Channel – Port aux Basques
Encyclopedia
Channel-Port aux Basques (also Port aux Basques) is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of the island of Newfoundland fronting on the eastern end of the Cabot Strait
. A Marine Atlantic
ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province. The town was incorporated in 1945 and the current population (2006) is 4,319.
Port aux Basques is the oldest of the collection of towns that make up the present-day town, which consists of Port aux Basques, Channel, Grand Bay, and Mouse Island. Amalgamation took place in the 1970s.
who hailed from the Basque
region of the Pyrenees
of France
and Spain
during the early 16th century. After leaving the harbour the whalers either proceeded to the main whaling grounds off southern Labrador, or headed home to the Basque country. They almost certainly took on fresh water from Dead Man's Brook, which flows into Port aux Basques harbour, during their stopovers. Port aux Basques is first seen on a 1687 Johannes van Keulen
map of the area. Permanent settlement came from French fishermen who overwintered on this, the "French shore", using rights given under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht which saw France cede its claims in Newfoundland to Great Britain in exchange for right of use of coastal lands for the fishery. With the fishery being the economic mainstay for both French and British settlers in the area, Channel-Port aux Basques http://visitnewfoundland.ca/channelportauxbasques.html appeared destined to remain a collection of small fishing villages.
, making landfall nearby. This was the first step in the race to complete a trans-Atlantic telegraph cable
. A telegraph station was opened in Port aux Basques in 1857.
and the Trans-Canada Trail have their Newfoundland and Labrador start and end points in Port aux Basques.
which, despite being in the then-separate British colony of Newfoundland, was considered a navigation hazard for vessels bound for Canadian ports in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
In 1893, it was decided to extend the western terminus of the Newfoundland Railway
(then under construction west from the Avalon Peninsula
by Robert G. Reid
) from St. George's to Port aux Basques harbour. By 1897 the tracks reached Port aux Basques, although the harbour facilities had not been built at that time to handle the steamer Bruce, which had been built in Scotland
and had arrived in Newfoundland several months earlier. While the required docks were constructed, the Bruce operated between Little Placentia Sound
and North Sydney, Nova Scotia
from October, 1897 until June, 1898 .
began service. She was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-69 (1940) on October 14, 1942 with a loss of 137 lives, some from the Port aux Basques area. There were 20 widows from the SS Caribou sinking in the Port aux Basques area.
The Town of Port aux Basques was incorporated in 1945 with Samuel (Sam) Walters as the first mayor.
On March 31, 1949 Newfoundland entered into Confederation
and the railway was transferred to Canadian National Railways. Under Term 32 of the Terms of Union between Canada and Newfoundland (1949), the ferry service between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland was guaranteed, first under the British North America Act and after 1982 under the Constitution of Canada
.http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/nfa.html
Upon CNR's assumption of the railway and ferry service, the 1950s saw extensive construction at Port aux Basques with expansion of new dock
facilities and the arrival of newer and larger ships such as the MV William Carson
. Extensive blasting of rock created space for large rail yard
s with extensive dual gauge
trackage. The excess rock was then used as fill to create the required docks. By the mid-1960s, new railcar-capable ferries
such as the MV Frederick Carter permitted the exchange
of standard gauge
railcars, requiring further expansion at the Port aux Basques terminal facilities.
The mid-1960s also saw the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway across Newfoundland, an event which eventually led to the closure of the railway by 1988, but which made Port aux Basques into an even more important gateway to the island of Newfoundland, given the increased number of tourists visiting the province, and the rising amount of truck traffic. New Ro-Pax-capable vessels were commissioned and/or chartered during the 1960s-1980s to meet the growing demand, such as the Marine Nautica, Marine Atlantica, Marine Evangeline, Ambrose Shea, and John Hamilton Gray.
With the abandonment of the railway, extensive rebuilding of Port aux Basques terminal resulted in expansive marshalling areas for waiting motor vehicle traffic. A plant disease
inspection station is located near a modern rebuilt railway station now used as a passenger terminal for the ferry service operated by Marine Atlantic
, which was renamed from CN Marine
in 1986. Port aux Basques harbour hosts the arrival of the two largest icebreaking ferries in Canada, the and , as well as other passenger and cargo vessels.
A new vessel, the , has been added to the fleet. The vessel's first trip across the Cabot Strait as a passenger vessel was in March 2009. This new vessel is larger and more luxurious than the previous ships. The ferry is 203 metres in length and has four propulsion engines with a total output of 46 megawatts and can travel at speeds up to 27 knots. In comparison, the MV Caribou is 179 metres long. It has four engines with a total output of 21 megawatts and can travel at speeds of up to 20 knots. The new ferry has in excess of 50 percent more vehicle capacity than either the MV Caribou or the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood. It is capable of carrying approximately 531 cars or a mix of cars and commercial vehicles using the two main vehicle decks and the two lower decks. The lower decks are sized to accommodate only cars. In comparison, the MV Caribou has a capacity of 350 cars or a mix of cars and commercial vehicles on its two vehicle decks. The vessel has modern passenger areas which include a gift shop, restaurants, snack bar, bar, spa, seating lounges, and 196 passenger cabins in a variety of classes. In addition, this vessel has a dedicated Trucker Lounge, the first time this amenity has been offered by Marine Atlantic. The vessel has an equivalent Ice Class to the MV Caribou.http://www.marine-atlantic.ca/en/NewVessel/newvessel.shtml
2008, and won $20,000 for its local arena. Its sports arena, Bruce I, burned down in 1995, just prior to the hockey season. It was located on top of Army Hill on a road named Stadium Road down in Channel. The new arena, Bruce II Sports Centre
, was opened on November 23, 1996.
Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso...
. A Marine Atlantic
Marine Atlantic
Marine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian Crown corporation offering ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.Marine Atlantic's corporate headquarters are in St...
ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province. The town was incorporated in 1945 and the current population (2006) is 4,319.
Port aux Basques is the oldest of the collection of towns that make up the present-day town, which consists of Port aux Basques, Channel, Grand Bay, and Mouse Island. Amalgamation took place in the 1970s.
History
Channel refers to the narrow channel of water that leads into the local harbour (and not to the Channel Islands). Port aux Basques refers to the harbour that was a favoured sheltering and watering place for Basque whalersWhalers
Whalers may refer to:* Danbury Whalers,US ice-hockey team in the Federal Hockey League* Eden Whalers, Australian Rules Football team* Hartford Whalers, former US ice-hockey team* New Bedford Whalers, name of three US soccer teams...
who hailed from the Basque
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
region of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
during the early 16th century. After leaving the harbour the whalers either proceeded to the main whaling grounds off southern Labrador, or headed home to the Basque country. They almost certainly took on fresh water from Dead Man's Brook, which flows into Port aux Basques harbour, during their stopovers. Port aux Basques is first seen on a 1687 Johannes van Keulen
Johannes van Keulen
Johannes van Keulen was a 17th century Dutch cartographer. He published the influential nautical atlas the Zee-Atlas and the pilot guide Zee-Fakkel ....
map of the area. Permanent settlement came from French fishermen who overwintered on this, the "French shore", using rights given under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht which saw France cede its claims in Newfoundland to Great Britain in exchange for right of use of coastal lands for the fishery. With the fishery being the economic mainstay for both French and British settlers in the area, Channel-Port aux Basques http://visitnewfoundland.ca/channelportauxbasques.html appeared destined to remain a collection of small fishing villages.
Telegraph cable
In 1856, an underwater telegraph cable http://visitnewfoundland.ca/telegraph.html was successfully laid between Newfoundland and Cape Breton IslandCape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, making landfall nearby. This was the first step in the race to complete a trans-Atlantic telegraph cable
Transatlantic telegraph cable
The transatlantic telegraph cable was the first cable used for telegraph communications laid across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. It crossed from , Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island, in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. The transatlantic cable connected North America...
. A telegraph station was opened in Port aux Basques in 1857.
Transportation
Both the Trans-Canada HighwayTrans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
and the Trans-Canada Trail have their Newfoundland and Labrador start and end points in Port aux Basques.
Railway
In the 1880s, the Government of Canada erected a lighthouse at nearby Cape RayCape Ray, Newfoundland and Labrador
Cape Ray is a small fishing community on the southwest coast of the Island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.- Geography :...
which, despite being in the then-separate British colony of Newfoundland, was considered a navigation hazard for vessels bound for Canadian ports in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
In 1893, it was decided to extend the western terminus of the Newfoundland Railway
Newfoundland Railway
The Newfoundland Railway was a railway which operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow gauge railway system in North America.-Early construction:...
(then under construction west from the Avalon Peninsula
Avalon Peninsula
The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...
by Robert G. Reid
Robert Gillespie Reid
Sir Robert Gillespie Reid was a Scottish railway contractor most famous for building large railway bridges in Canada and the United States...
) from St. George's to Port aux Basques harbour. By 1897 the tracks reached Port aux Basques, although the harbour facilities had not been built at that time to handle the steamer Bruce, which had been built in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and had arrived in Newfoundland several months earlier. While the required docks were constructed, the Bruce operated between Little Placentia Sound
Little Placentia Sound
Little Placentia Sound is a small natural bay located within Placentia Bay on the Avalon Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador....
and North Sydney, Nova Scotia
North Sydney, Nova Scotia
North Sydney is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, North Sydney is an important port in Atlantic Canada as it is the western terminus of the Marine Atlantic ferry service...
from October, 1897 until June, 1898 .
Air service
Port Aux Basques is served by air via Stephenville International Airport, located 145 kilometres north of the town. Regular domestic air service is available all year long.Ferries
On June 30, 1898, the first passenger train arrived in Port aux Basques, and the Bruce departed for North Sydney shortly afterward. Over the years, the Newfoundland Railway expanded both the number of trains and vessels which called at Port Aux Basques. In 1925 the steamer SS CaribouSS Caribou
The SS Caribou was a passenger ferry used by the Newfoundland government's ferry service between Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and North Sydney, Nova Scotia....
began service. She was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-69 (1940) on October 14, 1942 with a loss of 137 lives, some from the Port aux Basques area. There were 20 widows from the SS Caribou sinking in the Port aux Basques area.
The Town of Port aux Basques was incorporated in 1945 with Samuel (Sam) Walters as the first mayor.
On March 31, 1949 Newfoundland entered into Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
and the railway was transferred to Canadian National Railways. Under Term 32 of the Terms of Union between Canada and Newfoundland (1949), the ferry service between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland was guaranteed, first under the British North America Act and after 1982 under the Constitution of Canada
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...
.http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/nfa.html
Upon CNR's assumption of the railway and ferry service, the 1950s saw extensive construction at Port aux Basques with expansion of new dock
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
facilities and the arrival of newer and larger ships such as the MV William Carson
MV William Carson
M/V William Carson was a CN Marine passenger/vehicle icebreaker ferry named in honour of Newfoundland colonial politician William Carson.Built by Canadian Vickers Ltd. in Montreal, Quebec, the William Carson measured 351 feet in length and displaced 8,300 tons...
. Extensive blasting of rock created space for large rail yard
Rail yard
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
s with extensive dual gauge
Dual gauge
A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...
trackage. The excess rock was then used as fill to create the required docks. By the mid-1960s, new railcar-capable ferries
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
such as the MV Frederick Carter permitted the exchange
Bogie exchange
Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the chassis containing the wheels and axles of the car, and installing a new chassis with...
of standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
railcars, requiring further expansion at the Port aux Basques terminal facilities.
The mid-1960s also saw the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway across Newfoundland, an event which eventually led to the closure of the railway by 1988, but which made Port aux Basques into an even more important gateway to the island of Newfoundland, given the increased number of tourists visiting the province, and the rising amount of truck traffic. New Ro-Pax-capable vessels were commissioned and/or chartered during the 1960s-1980s to meet the growing demand, such as the Marine Nautica, Marine Atlantica, Marine Evangeline, Ambrose Shea, and John Hamilton Gray.
With the abandonment of the railway, extensive rebuilding of Port aux Basques terminal resulted in expansive marshalling areas for waiting motor vehicle traffic. A plant disease
Phytopathology
Plant pathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens and environmental conditions . Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants...
inspection station is located near a modern rebuilt railway station now used as a passenger terminal for the ferry service operated by Marine Atlantic
Marine Atlantic
Marine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian Crown corporation offering ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.Marine Atlantic's corporate headquarters are in St...
, which was renamed from CN Marine
CN Marine
CN Marine was a Canadian ferry company headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick.-History:CN Marine was created by parent Canadian National Railway in 1977 as a means to group the company's ferry operations in eastern Canada into a separate operating division...
in 1986. Port aux Basques harbour hosts the arrival of the two largest icebreaking ferries in Canada, the and , as well as other passenger and cargo vessels.
A new vessel, the , has been added to the fleet. The vessel's first trip across the Cabot Strait as a passenger vessel was in March 2009. This new vessel is larger and more luxurious than the previous ships. The ferry is 203 metres in length and has four propulsion engines with a total output of 46 megawatts and can travel at speeds up to 27 knots. In comparison, the MV Caribou is 179 metres long. It has four engines with a total output of 21 megawatts and can travel at speeds of up to 20 knots. The new ferry has in excess of 50 percent more vehicle capacity than either the MV Caribou or the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood. It is capable of carrying approximately 531 cars or a mix of cars and commercial vehicles using the two main vehicle decks and the two lower decks. The lower decks are sized to accommodate only cars. In comparison, the MV Caribou has a capacity of 350 cars or a mix of cars and commercial vehicles on its two vehicle decks. The vessel has modern passenger areas which include a gift shop, restaurants, snack bar, bar, spa, seating lounges, and 196 passenger cabins in a variety of classes. In addition, this vessel has a dedicated Trucker Lounge, the first time this amenity has been offered by Marine Atlantic. The vessel has an equivalent Ice Class to the MV Caribou.http://www.marine-atlantic.ca/en/NewVessel/newvessel.shtml
College of the North Atlantic
The Port aux Basques campus of the College of the North Atlantic first opened as the District Vocational School in September 1963. The school was constructed by M.R. Chappell of Nova Scotia because Lundrigan's Ltd of Corner Brook, who was constructing the other District Vocational Schools in Newfoundland, couldn't move their equipment and supplies over the uncompleted road from Corner Brook to Port aux Basques. The Trans-Canada Highway from Corner Brook to Port aux Basques was completed in 1965.Sports
Port aux Basques placed 2nd in the top 5 communities for HockeyvilleHockeyville
Kraft Hockeyville is a Gemini Award-winning Canadian reality television series developed by CBC Sports and sponsored by Kraft Foods, the NHL and the NHL Players' Association in which communities across Canada compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey...
2008, and won $20,000 for its local arena. Its sports arena, Bruce I, burned down in 1995, just prior to the hockey season. It was located on top of Army Hill on a road named Stadium Road down in Channel. The new arena, Bruce II Sports Centre
Bruce II Sports Centre
The Bruce II Sports Centre is an indoor recreation complex located in Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador. The facility was opened on November 23, 1996, replacing the original Bruce Arena, which was destroyed in a fire on September 24, 1995....
, was opened on November 23, 1996.
See also
- List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador
- Cabot StraitCabot StraitCabot Strait is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso...
- Isle aux Morts