This was not the first explorer to have been here. The Vikings began their explorations in the 700s and after being to Scotland, Ireland, France and Greenland over the centuries they moved further west. Evidence of Norwegian influence has been carbon dated back to 1,000 AD.

During the 17th century, we know that Newfoundland was populated, if only sparsely, by English, French and Portuguese settlers. Fishermen had found the sheltered harbours and beaches here to be almost free of freezing waters and so developed settlements for themselves and their families. Later formal institutions of church and state were established. 

The civil war in England in the mid 1600s saw a significant migration to North America and Newfoundland. The same applies to the French during the 1789 Revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy and the Napoleonic wars that followed. Emigrants from the English Midlands and Southeast of Ireland moved here at that time creating a basis of the population that exists to this present day.

The world of commutations has an historical link with Newfoundland. Captain Robert Halpin, an English naval officer, was in charge of the Great Eastern Steamship that laid the first successful telecommunications cable across the Atlantic from Valentia island, Co. Kerry. Ireland to Trinity Bay, Newfoundland in 1866. It is recorded that he was to supervise a further 26,000 miles of cable worldwide before Robert retired. He married a woman who he had met in Newfoundland. 

Marconi was responsible for opening the wireless communication station in Grace Bay, Cape Breton, and played a huge part in developing wireless technology. On the 15th April 1912 the RMS Titanic, owned by the White Star Line which was four days into a six day voyage from Southampton to New York, struck an Iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland. The ships radio operator received the distress signals that were being sent out on both the older SOS and modern CQD systems. The operator sent out signals on the Marconi communications system, based at Cape Race, in Newfoundland and Labrador. The signals were picked up by the Carpathian ship that made haste towards the Titanic. On arrival there three and a half hours later over 1,500 souls had been lost in the two hours forty minutes that it took for the ship to sink.

Newfoundland has had a remarkable relationship with the world of Air Navigation. The present day airport is in St. John’s but back in 1919 a suitable field had to be identified and levelled out to be suitable for a plane to take off that was taking part in a challenge being sponsored by the London Daily Mail newspaper with prize money of £10,000 for the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic. A number of aviators signed up for the event. The prevailing winds favoured a west-to-east voyage. We all witness this today as we fly, the journey from London, UK to Toronto will be approximately an hour longer than from Toronto to London.

Of the participants that were taking part John Alcock and Arthur Brown, both British aviators, achieved the accolade of becoming the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Clifden, Co. Galway. Ireland. The time was just under sixteen hours.

Amelia Earhart made two record-setting flights from here, in 1928 she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic while been a passenger and in 1932 she flew solo from St. John’s to the city of Derry in Ireland. Gander international airport was once an important refuelling stop for transatlantic aircraft. It’s still in use today and many aircraft facing medical emergencies or security issues use it as a landing point. 

Most of the streets in Gander are named after famous aviators, including Alcock and Brown, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh and Chuck Yeager. Remembering the attacks of September 11th and US airspace was closed down, Gander took in 38 commercial aircraftand 4 military aircraft. Almost 7,000 people arrived at Gander, staying for almost one week.

The musical “Come from away” is based on this real life experience. It has travelled the world and is still going on.

When taking a trip to Newfoundland and Labrador, the opportunity to go hiking is overwhelming, with innumerable trails, be they difficult or a stroll, the choice is yours. Do the five kilometre hike to Signal Hill to Cabot Tower erected in 1989 to commemorate the 400 year old landing anniversary of John Cabot. 

Relaxing on this magnificent viewing point overlooking the vast expanse of landscape, close your eyes, imagine ships on the horizon, a signal man with a selection of flags standing there to guide the lookout sailor in the crow’s nest on the main mast their safe way to shore. 

Or gazing down on the beaches, let your mind wander, picture the soldiers of the Royal Armies of France or England as they battle to advance towards land. 

These hikes offer any amount of choices, a fishing village that transports you back a century, food and culture. The Avalon Peninsula as it’s called will embrace you with an evening in a pub or restaurant. Watch the puffins, whales and seals that call this place home. 

Small Icebergs drifting by, a look of contempt as if to say ‘I may get bigger’.

People of Newfoundland and Labrador are reputed to be friendly and welcoming, their creative language and knack for storytelling sets them apart. The characters you meet will tell you they took their heritage from the English, Irish, French and their Indigenous ancestors that created a culture that’s one of a kind.

Visit the Avalon Peninsula, a popular tourist destination, a people who believe that “if you’re not living on the edge you’re taking up too much space”.