Village Squire, 1979-10, Page 22• and Argentia on Newfoundland's south-
east corner.
NEWFOUNDLAND
The TransCanada Highway leads from
Port -Aux -Basques north to Corner Brook,
second largest city on the island. Corner
Brook is the site of Newfoundland's first
industrial sawmill built in 1894 and the
present site of one of the world's largest
pulp and paper mills. Mill tours can be
arranged during summer months.
Then the TransCanada heads inland to
Gander. One of the interesting features at
Gander International Airport is a 22 -meter
mural "Flight and Its Allegories" painted
by Kenneth Lochhead. The terminal also
houses an museum honouring aviation
pioneers, such as Charles Lindbergh,
Amelia Earhart and Capt. Eddie Ricken-
bacher.
From Gander, the TransCanada leads to
the southeast shore and the capital city, St.
John's, which is the principal port and
main commercial centre of Newfoundland.
Two spectacular views of the city can be
found. One is at Signal Hill National
Historic Park, which overlooks the remains
of two fortifications - Cabot Tower and
Queen's Battery. A panoramic view of the
city is given from a public observation
room on the 11th floor of Confederation
Building, provincial government headquar-
ters.
St. John's, one of the oldest cities in
North America, appropriately contains a
fine museum - the Newfoundland
Museum. The Anglican Cathedral in St.
John's is an example of eccles'astical
architecture, while the Basilica of St. John
the Baptist, built in the shape of a Latin
Cross in 1841, is noted for its statuary and
ornate ceiling design. In addition, the
sailing regatta held each August is
considered the oldest organized sports'
event in North America.
Inland Newfoundland is described as "a
wilderness mosaic of mountain ranges,
river valleys and everg een forests," while
the shoreline has "hu •dreds of sheltered
coves, bays and fjord: that give scant
foothold to innumerable tiny fishing
villages.
The TransCanada passes through
varying landscapes from major towns and
cities to barrens and peatlands, but, to see
the Newfoundland visitors have read and
heard about, they should leave the main
highway, if only to travel to the Twillingate
Harbour immortalized in the jig "I'se the
Bye" or the famous Bonavista of "This
Land Is Your Land."
A side trip up the northern peninsula is
advised for its historic and scenic value,
but motorists are warned the terrain is not
for the fainthearted. Only a small portion of
the 480 -mile round-trip is on paved roads
and Newfoundland's back roads are
reported to be narrow.
One tourist was quoted as saying:
"When we drove up a hill, we tooted our
horn all the way to let anyone who might be
on the other side know we were coming."
Halfway up the peninsula is Port au
Chois National Historic Park, site of a
Maritime archaic Indian burial grounds
dating from 2340 B.C. The burial grounds
were accidentally discovered in 1968 by a
resident excavating for construction of a
new building. At the tip of the peninsula
lies L'anse Aux Meadows. Excavations in
the 1960s uncovered a Viking settlement,
circa 1.000, probably the first settlement in
North America.
A short drive south along the east coast
of the northern peninsula brings visitors to
St. Anthony and a Handicraft Centre
established by the International Grenfell
Association. Along the way, a spontaneous
blueberry picking expedition might be
taken.
North of Newfoundland across the
narrow Strait of Belle Isle lies Labrador.
The official title of Canada's youngest
province is Newfoundland and Labrador,
and together the two territories cover a
larger area than the other three Atlantic
Provinces combined.
Twenty years ago Labrador was virgin
wilderness with its livelihood dependent on
fishing and the international commercial
and military airport established at Goose
Bay during World War 11. In the past two
decades. two modern mining towns have
developed near the Labrador/Quebec
border. and the area now produces more
than 40 percent of all the iron ore mined in
Canada. Labrador is also famous for
Churchill Falls, which has been harnessed
by a $950 million hydropower development
project with an ultimate power output of
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20 Village Squire, October 1979