Cape Spear, St. John’s and Pumpkin Pie

Yesterday we got to visit the very lighthouse that graces the top of this website.  It stands on top of Cape Spear, the most easterly part of all of North America.  The name Spear appears to be a mispronunciation of the French name, Cap d’Espoir, a translation of the original Portuguese name, Capo da Esperança.

An interesting history for many reasons, but it also played a small role in the defence of North America during the second World War.  German u-boats entered the waters off the eastern coast of Canada and made their way a surprisingly long way up the St. Lawrence river.  I was stunned when on a field trip to the new Canadian war museum to see just how many u-boats had invaded our waters.  In all, 25 ships were sabotaged by the Germans:

On October 13, 1942, the SS Caribou sailed from Sydney harbour to its home part, Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. Lying in wait was the German submarine U-69, which unleashed a torpedo that sank the passenger ship and led to the demise of 136 men, women, and children.
From 1942 to 1944, German submarines destroyed or severely damaged twenty-five ships, including four Canadian warships and a U.S. Army troop transport. It was the only battle of the twentieth century to take place within Canada’s boundaries, and the only one fought almost exclusively by Canadian forces under Canadian high command.*

Gun batteries were built on Cape Spear, to guard the entrance to St. John’s harbour, but I believe were never actually fired.  They are a somewhat astonishing reminder of the difficulties and horrors of war, and that a simplistic reading of history can never explain the choices and actions of our ancestors.

Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday of the lighthouses, the gun installations and the stunning view back towards St. John’s, which has one of the world’s luckiest natural harbours, and is somewhat invisible behind the towering cliffs.

View of the sea on the way home:

And who could resist the pictures of the harbour at dawn the next day, or the crooked streets of painted houses:

And I almost forgot my souvenir silver dollar from the Heritage Shop:

Although it is now a fairly common practice, the use of our coinage to commemorate a special event was relatively rare prior to the 1960s. The principal coin used for commemorative purposes has been the dollar. One of the most attractive of these coins is the one issued nearly thirty years ago [64 years ago now!, ed.] to mark the entry of Newfoundland into Confederation. The design of the coin features a view of “The Matthew,” the ship on which John Cabot sailed on his voyage to Newfoundland in 1497.

Below the waves is inscribed the Latin phrase FLOREAT TERRA NOVA (May the new found land flourish). This piece was designed and engraved by Thomas Shingles, Chief Engraver of the Royal Canadian Mint. The creation by Shingles of this beautiful design becomes even more remarkable when it is realized that it was engraved directly in steel entirely by hand. The more usual method is to make a large model which is then reduced to coin size by the use of a pantograph-like engraving machine. The piece illustrated is part of the National Currency Collection Bank of Canada.**

Exhausted, but happy.  And we did have pumpkin pie for dessert last night!

* http://www.renaud-bray.com/books_product.aspx?id=1351956&def=War+in+the+St.+Lawrence%3A+The+forgotten+U-boat+battles+on+Canada’s+shores%2CSARTY%2C+ROGER%2C9780143167808

** http://www.coinsandcanada.com/coins-articles.php?article=canada,-one-dollar,-1939&id=387