, despite having window seats.
St. Pierre
The Overseas Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon = Collectivité d’outre-mer de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (referred to hereafter as SPM) has a population of about 6 000, and occupies an area of 242 km2 on eight islands. It is located about 19 km west of Point May on the Burin peninsula.
Two almost identical ferries provide for much of the transportation needs of the archipelago. These are the blue hulled Nordet and the red hulled Suroît. The vessels are 56.7 m long, with a 768 UMS tonnage. Both entered service in 2019. They are named after a northerly, and southerly wind, respectively.
Compared to the casual, and often inappropriate dress of deck crew on Norwegian ferries, the deck crew of these French ferries were dressed for any emergency. They were equipped with helmets, hi-vis vests, life preservers, gloves and safety shoes.
After landing in St. Pierre, we passed through French immigration and were able to enter France. We walked through the town, until we found our bed and breakfast, where we had rented two rooms. This was followed by yet more walking around the town. The gradient was intermediate to my two reference points. It was steeper than most places in Inderøy, Norway, but not as steep as the worst hills in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
St. Pierre, the island and village is named for St. Peter, the patron saint of fishers, net makers and ship builders. He was born Simon, possibly Simeon. Both he and his brother Andrew were themselves fishers, later, they became two of the twelve apostles. Details of Peter’s life are vague, although he was the Bishop of Rome = Pope, from 30 AD to his death 64 – 68 AD, crucified by Nero (37 – 68).
While Saint-Pierre is far too urban for my tastes, with a population over 5 000, and an area of 26 km2, Grande Miquelon is appropriately populated (ca. 700 people) and sized (110 km2). If I lived there, I am sure that I would want to spend much of my time in the wilderness of Langlade.
Air Travel
One of the main reasons for wanting to visit SPM was to experience flights with Air Saint-Pierre. We were going to fly both ways on inter-island flights between Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
On Monday, 2025-07-23, we left our bed and breakfast at 07:30 and walked to Aéroport de Saint-Pierre = Saint-Pierre Airport (FSP), a regional airport located south of Saint-Pierre. It opened in 1999 and consists of four buildings excluding the control tower. It replaces an older airport that opened in 1965. The new 08/26 runway is 1 800 m long, while the old 11/29 runway was 1 250 m, not long enough for most commercial aircraft.
The passenger terminal at 2 200 m2, is large given the traffic.
We boarded our aircraft at about 08:30, without any form of security check. It took about 10 minutes to get the aircraft in condition to fly. After about 15 minutes in the air, we were landing at Aéroport de Miquelon = Miquelon Airport (MQC), the regional airport on Miquelon Island. The 12/30 runway is only 1 000 m long, suitable for the Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II machine, but nothing much larger.
Our return flight was delayed, because the number of passengers exceeded the number of seats available. Thus, we had to wait until the plane flew to Saint-Pierre, then returned to pick us up. Alasdair was happy that he was issued seat 1A for both flights. I was assigned 1B for both flights.
Flying close to the village of Miquelon, on a landing approach. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
Here I am emerging as the last passenger out of our aircraft, a Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II of unknown vintage. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
The Suroît off Miquelon.
I have experience with ferries, of various types, especially from six years with weekly commutes in Norway between Molde and Inderøy, usually involving four ferries each week. I appreciate their efficiency, especially in docking, unloading and loading vehicles. However, I note the lack of crew safety equipment.
Here, the deck crew of Suroît are dressed for any emergency. They are equipped with helmets, hi-vis vests, life preservers, gloves and safety shoes. Later, I talked with Fréderique Ragot, about her work.
Visiting remote airports and train stations is one of the perks of being the parent of someone who studied transportation economics, then took a B.Com. with a marketing specialization, before turning to history, ending with a M.A. and a thesis about the development of a now-defunct Norwegian airline.
Regional Influences
While the official flag of SPM is the French flag, an unofficial SMP flag is also used. Because of my interest in flags, often collecting them from places I visit, I wanted to buy a SPM flag. This proved impossible. Much of the flag contains elements found on the SPM coat of arms. Along the hoist, from bottom to top, are the flags of Normandy, Brittany and, in the uppermost position, the Basque Ikurriña, officially described as a white cross over a green saltire on a red field. Basque nationalists Luis Arano (1862 – 1951) and his brother Sabino (1865 – 1903) developed the Basque flag. Its neologistic name comes from ikur ‘mark, sign’ (itself a neologism extracted from irakurri ‘to read’). These are the places that contributed most of the population of SMP.
The yellow ship on the flag represents the Grande Hermine, the carrack which brought Jacques Cartier (1491 – 1557) to Saint Pierre on 1535-06-15.
World War II
Yet, another reason for this trip to this part of the world, was to understand the situation my parents encountered when they were stationed with the Royal Canadian Air Force, in Newfoundland, for a large part of World War II. Newfoundland was not yet part of Canada, but British territory. SPM was (and still is) part of France. Decisions often involved four countries, with a theoretically neutral USA wanting to make decisions.
The Third French Republic had begun World War II in 1939-09-03 on the side of the Allies. On 1940-05-10 it was invaded by Nazi Germany. Paul Reynaud (1878 – 1966) resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Philippe Pétain (1856 – 1951). On 1940-06-22, Pétain signed an Armistice that created Vichy France that, on paper, existed from 1940-07-10 to 1944-08-09. Vichy was the seat of government, about 400 km south of Paris.
The Vichy government was authoritarian, antisemitic and, somewhat later, anti-Soviet. Yet, it never joined the Axis powers and was formally at war with Germany. In practice, it was collaborationist. SPM authorities had sworn their allegiance to the Vichy French government.
There were concerns in Newfoundland (NL), Britain and Canada, that the Axis powers might use SPM as a base of operations, offering German submariners an excellent position to re-supply and coordinate attacks upon Allied convoys. Wireless communication and transatlantic cables allowed the islands’ authorities the opportunity to transmit vital information to Vichy France and onwards to German submarine crews about weather conditions, the movements of Allied warships and convoys. There was also concern that local fishery products could be sent to Germany through mainland France.
NL wanted a pre-emptive invasion of SPM. Canada was against this for fear of offending USA. As the Battle of the Atlantic reached Canadian waters in 1941, The Canada–United States Permanent Joint Board on Defence had unanimously agreed that the existence of an uncontrolled and high-powered wireless transmitting station on SPM constituted a threat to the interests of Canada and USA. Yet, USA opposed the use of force to take control of SPM.
Charles de Gaulle (1890 – 1970), Chairman of the (Free) French National Committee 1940-06-18 to 1944-06-03 asked Admiral Émile Muselier (1882 – 1965) to investigate the possibility of invading the islands, then ordered their capture.
On 1941-12-23, a French flotilla, the submarine Surcouf and three corvettes, Mimosa, Aconit and Alysse, sailed from Halifax under the pretense of a training mission. It arrived off Saint-Pierre and disembarked 230 armed sailors. They met no resistance and captured the island in only 20 minutes. Some sources state that Miquelon was captured the same day, others the following day. The Free French authorities organized a plebiscite on 1941-12-25, but only males over 18 years were given a choice of “rallying to Free France or collaborating with Axis powers”. Almost 98 per cent voted in favour of Free French administration.
I find it noteworthy that the French named their largest submarine after a slave trader and privateer, Robert Surcouf (1773 – 1827).
The US Secretary of State, Cordell Hull (1891 – 1955), called the capture of SPM a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. He wanted to prohibit French citizens exercising their democratic rights. He wanted SPM to restore its Vichy government. The Monroe Doctrine, first articulated 1823-12-02, is a United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. Any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers is a potential hostile act against the USA.
Despite Hull’s protests, this incident was soon forgotten. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941-12-07, and the declaration of war on the USA, by both Japan and Germany, meant that Vichy France had become an enemy.
In the 1930s, many Americans were isolationists, not wanting to involve themselves in wars. Others were sympathetic to the Nazi cause. The situation has not dramatically changed in recent years, with Donald Trump wanting the USA to imitate its past, and for it somehow to become great, again. It is instructive to look at the demographics of the Capitol insurrectionists in Washington D.C. on 2020-01-06. They were predominantly white, male, aged 30+, trained and working as professionals. They were not the downtrodden.
Greatness is not measured by the number of billionaires. I am a limitarian, a believer in putting strict limits on personal wealth, with a maximum vastly below a billion $/ €/ £. One percent of that amount should be sufficient for everyone.
Mountains
Many mountains in the Canadian Rocky mountains were named for French generals prominent in World War I in 1919. Mount Pétain was one of these, located on the border of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia on the Continental Divide. Geoffrey Taylor (1952 – 2020), a former University of Calgary professor of infectious diseases, campaigned from 2016 to his death, to remove the name of the Nazi collaborator from the mountain. In 2019, Alberta rescinded Pétain’s name from the Alberta side of the border. In 2022, British Columbia also rescinded the name, leaving the mountain and other features previously associated with Pétain, nameless.
Time
Clocks are an important technology for the world. I appreciate Sandford Fleming’s (1827 – 1915) promotion of 24 worldwide standard time zones, a prime meridian, and use of the 24-hour clock. He saw these as necessary elements for communicating time accurately. I am also glad that there is an International Telecommunications Union (ITU), that has created a world time standard, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). A weblog post on the ITU is scheduled for its 160th anniversary, 2025-05-17. Here many other aspects of time will be discussed.
In this post, I would like to restrict myself to expressing a minor, but unnecessary, irritation with Newfoundland. At the same time, I would like to thank SPM for not following in its wayward footsteps. This irritation can be expressed as Newfoundland and Labrador, having a time that offsets those of a time zone, by 30 minutes.
This post is being published on Ukrainian independence day = День Неза лежності України, 2024-08-24, in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence in 1991.
In mythology, Avalon is an island, dominated by Arthur’s sister, the sorceress Morgan. It is also the location where Arthur’s sword Excalibur was made, and where Arthur recovers from injuries suffered at the Battle of Camlann. This weblog post has nothing to do with mythology, but the Newfoundland peninsula of the same name, visited by Alasdair and myself starting 2024-07-19. In particular, this looks at three features: the Newfoundland Coastal & Railway Museum, Signal Hill and Cape Spear. Heart’s Content, where the first transatlantic cable between Europe and north America landed, is also situated on this same peninsula, but it will be discussed in a subsequent post, Newfoundland, currently scheduled for 2024-10-05.
Prologue
After walking from the Travelodge to the north terminal at Gatwick, England, in half the time it took to walk there, we were soon boarding our Westjet 737 flight to Newfoundland. This was the fastest flight I have ever taken to North America from Europe, at about 4h 30m. That is, if north America excludes the western/ north American section of Iceland containing KEF = Keflavík airport, and consider all of Iceland as being in Europe.
I have a fascination with some islands and archipelagos. In Canada, I have lived and worked on Vancouver Island, which is where my father was born. I have visited Cape Breton Island, where my McLellan ancestors arrived in the Margaree Valley, over 200 years ago, from South Uist, an island in the Hebrides. Queensborough, part of New Westminster, but not the part where I grew up, is located on Lulu Island. It is, however, the location of the machine works run by my wife Trish’s maternal grandfather.
It took me until this year, at the age of 75, to visit Newfoundland, which has been waiting as a Canadian island to cross off from a bucket list. I have a relationship to it, as both of my parents – Jennie and Mac – served there in the Royal Canadian Air Force, during the second world war. They were married in St. John’s in 1942. Earlier, Trish’s father worked on freighters taking paper from Corner Brook to other places in the world.
On the Westjet 737, I was seated in a middle seat, towards the rear of the aircraft, between Alasdair and Buckers. I had not met Buckers before, but learned she was English, and would be continuing her journey on to Jasper, on another Westjet aircraft, in a matter of hours after her arrival at St. John’s.
Later, we would learn that Jasper had been devastated by wildfires. We also experienced our share of live disinformation, when we were incorrectly told by other tourists that 84 people had died in the fires, and that the arsonist responsible for starting the fires had been arrested. I find it distressing that people can’t be bothered to check facts. My current understanding is that there were two fires, one to the north, another to the south, that met near Jasper. The fires resulted in one death, firefighter Morgan Kitchen (2000-07-23 – 2024-08-03) who died as the result of a falling tree. This occurred after we returned to Norway. At the time of writing, 390 square kilometers were said to have burned, along with 358 structures. No official cause of the fires had been released, and it was under investigation.
When we landed at YYT, St. John’s International Airport, our first task was to acquire our rental vehicle which turned out to be a Ford Explorer, with a 4-cylinder 2.3 litre engine. We were not especially impressed with the vehicle, in part because it consumed large quantities of fuel, and did not respond well with its adaptive speed control. On a more positive note, Newfoundland’s infrastructure for electric vehicles was not built out, so I should be thankful that we opted for an ICE vehicle.
Alasdair, drinking his first mug of rootbeer on this trip, 2024-07-19.
We then needed to eat a meal, which occurred at a local A & W, immortalized in the photo above. Rootbeer is the only beverage I miss from Canada, after 44 years of living in Norway. I drink it to excess when in north America, knowing that it could be several years before I experience it again.
After dinner, we found our accommodation: two rooms with kitchenettes, at Crossroads. This housing complex seemed to have been designed for weekly commuters, coming from the outports, but working in the St. John’s metropolis.
Railway & Coastal Museum
The Railway & Coastal Museum in St. John’s, Newfoundland, visited on 2024-07-20.
On 2024-07-20, we drove into downtown St. John’s. Our first stop of the day was at the Newfoundland Railway &Coastal Museum, the former railway station. There haven’t run trains on Newfoundland since 1988. The railway was augmented with ships, which is why the term coastal is applied to the museum.
The Newfoundland Railway was a narrow-gauge railway that operated in Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. It had a total track length of 1 458 km. It used 3′ 6″ gauge = 1 067 mm.
Prior to leaving Norway, Alasdair had purchased, and I had read Les Harding’s (? – )book: The Newfoundland Railway, 1898-1969: A History (2014). It provided a good overview of the topic. The museum exhibits kept reinforcing the content in the book. I was less impressed with the rolling stock on display.
Prior to leaving the museum, Alasdair had purchased three additional books about rail transport in Newfoundland, all written by Kenneth G. Pieroway (? -): Rails Around the Rock (2014), Streetcars of St. John’s (2019) and Trains of Newfoundland (2022). We do not have his first book: Rails Across the Rock (2013).
The challenge with rail transport in Newfoundland is that most of the economic development is at points along the coast. This favours ships rather than rail cars. There is also a need for a highway network allowing for the shipment/ distribution of goods, as well as the transport of people. Much of this need for transport is provided by the Trans Canada Highway (T.C.H.), and other highways. In comparison to Norway, travel time is 50% faster in Newfoundland (typically 90 km/h vs 60 km/h). The highways are also wider and straighter.
The low population of Newfoundland means that there is no advantage gained by having two forms of land transport, road and rail. Thus, visiting the railway related exhibits at the Newfoundland Railway and Coastal Museum is a look backwards in time. There is no future on the island for rail!
The inglorious Eastern terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. Photo: Alasdair McLellan
Signal Hill
St. John’s, as seen from Signal Hill. Photo: Alasdair McLellan.
On 1901-12-12, at Signal Hill, in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Guglielmo Marconi (1874 – 1937), listening through his telephone headset, heard a series of three dots, Morse code for S. He had received the first transatlantic communication, from a radio transmitter in Poldhu, Cornwall, England, about 3 500 km away.
This incident illustrates a major challenge. It is easy to propagate and send radio signals. It is more difficult to receive them, and that challenge increases with distance. Marconi was especially drawn to the work of Heinrich Hertz (1857 – 1894), on the transmission of electromagnetic waves through the air.
Marconi started experimentation with wireless telegraphy in 1894. He realized that although messages could be transmitted over long distances through wires, there was great potential in sending messages wirelessly, especially to ships. He discovered that signal range could be increased by grounding the transmitter and increasing the height of the antenna. While born in Italy, he had an Irish mother. Both of his parents had British citizenship. Thus, it was natural for him to move to England in the late 1890s, in part because the Italian government failed to support his work, probably because he lacked a university education.
In 1896 he patented his first wireless telegraphy machine. In 1897 he founded the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company to manufacture these devices, which were radio sets capable of transmitting and receiving messages in Morse Code. The Royal Navy quickly saw the potential of this technology, and in 1899 equipped three of their warships with these radio sets. Commercial shipping companies quickly followed the Navy’s lead.
A common misconception about radio anno 1900, was that radio waves would travel in a straight line, limiting their distance from the point of origin to the horizon. Marconi believed that radio waves would follow the curvature of the earth. This meant that messages could travel much greater distances. The main focus at the time was on being able to communicate with ships at sea. Even though Marconi believed this to be possible he still had to prove it. His idea was to send a message across the Atlantic, where there could be no doubt that the waves were bending with the curvature of the earth.
The Royal Navy’s decision to try Marconi’s wireless radio systems was based on the success of his 1899 experiment where he transmitted a message across the English Channel to France. It was still unknown how far a wireless signal could be sent.
For a transatlantic transmission, a receiver was set up at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. However, a storm damaged the antenna at Poldhu forcing Marconi to replace it with a shorter one. Because of his doubts about the capability of this shorter antenna, Marconi changed the receiver location to Signal Hill, Newfoundland. A signal was to be sent each day at an appointed time from the transmitter in Poldhu. Simultaneously, Marconi would try to receive the message. The antenna had to be lifted into the air by balloons and kites. High winds resulted in several failed attempts, until they didn’t, and a message was successfully received.
Marconi correctly believed that radio waves followed the earth’s curvature, but misunderstood the mechanism. Waves travel along the ground and through the air. It was not the waves that traveled along the ground that allowed the message to be received but the waves that traveled through the air bouncing off the ionosphere.
With this success Marconi’s company flourished. Newfoundland wanted Marconi to set up a wireless station on the island, at Cape Spear. This did not happen due to a preexisting monopoly agreement between the government and the Anglo-American Telegraph Company where Anglo-American received a fifty-year monopoly on telegraphic communications on the Island in exchange for running a cable from St. John’s to Newfoundland’s west coast and across the Cabot Strait connecting Newfoundland to the rest of North America. This agreement did not expire until 1904, and the company threatened to sue Marconi if he tried to establish a wireless station on the island before that time. To avoid this Marconi decided to construct his station at Glace Bay, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
Marconi build a telegraph station at Cape Race, Newfoundland in 1904, after the Anglo-American Telegraph Company’s monopoly expired. On 1912-04-14, this station received the distress signal from RMS Titanic.
Marconi made a couple of more trips to Newfoundland to conduct experiments to improve wireless telegraphy and telephony (the transmitting of the human voice) until his death in 1937. Additional insights can be obtained by looking at the Newfoundland Heritage webside, including works by Jeff Webb (2001), and Jenny Higgins (2008). Books on the subject include: Arthur C. Clarke ( 1958) Voice Across the Sea (first edition 1958, second edition 1974); K. W. Hoffman, History of Telecommunications in Newfoundland (1978); Michael McCarthy, Frank Galgay and Jack O’Keefe The Voice of Generations: A History of Communications in Newfoundland (1994).
St John’s Harbour Symphony
While at Signal Hill, we had an opportunity to hear the St. John’s Harbour Symphony, part of the bi-annual Sound Symposium festival with a distinctive sound, now celebrating its 40th anniversary. This is performed daily, for five minutes, one week a year, at 12:30 each day. Volunteers board ships in port and make music using ship’s horns.
Pieces performed are composed using a unique system. Monotone horn blasts are marked as dots in a grid, with each box representing one second. The claim is that this allows music to be accessible for non-musicians. Activities are divided between volunteers. Some will count seconds while an assigned partner operates a horn. Happenstance is part of the Harbour Symphony experience: Sometimes a ship doesn’t show up as planned; sometimes, a horn doesn’t work. Uncontrollable variables result in improvisation.
While I initially found it irritating, I missed it when it was over, five minutes later. Regardless, there is no escaping the Harbour Symphony in downtown St. John’s, or at Signal Hill. Ships are an integral part of St. John’s environment. They have been sailing there for 500 years. Until the cod crisis, they were integral to Newfoundland life, with a mix of the controlled and the chaotic .
Cape Spear
Documentation of our visit to the most easterly point in Canada. Taken by an unknown fellow tourist.
Yes, we had to visit Cape Spear with its eatery, lighthouse, signs, WWII fortress and significance as the most easterly point in Canada, at least since 1949-03-31: 52°37′11″West. At my birth, Labrador and Newfoundland were not part of Canada. At that time, the most easterly point in Canada was at the Quebec-Labrador border, near Blanc-Sablon, longitude: 57°06’30” West. We visited both places on this trip. Americans can also gain bragging rights at Cape Spear, as it is in contention as the most easterly place in north America. In the contiguous United States, the farthest east anyone can travel is Sail Rock, Lubec, Maine: 66°56′49.3″W. Even further east is Point Udall, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands at 64°33′54″W. Both these places ignore Alaska, and Amatignak Island at 179°8′55″W.
Cape Race
We never visited Cape Race, and the Myrick Wireless Interpretation Centre. It claims to enlighten visitors about the earliest days of wireless communication and telegraphy in Newfoundland. It is named for the Myrick family who lived and worked at Cape Race from 1874 to 2007. Cape Race involves a 155 km/ 2h20m trip from St. John’s, in each direction.
The problem we encountered with Cape Race, was its failure to provide essential information, such as opening times, and a description of the interpretation centre experience. One does not travel long distances anno 2024, in the hope that a venue will be open when one arrives. Similarly, without a description of activities, it is impossible to know if a museum will succeed or fail to tell an interesting story. The last thing anyone wants is a well laid out collection of facts. Listening to some reconstructed version of a mayday signal from RMS Titanic, is not my idea of a well-spent afternoon.
The Myrick Wireless Interpretation Centre
Note : Stop researching for a while and begin to think! Advice from /. = slashdot.org as I started working on this series of posts: I have tried to follow that advice.
