Garrett Clement of Uncharted Odyssey travelled to Harbour Main, Newfoundland, with his scuba buddies Peter and Lindsay. Garrett’s first dive in five months, and he’s excited to be diving with Peter and Lindsay, who know this area “like the back of their hand.”
Harbour Main, a small community about 35 miles from St. John’s, has an interesting and colourful history. Although many of the early settlers left few records, the majority of its history has been derived from documents, census returns, and other primary sources available at Newfoundland libraries. Harbour Main is an old settlement (founded in 1696) with French reminiscences. Because of its seniority, it became the district’s capital; it was here that candidates for election to the House of Assembly were nominated. On nomination day, people came from every settlement in two massive procession of horses and carriages, and the side with the best showing was the likely winner.
Harbour Main is no longer the thriving community that it once was. Fishing was the main industry in the majority of settlements at the time, and when it was prosperous, prospects were good, but the slightest decline in the fishery caused excessive poverty and unhappiness.
With the exception of a few business people, many of the young people are forced to leave the community in order to find work in another part of the island. The majority of them, like a sizable number of Newfoundlanders, have emigrated to larger cities like Toronto, Ontario, where they have made a permanent home.
Thanks to Garrett Clement of Uncharted Odyssey
