In 1797 the Italian explorer Giovanni Cabato, anglicized as
John Cabot, who sailed under the English flag first exclaimed “buena vista” at his
land fall in the “new found land.” A
beautiful scene it is! The town of Bonavista was settled on the site of John
Cabot’s discovery, of the land to be later called Newfoundland.
Our tour started at the water tower high on a hill overlooking the town. The water tower was covered with impressive murals, painted for the 500 year commemoration of John Cabot’s land fall. The murals depicted the early life of the fisheries, the basis of the early economy of Bonavista.
Our next stop was the Ryan Premises a Canadian National Historic Site. The site represents the fisheries and seal industries of the 19th century.
Located on the Premises are several museums and interpretive centers which included a very nice presentation on the Ryan’s saltfish mercantile.
Our next stop was the reconstructed ship Matthew, John Cabot’s sailing vessel.
The reconstructed ship, built in 1997 for the quincentennial was in dry dock for a major overhaul, but we were still able to get a firsthand look at the ship.
A stroll through town for lunch also offered some photo ops of settlement and harbor.
After lunch it was on to the Moockbegger Plantation, a name whose origin appears to come from several villages in England. The residence on the property was originally built somewhere around 1872, with the most recent occupant Gordon Baily a prominent local politician and member of the NF parliament.
Mr. Baily had a taste for the finer things, as represented in the stain glass window of his study.
The next stop was the Bonavista light house. Built in 1841,
originally built as an oil flame lantern, but with later modifications,
remained in service until1962. We were enlightened as to the work required to
maintain the light, which was carried out by the light keeper and his family.
My original thought, that being a light house keeper must be a pretty cushy job,
was tempered by learning that the light keeper needed to keep the lights and
windows clean every day, free of
ice and snow in the winter, fill the oil lamps
twice a day and recharge, the weight driven light turning mechanism every hour
and a half. The job was one of hard work and dedication to safety of the
sailing fleet.
The light house stop also led to some beautiful costal
scenery.
After the light house we all stopped to have an ice cream.
Our last stop was at the Dungeon, a natural rock formation,
carved out by the constant pounding of the Newfoundland seas.
Submitted by:
#11 Greta & David Storrs
