Random Island is located off Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's Atlantic coast. Part of the Canadian 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...

, it is located on the east coast of Newfoundland and semi-surrounded by the Bonavista Peninsula on the north and within the confines of Trinity Bay

Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Trinity Bay is a large bay on the northeastern coast of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.Major fishing communities include Trinity and Heart's Content.-Industry:...

. The island is approximately 35 km (21.7 mi) long, its width varies from 15 km (9.3 mi) on the eastern end, to 6 km (3.7 mi) in the middle, to 17 km (10.6 mi) on the western end, with a total area of around 310 km² (119.7 sq mi).

Geography

Situated in northwest Trinity Bay, it is separated from Newfoundland by Smith Sound

Smith Sound, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Smith Sound is a zigzag 24 kilometer inner region of Trinity Bay. This sound is one of the longest portions of inshore waterways in Newfoundland, located on its north-eastern coast in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Bonavista Peninsula is to the north of the sound, while Random...

 on the north and the North West Arm

North West Arm

North West Arm is a natural arm of approximately 20 miles in length and average of 1 mile wide located on the south side of Random Island at the inner region of Trinity Bay in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador....

 of Random Sound on the south and west. It is not circumnavigable except by small boats, as Random Bar

Bar (landform)

A shoal, sandbar , or gravelbar is a somewhat linear landform within or extending into a body of water, typically composed of sand, silt or small pebbles. A spit or sandspit is a type of shoal...

 runs from its northwest corner to Newfoundland, separating the two sounds. The Hefferton Causeway (now Provincial Route 231) was built in 1954 across Random Bar, linking the island with the nearby town of Clarenville

Clarenville

Clarenville is a Canadian town on the east coast of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Clarenville was incorporated in 1951 and is located in the Shoal Harbour valley fronting an arm of the Atlantic Ocean called Random Sound....

.

Education

Random Island has one school, the Random Island Academy, which educates students from kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 to Grade 12. The school's student body has been steadily declining since its high of 445 students in 1982, and by 1996 it had only 213 students. In the 2005/06 school year, the Eastern School District was considering shutting Random Island Academy down in the year 2009 because of its small population. The school is still running now. it currently has 201 students.

Random Island Academy (was Random Island integrated) was founded in 1973, and originally only served the younger students. High school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 students had been bused across Random Bar to Clarenville before 1973. However, due to parents' protests, the Academy was eventually upgraded to accommodate all students.

Communities

Random Island consists of the following eleven communities:

• Random Heights
• Elliott's Cove
• Snooks Harbour
• Aspen (Apsey) Brook
• Weybridge
• Lady Cove
• Robinson Bight
• Hickman's Harbour
• Brittania
• Lower Lance Cove
• Petley

These communities have undergone name changes over the history of the island, and in some cases have become somewhat consolidated. For example, Petley includes the area known as Aspen (Apsey) Cove, often considered its own community, and Weybridge has in the past been known as Fosters Point. Most of these communities, despite their tiny size, have histories of over 100 years. However, Random Heights and Robinson Bight are relatively recent in their development as communities.

Other communities have ceased to exist due to natural or artificial conditions. Ryder's Harbour is considered one of the founding communities, but ceased to exist due to natural evolution away from it, while Deer Harbour was a victim of government resettlement policies in the 1960s.

History

Random Island's first permanent settlement, Ryder's Harbour, was founded in the 1760s. The site, located at the northeastern terminus of the island, was previously visited often by the many fishing expeditions from Trinity

Trinity, Newfoundland and Labrador

Trinity is a small town located on Trinity Bay in Newfoundland and Labrador.The harbour at Trinity was first used by fishing ships around the 16th century. The Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real is said to have named this place because he arrived here on Trinity Sunday in 1501. It was settled by...

. Deer Harbor and Thoroughfare were settled nearby in the 1800s as fishing traffic to Random Island grew. On the western side of the island, settlers began arriving in the 1850s, mostly from the southern end of Trinity Bay

Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Trinity Bay is a large bay on the northeastern coast of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.Major fishing communities include Trinity and Heart's Content.-Industry:...

. Soon thereafter, settlement took place on the southern portion of island, becoming Hickman's Harbour.

By 1900, Hickman's Harbour, the site of the best deep-water anchorage, had become the centre of the Random Island fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 and shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...

 industries. Other methods of employment include sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

ing and slate

Slate

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...

 mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

, though the actual quarry

Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...

 was across the sound in Nut Cove. This quarry was closed in 1907, though it reopened in 1990. In western Random Island, the communities were primarily based on clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

 mining for brickmaking, and later, shale

Shale

Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...

.

The population of Random Island had risen to past 1000 by 1901, with Hickman's Harbour being the most populous community at 309 people. However, the industries that had supported Random Island for over a hundred years began to collapse in the early 20th century. Both slate quarrying and fishing had declined drastically, and as a result, shipbuilding and sawmilling also went down. Many residents moved to nearby Clarenville, while others were commuted off the island for their employment.

Constructing the Hefferton Causeway, followed by road upgrades, greatly facilitated travel to Clarenville and the rest of Newfoundland. Deer Harbour and Thoroughfare were resettled when it was decided in the 1960s not to link them to the roads. The population continued to rise slowly, and in 1986 the island's population reached just over 1500. Hickman's Harbour continued to be the largest community, with a population of 479. Apart from some fishing and sawmilling, few residents were employed on Random Island itself, more working at Clarenville or farther afield.