Battle Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador
Encyclopedia
Battle Harbour is a 19th century summer fishing station, formerly a permanent settlement, located on the Labrador
coast in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador
, Canada. Battle Harbour was for two centuries the economic and social centre of the southeastern Labrador coast. Mercantile saltfish premises first established there in the 1770s developed into a thriving community that was known as the Capital of Labrador. After six years of research and painstaking architectural restoration, the efforts of the Battle Harbour Historic Trust have breathed new life into this place. Battle Harbour has been restored to its former glory and a living commemoration to the life and society created there by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
word batal, boat as depicted on Portuguese maps c. 1560. Battle Harbour is also known as Ca-tuc-to by the Inuit
who had inhabited this part of Labrador.
The waterfront was the setting of much bustle and activity. It was used for the landing of marine resources harvested by local fishers, the processing of cod
, salmon
, seals
and herring
, the production of barrels, the packaging of fish products, the mending of nets and everywhere, saltfish, saltfish and more saltfish! The flake
or fish drying platform at Battle Harbour was the biggest such structure in all of Labrador. The Salt Store, the area's main warehouse for the salt used in the processing of several species, could hold up to 1,500 tons. The reconstructed waterfront buildings are reminiscent of an era now past but retain the history of years gone by and they also house an impressive collection of fisheries-related artifacts. Battle Harbour is now the site of the national commemoration of the historic Labrador fishery and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as a historic district
. The ocean vistas and craggy rock outcrops are a dramatic backdrop for the small wooden Church and houses that dot the landscape. Battle Harbour's hub is the wharf and the waterfront premises; rustic, wooden and shingle-clad buildings erected by English and Newfoundland-based merchants in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
, England in the early 1770s. Lying just north of the old French Shore, Battle Harbour served as the gateway for Newfoundlanders seeking to fish in the resource rich waters of Labrador. The local population increased rapidly after 1820 when Newfoundland fishing schooner
s adopted Battle Harbour as their primary port of call and made it the recognized capital of the Labrador floater fishery. Battle Harbour remained in the hands of Slade and Co. until 1871, and during this time became a settled community, dominated by the fish merchants, but with its own evolving institutions, especially schools and churches. In 1871 the Slades sold Battle Harbour to Baine, Johnston and Company Ltd. who operated the site in much the same manner until 1955. The activity of these two firms at Battle Harbour serve as an accurate microcosm of the history of Newfoundland and Labrador's fishery over almost two centuries. In 1955 Baine, Johnston and Company Ltd. sold the premises to The Earle Freighting Service Ltd. who continued the site's operation until the decline in the inshore fishery at the start of the 1990s. At that time the site was donated to the Battle Harbour Historic Trust. The community's permanent residents had been relocated under a government-sponsored resettlement program from 1965 to 1970, although a number of families still used the site as a seasonal home.
According to legend, Montagnais Indians, aided by the French, fought their final battle against the Inuit
(c. 1760) at Battle Harbour. A burial mound is supposed to mark the site and some attribute its name from this historic event.
The exact time by which Battle Harbour became a European settlement is unknown, but it is believed that the French did not fish north of Cape Charles before 1718. Captain George Cartwright
first visited Battle Harbour in May and June of 1775, and recorded in his journal that a privateer
had sacked Twillingate
and came to Battle Harbour on this coast and had taken a sloop of Mr. Slade's with about twenty-two tuns of seals' oil on board and destroyed his goods there. Later, in 1785, Cartwright had his provisions brought from Battle Harbour to Slink Point aboard a shallop belonging to the firm of Noble and Pinsent whose firm is believed to have had extensive fishery operations on the Labrador coast with base of operations at Chateau
.
After Dr Wilfred Grenfell's visit to Battle Harbour in 1892 he had decided that it was in need of a hospital due it been considered the center for large fishery operations carried out there. In 1893 the hospital, one of the first in Labrador, opened for year-round service with a qualified doctor and nurse on staff. In 1896 a new wing was added from the remains of two wrecked vessels.
In the fall of 1930 Battle Harbour was destroyed by fire so devastating that, Grenfell stated, even the Marconi Pole on the top of the hill was burned. The new school and the hospital were rebuilt at Mary's Harbour.
describes Battle Harbour as probably the oldest, as well as the largest settlement on the Labrador coast. The men who came and stayed there were generally from the Island of Newfoundland that used to bring with them servants from Dorset
. Some of the first permanent residents were fishermen, carpenters and coopers
from Poole
, Dorset, Fogo Island and New World Island
. As the community grew, there became an increasing need for supplies and merchants took full advantage of that where in some cases local residents paid as much as 100% beyond the regular cash price for goods. The exclusive monopoly was not challenged until 1918, when Battle Harbour's first co-operative was set up, through the initiative of Dr. Wilfred Grenfell
.
In 1905 the first Newfoundland government lighthouse in Labrador, called Double Island Light, was set up at Battle Harbour, and in 1921 there was telegraph service installed.
After the devastating fire of 1930 and the drastic decline of the fishery in 1950 and the prospect of employment elsewhere led to the resettlement of Battle Harbour in Mary's Harbour, Happy Valley
and Epworth under the Fisheries Household Resettlement Programme of 1966.
Since 1966 Battle Harbour has been a summer fishing station and in 1980 it was the site of a year-round government weather station.
originated their successful First Level Health Care Programme at Battle Harbour. This programme, based on teaching self-help health care and life-saving techniques to the people of isolated communities, received international recognition during its brief tenure, and was used as a model programme in over thirty countries in Africa, the Caribbean
, the South Pacific and the Middle East.
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
coast in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, Canada. Battle Harbour was for two centuries the economic and social centre of the southeastern Labrador coast. Mercantile saltfish premises first established there in the 1770s developed into a thriving community that was known as the Capital of Labrador. After six years of research and painstaking architectural restoration, the efforts of the Battle Harbour Historic Trust have breathed new life into this place. Battle Harbour has been restored to its former glory and a living commemoration to the life and society created there by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
Geography
Battle Harbour is located on an island between Battle Island and Great Caribou Island. It is thought that "Battle Harbour" is derived from the PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
word batal, boat as depicted on Portuguese maps c. 1560. Battle Harbour is also known as Ca-tuc-to by the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
who had inhabited this part of Labrador.
The waterfront was the setting of much bustle and activity. It was used for the landing of marine resources harvested by local fishers, the processing of cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
, salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
, seals
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
and herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
, the production of barrels, the packaging of fish products, the mending of nets and everywhere, saltfish, saltfish and more saltfish! The flake
Fish flake
A fish flake is a platform built on poles and spread with boughs for drying cod-fish on the foreshore of fishing villages and small towns in rural Newfoundland, Canada. Spelling variations for fish flake in Newfoundland include flek, fleyke, fleake, flaik and fleack...
or fish drying platform at Battle Harbour was the biggest such structure in all of Labrador. The Salt Store, the area's main warehouse for the salt used in the processing of several species, could hold up to 1,500 tons. The reconstructed waterfront buildings are reminiscent of an era now past but retain the history of years gone by and they also house an impressive collection of fisheries-related artifacts. Battle Harbour is now the site of the national commemoration of the historic Labrador fishery and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
. The ocean vistas and craggy rock outcrops are a dramatic backdrop for the small wooden Church and houses that dot the landscape. Battle Harbour's hub is the wharf and the waterfront premises; rustic, wooden and shingle-clad buildings erected by English and Newfoundland-based merchants in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
History
The mercantile saltfish premises at Battle Harbour were established by the firm of John Slade and Company of PoolePoole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, England in the early 1770s. Lying just north of the old French Shore, Battle Harbour served as the gateway for Newfoundlanders seeking to fish in the resource rich waters of Labrador. The local population increased rapidly after 1820 when Newfoundland fishing schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
s adopted Battle Harbour as their primary port of call and made it the recognized capital of the Labrador floater fishery. Battle Harbour remained in the hands of Slade and Co. until 1871, and during this time became a settled community, dominated by the fish merchants, but with its own evolving institutions, especially schools and churches. In 1871 the Slades sold Battle Harbour to Baine, Johnston and Company Ltd. who operated the site in much the same manner until 1955. The activity of these two firms at Battle Harbour serve as an accurate microcosm of the history of Newfoundland and Labrador's fishery over almost two centuries. In 1955 Baine, Johnston and Company Ltd. sold the premises to The Earle Freighting Service Ltd. who continued the site's operation until the decline in the inshore fishery at the start of the 1990s. At that time the site was donated to the Battle Harbour Historic Trust. The community's permanent residents had been relocated under a government-sponsored resettlement program from 1965 to 1970, although a number of families still used the site as a seasonal home.
According to legend, Montagnais Indians, aided by the French, fought their final battle against the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
(c. 1760) at Battle Harbour. A burial mound is supposed to mark the site and some attribute its name from this historic event.
The exact time by which Battle Harbour became a European settlement is unknown, but it is believed that the French did not fish north of Cape Charles before 1718. Captain George Cartwright
George Cartwright (trader)
George Cartwright , trader, explorer, born in Marnham, England, died unmarried in nearby Mansfield, England....
first visited Battle Harbour in May and June of 1775, and recorded in his journal that a privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
had sacked Twillingate
Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador
Twillingate is a town of 2,448 people located on the Twillingate Islands in Notre Dame Bay. It is located off the northeastern shore of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was incorporated on September 30, 1965. The town is about north of Lewisporte and...
and came to Battle Harbour on this coast and had taken a sloop of Mr. Slade's with about twenty-two tuns of seals' oil on board and destroyed his goods there. Later, in 1785, Cartwright had his provisions brought from Battle Harbour to Slink Point aboard a shallop belonging to the firm of Noble and Pinsent whose firm is believed to have had extensive fishery operations on the Labrador coast with base of operations at Chateau
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
.
After Dr Wilfred Grenfell's visit to Battle Harbour in 1892 he had decided that it was in need of a hospital due it been considered the center for large fishery operations carried out there. In 1893 the hospital, one of the first in Labrador, opened for year-round service with a qualified doctor and nurse on staff. In 1896 a new wing was added from the remains of two wrecked vessels.
In the fall of 1930 Battle Harbour was destroyed by fire so devastating that, Grenfell stated, even the Marconi Pole on the top of the hill was burned. The new school and the hospital were rebuilt at Mary's Harbour.
Economy
In 1851 Bishop Edward FieldEdward Field
-Biography:Field was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York, where he played cello in the Field Family Trio, which had a weekly radio program on WGBB Freeport...
describes Battle Harbour as probably the oldest, as well as the largest settlement on the Labrador coast. The men who came and stayed there were generally from the Island of Newfoundland that used to bring with them servants from Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. Some of the first permanent residents were fishermen, carpenters and coopers
Coopers
Coopers may refer to:* Coopers, California, former name of Cooper, Monterey County, California* Coopers' Company and Coborn School in Upminster, UK* plural of cooper...
from Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, Dorset, Fogo Island and New World Island
New World Island
New World Island is an island in Notre Dame Bay, just off the coast of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.The island is connected to Newfoundland by a causeway. The prominent communities on the island are Summerford, Virgin Arm, Hillgrade, Newville, Cobb's Arm and...
. As the community grew, there became an increasing need for supplies and merchants took full advantage of that where in some cases local residents paid as much as 100% beyond the regular cash price for goods. The exclusive monopoly was not challenged until 1918, when Battle Harbour's first co-operative was set up, through the initiative of Dr. Wilfred Grenfell
Wilfred Grenfell
Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, KCMG was a medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador.He was born at Parkgate, Wirral, England, the son of Algernon Grenfell, headmaster of Mostyn House School, and Jane Georgiana Hutchison and married Anne Elizabeth Caldwell MacClanahan of Chicago, Illinois, in...
.
In 1905 the first Newfoundland government lighthouse in Labrador, called Double Island Light, was set up at Battle Harbour, and in 1921 there was telegraph service installed.
After the devastating fire of 1930 and the drastic decline of the fishery in 1950 and the prospect of employment elsewhere led to the resettlement of Battle Harbour in Mary's Harbour, Happy Valley
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador
Happy Valley – Goose Bay is a Canadian town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.Located in the central part of Labrador, the town is the largest population centre in that region. Incorporated in 1973, the town composes the former town of Happy Valley and the Local Improvement District of...
and Epworth under the Fisheries Household Resettlement Programme of 1966.
Since 1966 Battle Harbour has been a summer fishing station and in 1980 it was the site of a year-round government weather station.
Culture
In 1975 the St. John AmbulanceSt. John Ambulance
St John Ambulance, branded as St John in some territories, is a common name used by a number of affiliated organisations in different countries dedicated to the teaching and practice of medical first aid and the provision of ambulance services, all of which derive their origins from the St John...
originated their successful First Level Health Care Programme at Battle Harbour. This programme, based on teaching self-help health care and life-saving techniques to the people of isolated communities, received international recognition during its brief tenure, and was used as a model programme in over thirty countries in Africa, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, the South Pacific and the Middle East.
Tourist attractions
- Renovated houses
- early 19th century wharf and mercantile building reconstruction