Intro to Events that Influenced

Newfoundland HistoryNotes

NL Railway

• Invention of the steam engine and the development of a Rail system in Europe in the early 1800’s lead to rapid industrialization and distribution of both raw materials and manufactured goods. People no longer had to harvest resources near a body of water or had to face extreme logistics in isolated areas…if they could get a railway there. The same worked for North America.

• Railways crossed the US in 1869 and Canada in 1885. Newfoundland started to build a railway in 1881 to access resources in the interior and diversify the economy.

• The first “leg” of the railway would be built as far as Whitbourne (then called “Harbour Grace Junction”) and it employed up to 2200 people.

• It reached Port aux Basques in 1897.• The railway would be a “narrow gauge” rail similar to those in Europe. This would impact the

railway’s viability later on.• It would connect regions, allowed someone to travel across the island within two days, opened up

the interior for exploitation (encouraged forestry, mining and agriculture) allowed for seasonal workers and encouraged others to invest in Newfoundland.

Womens Suffrage

• Right from the early population of Newfoundland, women served a vital role in it’s economy.• Prior to World war 1, Armine Nutting Gosling came to Newfoundland to run a Girl’s School in St. John’s and would

marry Gilbert Gosling – the first mayor of St. John’s. Her exposure to more progressive attitudes from visits to her sister in New York , her association with her influential and progressively minded husband, and her own influential position in society as a principal of a major school, would lead to very strong convictions about gender equality and her ability to influence. She and colleagues would promote “Distaff feminism”.

• World War 1 would see many women travelling overseas to help in the war effort. At home, they organized into the Womens Patriotic Association and supported troops and families from home , changing public perception about the value of women in Newfoundland. Overseas - As nurses, many took on great responsibilities of life and death. Many worked in industry, operated machinery. They were also exposed to a culture that had already begun to recognize the importance of gender equality.

• The Women’s Franchise League would for after World War 1 and organize themselves to further influence public opinion through the press and official channels. They even petitioned the legislature. These women did not only want acceptance but intended to be agents of change. They wanted to change things they saw wrong in politics and supported prohibition. This made them initially unpopular but a bill would be passed in 1925 that gave them the right to vote and run for office. Over 52000 women would cast votes in 1928. The first rejection of this bill was under the leadership of premier Sr. Richard Squires. Ironically, the first woman to be elected into political office under the next Premier, Walter S. Monroe, was Squires wife. Lady Helena Squires won the liberal seat in Lewisporte.

Sealing Disaster

• Loss of sealers on the ice wasn’t unusual and was normally tolerated but as the scale of sealing increased, the potential for disaster increased. Two disasters attracted the attention of the public and enacted change.

• Newfoundlanders participated in this very dangerous activity to supplement income. This allowed them to support their families between fishing season and was the only “real cash” many made.

• The SS Southern Cross never returned, capsized off Trepassey possibly due to overloading, and all hands were lost. Two Days later, sealers on the SS Newfoundland spent 35 hours stranded on the ice and 77 died. This was largely due to lack of communication caused by the absence of a wireless set on the SS Newfoundland.

• 26 articles of law would be introduced to protect sealers. Laws enforced the included the use of flares and radios, no sealing after dark, the presence of doctors or pharmacists onboard, the presence of navigating officers, protection from over loading.

• To this day, many vessels try not to employ too many sealers from the same community to reduce the loss of life from a single area

St. John’s Fire

• A small, normally containable, fire in the late afternoon of July 8, 1892 burned 2/3 of the city to the ground, causing 13 million dollars in damages (342 million today) and leaving 11000 people homeless. Looting and lawlessness was rampant.

• This changed the appearance of the city core forever (row housing) and created an awareness of proper planning amidst fast economic growth. There was a shortage of water to extinguish the initial fire but a nearby 100,000 litre + tank was not refilled after a fire drill. Poor communication caused the water lines to be shut off, making fire hydrants useless. Three years later, protection graduated from volunteer brigade to full time firefighters and three stations.

• Aid poured in from Canada, Britain and the US. Some unemployed women were trained in spinning and knitting. New industries formed as displaced people retrained and took advantage of new industries. The first to respond was Canada, strengthening relations.

• More organized housing during the rebuild allowed for higher population density and better planning. Streets were widened.

• Bank Crash• World War 1• Spanish Flu• Depression • Tsunami• World War 2