Tsunami
Page 17
Of the Government of Newfoundland
Hon. President: Hon. Sir R.A. Squires, K.C.M.G., M.H.A., Prime Minister
Hon. Chairman: H.B.C. Lake, Esq., M.H.A., Minister of Marine and Fisheries
Hon. Corresponding Secretary: Hon. H.M. Mosdell, M.B., M.H.A., Chairman Nfld. Board of Health
Hon. Members: Hon. A. Barnes, Paed. D., B.Sc., Colonial Secretary
Hon. Alex Campbell, M.D., F.R.C.S. (E), M.H.A.
Malcolm Hollett, Esq.,, B.A. (Oxon), S.M.
Sudbury Building
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Burin North
June 14, 1930
Captain Davis
Schooner Ianthe
Burin.
Dear Capt. Davis:
I am in receipt of a telegram from Mr. Horwood, Chairman of the South Coast Disaster Fund Committee, asking me to instruct you to return to St. John’s on completion on this trip. You will therefore act accordingly.
I must take this opportunity of thanking you for the very able manner in which you have discharged your duties in taking around to the various harbours and coves the large amounts of materials which the Committee has placed in your charge. You have brought us one load of lumber from St. John’s and seven trips of round timber and various quantities of lumber and dories on these eight trips and I consider that you have done wonderful work. For example: On this last trip of the Ianthe I have asked you to unload material at eight different places, to wit; High Beach, Lamaline, Point au Gaul, Taylor’s Bay, Lord’s Cove, Lawn, Corbin and Burin and I have received word from Mr. Foote to state that you have called at each place and discharged the requisite amount of lumber and timber and it has been done very expeditiously.
We all quite realize the difficulty and danger to your ship in discharging at places up the Coast which are situated on a wild shore.
Please accept my thanks and the thanks of the Committee for the energy which you have put into this work.
With kindest regards,
Yours faithfully,
M. Hollett
APPENDIX FIVE
Letter from Magistrate Hollett to South Coast Disaster Committee
Earthquake Relief Committee
Of the Government of Newfoundland
Hon. President: Hon. Sir R.A. Squires, K.C.M.G.,
M.H.A., Prime Minister
Hon. Chairman: H.B.C. Lake, Esq., M.H.A., Minister of Marine and Fisheries
Hon. Corresponding Secretary: Hon. H.M. Mosdell, M.B., M.H.A., Chairman Nfld. Board of Health
Hon. Members: Hon. A. Barnes, Paed. D., B.Sc.,
Colonial Secretary
Hon. Alex Campbell, M.D., F.R.C.S. (E), M.H.A.
Malcolm Hollett, Esq.,, B.A. (Oxon), S.M.
Sudbury Building
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Burin North
August 15, 1930
R.F. Horwood, Esq.
Chairman, S.C.D.F. Committee
St. John’s
Dear Mr. Horwood:
On my last trip up the coast I have come across one or two other claims which I would like to have put in the same class as those others concerning which I have written you and where a cash payment seems to be the correct method.
(1) David Collins of Lamaline Meadow. This man is 83 and crippled and naturally unable to build again his stage which he lost and which he assures me has turned him in $20.00 per year for the last few years. The Stage was 18 x 14 x 8, and he hired it out for several years. He also lost $30.00 worth of clothing and considerable fencing. So far he has taken nothing and I should like to recommend a cash payment of $150.00 in full settlement of his claim which I know would perfectly satisfy the old man.
(2) Edwin King, of Lamaline East, was assessed $170.00 and I understand has so far taken material to amount of $22.50. This man has been sick for five years and has not earned anything, and I know he can never again earn or even get out around, much less build. We should make a satisfied claimant by a cash payment of $150.00 to him also, and I should like to recommend it as a fair and just settlement in this case.
(3) Claim #44. David Strang, Lawn, was assessed $742.00 and I find this claim not only includes David Strang’s loss but also that of his adopted son, Peter Quirk. Quirk has taken his share of the assessment, leaving some $300.00 worth still due the claimant David Strang, who has been bedridden these seven years, and who owned the dwelling house, stage and one of the stores. He assures me and I quite believe him, that he can do nothing with material and I would recommend a cash payment of $200.00 be made to settle his claim.
(4) I have already mentioned the case of Mrs. Thos. G. Hillier [author’s note: this is Lydia Hillier] of Point aux Gauls [sic] whose husband was drowned. In this connection I would say that her stepson, Harold William, who gave in the losses of fishing gear and premises etc has been fixed up O.K, but so far no arrangement has been made in a compensation to Mrs. Hillier.
Mrs. Hillier was left with a step-daughter aged 20, a daughter aged 11, and two sons, one 2 years of age and the other an infant born shortly after the husband’s death [author’s note: this baby was born partially blind]. I am not in a position to know the personal circumstances of Mrs. Hillier but suspect they are not very good as I know Mr. Hillier carried no insurance on account of some heart trouble. There is too I think some little friction between the son Harold William and his step-mother. I would suggest therefore that an arrangement be made whereby the property and fishing gear be left with Harold William and his sister Georgina, and Mrs. Thos. Hillier be made a separate allowance for herself and her children.
As Thomas Hillier was the only bread-winner who lost his life in the Tidal Wave, and as he has left rather a helpless family I beg to suggest that the sum of $3000.00 be set aside in Trust for Mrs. Hillier and her children and that she be paid $25.00 per month out of this sum until the whole be expended. I feel sure this arrangement will meet the needs of the case fairly well, having regard to it’s [sic] nature, and the aim of the Funds.
I should be glad to have settlements of these and the other cases which I wrote you about previously, fixed at your earliest convenience either along the lines I have suggested or otherwise as the Committee deem fit.
Yours faithfully, M. Hollett
APPENDIX SIX
Newfoundland Board of Health
St. John’s, Nfld.
South Coast Disaster Summary
1. Extent of coastline affected — 60 miles.
2. Population affected — 10,000.
3. Lives lost — 27, at the following places and to the following extent: Port au Bras, 7; Kelly’s Cove, 2; Lord’s Cove, 4; Taylor’s Bay, 5; Point au Gaul, 8; Allan’s Island, 1.
4. Property losses, approximately one million dollars.
5. Industrial effects — boats, fishing gear, supplies and other equipment of fifty per cent of the wage-earners destroyed.
6. Commercial effects — supplying merchants at half a dozen of the larger fishing communities stripped of property and goods rendering it impossible for them to continue in the trade.
In addition to the above, a thorough inspection was made of all settlements visited in the stricken area and many cases of a chronic nature were treated or prescribed for.
Staff—
Dr. L. Paterson,
Dr. C.F. Blackler
Dr. J.B. Murphy
District Nurse D. Cherry
Nurses Jackman, Hampton, Fitzgerald, Rendell
APPENDIX SEVEN
Value of Donations to South Coast Disaster Committee
In-kind gifts: $25,000 value
St. John’s: $102,306.23
Rest of Newfoundland: $87,201.38
United States: $8691.57
England: $7440.37
Canada: $36,768.31
Special (amount from Newfoundland, representing funds
from Britain, the U.S., and Canada): $7684.28
Interest earned: $4939.60
Sundry refunds: $1896.81, $6836.41
Note that this sum does not include the goods that were sent with the Meigle and the Daisy on their early relief voyages or the lumber, clothing, etc. that was sent directly from private firms and communities around the country.
Note also that the Committee did not reimburse people for foodstuffs lost to the tsunami.
Sources consulted for Tsunami
CORRESPONDENCE AT THE TIME OF THE TIDAL WAVE
Bartlett, George A., Letter to R.A. Squires, Prime Minister, Nov. 20, 1929.
Earthquake Relief Committee of the Government of Newfoundland. Correspondence, 1930.
Ernest Cheeseman, Port au Bras, Letter to John Cheeseman, Nov. 20, 1929.
Hollett, Magistrate M., Correspondence to Prime Minister Squires—various letters and telegraphs, 1929.
Macpherson, Dr. Cluny, Letters to Dr. H.M. Mosdell, Nov. 27 and Dec. 9, 1929.
Mosdell, Dr. H.M., Letters and telegraphs to Hon. Dr. Barnes, Nov. 22, Nov. 27, and Nov. 29, 1929.
Mosdell, Dr. H.M., Letter to Nurse D. Cherry, Jan. 14, 1930.
Mosdell, Dr. H.M., Letter to Dr. Cluny Macpherson, Dec. 6, 1929.
REPORTS FROM THE ERA
Board of Health for the Colony, St. John’s, Newfoundland (n.d.) List of Lives Lost in Earthquake Disaster.
Dee, J.H. (1929) Report by Inspector J.H. Dee on Disaster of Night of 18th November on the Coast from Lamaline, Inclusive. Submitted to M. Hollett.
Author Unknown (1929) Voyage of relief Ship Meigle—To Scene of Tidal Wave Disaster, Lamaline to Rock Harbour, Districts Burin East and West.
Hollett, M. (1929) Report on Damages, Rock Harbour.
Hollett, M. (1929) Report on Damages by Tidal Wave between Lamaline and Rock Harbour.
Newfoundland Board of Health, (1929) Southwest Coast Disaster Summary. St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Newfoundland Outport Nursing Industrial Association (Nonia) (Sept. 30, 1932) Eighth Annual Report, delivered at Nonia Headquarters in St. John’s.
Paterson, L., M.D. (1929) List of injured attended by medical staff of Meigle.
South Coast Disaster Committee, (July, 1931) Report of the South Coast Disaster Committee. St. John’s, Newfoundland.
INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THIS BOOK
Isabel Gibbons Bragg, St. John’s.
Margaret Rennie Saint, Fox Cove.
Elizabeth (Bessie) Hennebury Walsh, Lord’s Cove.
Mary Harris, Whitbourne.
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED BY FLANKER PRESS
•Sam Adams of London, Ontario, originally of Great Burin.
•Nellie Andrews, Winterland, Newfoundland, originally of Springdale, Newfoundland.
•Anna Tarrant Contois of Barefoot Bay, Florida, originally of Lawn.
•Mary Kehoe Dasting of Cape Coral, Florida, originally of Red Head Cove, Conception Bay, Newfoundland.
•Frederick Davies, Carbonear, Conception Bay, Newfoundland.
•Cyril Fleming of Mississauga, Ontario.
•Marie Herlidan, originally from Lord’s Cove.
•Austin Murphy of Toronto, originally from Lawn.
•Aiden O’Brien of Brooklyn, New York, originally of Cape Broyle, Newfoundland.
•Captain Ernest Pike of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, originally from Burin Bay Arm.
•Caroline Hillier Skinner-Hickman of Mississauga, Ontario, originally from Point au Gaul.
•Albert Taylor of Guelph, Ontario, originally from Jamestown, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland.
OTHER ARCHIVAL MATERIAL
Newfoundland Outport Nursing Industrial Association (Nonia) Collection—various materials, Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives, Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland.
PUBLISHED SOURCES
Author Unknown. (2004) “Devotion to Duty of the Highest Order.” Newfoundland Historical Society Newsletter. Spring 2004: 3.
Brown, Cassie. (1962?) “Earthquake and Tidal Wave: The Hillier Story.” The St. John’s Woman Magazine.
Cranford, Garry. (2000) Tidal Wave: A List of Victims and Survivors—Newfoundland, 1929. St. John’s, Newfoundland: Flanker Press.
Cranford, Garry. (1999) “Tidal Wave: Adrift in A House— Pearl Hatfield.” In Not Too Long Ago, 45-46. St. John’s, Newfoundland: Seniors Resource Centre.
Cranford, Garry. (1999) “Tidal Wave: On Great Burin Island—Louise Hollett.” In Not Too Long Ago, 47-49. St.
John’s, Newfoundland: Seniors Resource Centre.
Cranford, Garry. (1999) “Tidal Wave: At Lord’s Cove— Mary McKenna.” In Not Too Long Ago, 50-51. St. John’s, Newfoundland: Seniors Resource Centre.
Cranford, Garry. (1999) “Tidal Wave: My Experience— Eloise Morris.” In Not Too Long Ago, 52-53. St. John’s, Newfoundland: Seniors Resource Centre.
Cranford, Garry. (1999) “Tidal Wave: Kelly’s Cove— Marion Moulton.” In Not Too Long Ago, 54-55. St. John’s, Newfoundland: Seniors Resource Centre.
Daily News. (1929-1930) Various articles and editorials.
Decks Awash. (1980-82) Various articles.
Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. (1981-1994) Various editions and entries.
Evening Telegram. (1929-1930) Various articles and editorials.
Western Star. (1929-1930) Various articles and editorials.
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to Garry Cranford, whose initial research served as the foundation for this book. In addition, Garry’s fine compilation book, Tidal Wave: A List of Victims and Survivors, Newfoundland, 1929 provided a great deal of the information concerning material losses and loss of life that is contained in this book. In turn, researcher Vera McDonald did much of the work that made Garry’s original book possible.
As always, the staff of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies and Archives at Memorial University’s QEII Library made my own research much easier with their helpfulness and expertise. The City of Bolton, England kindly forwarded material. The City of St. John's awarded me a grant to partially fund this project, which I greatly appreciate. Thanks to Janice Cheeseman, Margie and Gladys Bonnell, and Harold and Grace Hollett for their assistance and generosity with photographs for Tsunami. Thanks also to Randy Harnett of Clarenville for the clarifications.
Any errors that occur are regrettable and are mine.
I would also like to thank the entire staff of Flanker Press: Margo, Jerry, Brian, Laura, and Bob, who are dedicated, knowledgeable, and great to work with.
Readers who bought The Doryman (Flanker, 2003) provided a big incentive to produce this book, especially those older readers on the Burin Peninsula, who remembered the August Gale of 1935 and those younger readers who want more of their own history. The preservation of the memories of those who died in the 1929 tidal wave, in this, the seventy-fifth anniversary year of the disaster, were another reason to write this book.
I am grateful to my husband, Paul Butler, for enthusiasm, support, and sharp editing. Finally, much thanks to Vanessa.
OTHER BOOKS BY MAURA HANRAHAN
Domino: The Eskimo Coast Disaster
Rogues and Heroes (with Paul Butler)
A Veritable Scoff (with co-editor Marg Ewtushik)
The Doryman
A Faith That Challenges: The Life of Jim McSheffrey
Through a Mirror Dimly: Essays on Newfoundland Society and Culture (editor)
Uncertain Refuge: Lectures on Newfoundland Society and Culture
Copyright
Flanker Press Ltd.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Hanrahan, Maura, 1963-
Tsunami: the Newfoundland tidal wave disaster / Maura Hanrahan.
ISBN 1-894463-63-3
1. Tsunamis — Newfoundland and Labrador — Burin Peninsula. 2. Burin Peninsula (N.L.) — History — 20th century. I. Title.
GC222.B87H35 2004 971.8 C2004-903519-3
Copyright © 2004 by Maura Hanrahan
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of th
e work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means— graphic, electronic or mechanical—without the written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed to Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, 1 Yonge Street, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5E 1E5. This applies to classroom use as well.
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The publisher wishes to thank Dick Buehler and Paul O’Neill.
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First Canadian edition printed September 2004.
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We acknowledge the financial support of: the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP); the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $20.0 million in writing and publishing throughout Canada; the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
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