The Banks of Newfoundland
Bonny Sartin, it has to said has one of those infectious lilting Dorset county
accents so rare to hear these days, another factor which made his talk so
varied and Interesting was his singing of shanties and songs to accompany
various parts of his talk.
Many of the original settlers of Newfoundland came from Dorset so they
took many of these songs with them. Bonny had great advantage in so far
as he is one of the original” Yetties” the famous country singers group from
Dorset, so it all comes very natural to him.
It has to be said when I initially read the talk title “The Banks of
Newfoundland” first thought was, what do we really know about
Canada’s financial depositories,“ a totally the wrong thought “.
What could be a more interesting talk than history of the unmerciful
and mighty east coast of the far north of Canada, rightfully named by
the navigators and explorers of John Cabot’s era as
” New Found Land ”
Trapped between the barren landmass of Greenland in the wild North
Atlantic with the howling storms running down the Labrador and Davis
Straits.
Not the place you want to be, but when the area is, or was one of the
finest cod fishing grounds of the time and there as fortunes to be
made commerce prevails.
It is said that thought that the discovery of the area
was down to John Cabot in 1497 the Italian
navigator /explorer who sailed north of the already
known Americas coast, maybe looking for the
elusive north west passage to the pacific and
China. His voyage was under the sponsorship of
a commission from Henry VII of England.
The first landing being at Buena Vista Bay
where a settlement was established, it was found
the there was great shoals of cod fish in the area, a very
expensive and useful commodity for its oil and food. News of this
quickly reached the fishermen of England and Europe many from the
Dorset port of Poole. It was not too long before there was a virtual cod
war off the Banks of Newfoundland as skirmishes and foul play
amongst the fishermen from Spain, France, and England in order to get
advantage to the best fishing grounds.
There was now an established settlement at Buena Vista however,
fishing disputes had to be dealt with, and therefore a military garrison
was established with soldiers sent from England also a Governor was
appoint making this the first colony of the crown prior to the beginning
of the British empire. The fishing continued on a more disciplined bases
the traders from Poole and Bristol continued to bring goods and
immigrants to Newfoundland. There was also a lucrative trade in
rubbish fish which would not fetch a good price in England; these were
sold to the West Indies to feed the slaves.
Poole seemed to be the established port for the marketing of the fish
and many of the immigrants going to Newfoundland were from Dorset
therefore as before they took their culture and songs with then, as
Bonny demonstrated to us in songs
which even today still have verses
harking back over the years.
One of the great disadvantages for the
Poole sailors in the 1800,s was the
practice of stopping their ships coming
up the channel and press ganging
some of the crew for the Royal Navy.
A life at sea for you my lad
An excellent talk and the songs by
Bonny Sartin thoroughly enjoyed by all, thank you.