Historic Wabana
  • Home
  • History
    • Mining History >
      • The Messrs. Butler of Topsail
      • Bridges of Wabana
      • The Company Whistle
      • Mining Equipment
      • Miners Brass / Check / Cheque Numbers
      • Mining-related Fatalities
      • No. 2 Mine
      • No. 3 Mine
      • Scotia & Dominion Piers
    • Housing >
      • Housing Introduction & Contents
      • Saddle-Roof Style
      • Gable-to-street style
      • Bungalow Style
      • Bunk & Mess Houses
      • Shacks
      • Staff Boarding Houses & Main Offices
      • Company Family Houses for Management & Staff
    • Boys & Girls Club of Bell Island
    • Catholic Cadet Corps
    • Church Lads Brigade
    • Clift Masonic Lodge
    • DOSCO News (CJON Radio)
    • Ferries & The Tickle >
      • Elmer W. Jones
      • Tragedy in The Tickle 1940
    • Loyal Orange Association
    • Maps & Diagrams >
      • Insurance Plan of Wabana 1954
    • Monuments & Murals >
      • The Murals Project History
      • Brian Burke Sculptures
    • Motorized Vehicles
    • NFLD Militia
    • Population Statistics
    • Sports - A Brief History >
      • Tennis
      • Curling
    • Telephones
    • Timeline of Amenities, Public Services & Utilities
    • Torbay Airport/St. John's Airport
    • The Women of Wabana, Part 1: Women's Work & Social Life
  • Publications
    • Arthur House Article >
      • Part 1 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 1, 1939
      • Part 2 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 2, 1939
      • Part 3 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 3, 1939
      • Part 4 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 4, 1939
      • Part 5 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 6, 1939
      • Part 6 of "Early History of Bell Island Mines," March 7, 1939
    • The Book of Newfoundland >
      • "Bell Island Was Exciting For a Growing Boy"
    • Books About Bell Island
    • Chinese Community
    • F.F. Jardine Article >
      • Part 1 of "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines"
      • Part 2 of "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines"
      • Part 3 of "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines"
      • Part 4 of "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines"
    • A Mine Dead - A Town Stricken
    • Newfoundland Quarterly >
      • "Bell Island," V. 1, No. 1, July 1901
      • "Belle Island Boyhood," Part 1, V. 85, No. 2, Fall 1989
      • "Belle Island Boyhood," Part 2, V. 85, No. 3, Winter 1990
    • Place Where the Sun Rises
    • Submarine Miner >
      • 1954 Issues >
        • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 1, June 1954
        • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 2, July 1954
        • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 3, August 1954
        • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 4, September 1954
        • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 5, October 1954
        • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 6, November 1954
        • Submarine Miner, V. 1 # 7, December 1954
      • 1955 Issues >
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 1, January 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 2, February 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 3, March 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 4, April 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 5, May 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 6, June 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 7, July 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 8, August 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 9, September 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 #10, October 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 # 11, November 1955
        • Submarine Miner, V. 2 #12, December 1955
      • 1956 Issues >
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 1, January 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 2, February 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 3, March 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 4, April 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 5, May 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 6, June 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 7, July 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 8, August 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 9, September 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 #10, October 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 # 11, November 1956
        • Submarine Miner, V. 3 #12, December 1956
      • 1957 Issues >
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, # 1, January 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, # 2, February 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, # 3, March 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #4, April 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #5, May 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #6, June 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #7, July 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #8, August 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V. 4, #9, September 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V.4, #10, October 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V.4, #11, November 1957
        • Submarine Miner, V.4, #12, December 1957
      • 1958 Issues >
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #1, January 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #2, February 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #3, March 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #4, April 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #5, May 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #6, June 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #7, July 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #8, August 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #9, September 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #10, October 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #11, November 1958
        • Submarine Miner, V.5, #12, December 1958
      • 1959 Issues >
        • Submarine Miner, V.6, #1, January 1959
        • Submarine Miner, V.6, #2, February 1959
        • Submarine Miner, V.6, #3, March 1959
        • Submarine Miner, V.6, #4, April 1959
        • Submarine Miner, V.6, #5, May 1959
        • Submarine Miner, V.6, #6, June 1959
        • Submarine Miner, V.6, #7, July 1959
        • Submarine Miner, V.6, #8, August 1959
    • DOSCO World
  • People
    • A - B
    • The Messrs. Butler of Topsail
    • C
    • D
    • F
    • G
    • H
    • J
    • K
    • L
    • M - N
    • O - P
    • Q - S
    • T - W
  • Extras
    • Amazing Coincidences
    • Animal Stories
    • The Brighter Side - Poem
    • Buried Treasure
    • Calendar Customs >
      • Bonfire Night
      • Christmas Memories
      • Hallowe'en
    • Great Dinosaur Fossil
    • Jail Break
    • Woman In White
  • Photo Gallery
    • Archibald
    • Built Heritage >
      • Artifacts
    • Careless
    • Dawe
    • Hussey-Weir
    • Library & Archives Canada
    • Lindsay
    • Miners
    • O'Neill
    • Southey
  • About This Site
  • Contact Information


ARTIFACTS

This page will feature photos and stories of man-made objects related to Bell Islands history and culture.

Souvenir Inkwell

The 4 photos below of an inkwell carved of Wabana iron ore are courtesy of Paul Conway. His description of the inkwell:
"The body is a solid block of iron ore, nicely carved out, and the insert is brass, engraved 'Bell Island, Nfld, 1937'."

There were several instances reported in the St. John's Daily News when such items were presented as gifts to visiting dignitaries:
On Sept. 6, 1937, Sir Humphrey Walwyn, Governor of Newfoundland, visited Bell Island for the 2nd annual A.A.A. Sports Day, where he was presented with a souvenir inkwell made of Wabana ore. The first recorded instance of the gift of an engraved piece of Wabana ore was noted in the Daily News in Sept. 1923 when the Grand Master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for the Maritime Provinces and Nfld. was entertained at a banquet by the local lodge. He was presented with a block of Wabana ore bearing a gold plate with a "suitable inscription." Such gifts were to be "presented frequently to other visitors in years to come." In the summer of 1938, Sir Bruce Porter, who was Chief Medical Officer in charge of the Third London Hospital at Wandsworth during WWI, where he had charge of many wounded Nfld. soldiers, visited Bell Island as part of his Nfld. tour. He was given a hero's welcome and presented with an inkwell made of Wabana ore.

Picture
Picture

Picture
Picture

PLM 27 Boom / Legion Flagstaff

Picture
Picture
This is the flagstaff at the Canadian Legion in 2005, to the right of the mural of Steve Neary. (The mural is no longer at that location.)

WWII Torpedo Remnant

Picture

The photo above shows a piece of the torpedo that struck Scotia Pier on November 2, 1942. The torpedo was fired by German submarine U-518 at 3:30 in the morning. It was aimed at a Greek ship, the S.S. Anna T., which was at anchor off the pier, but it missed its target and hit the cliff at the pier instead. The explosion resounded throughout the Island, jolting residents from their sleep. Men in the photo: 1. Dick Foley, 2. ???, 3. ? Brown, 4. Chris Parsley. Photograph by Gerald Milne Moses, courtesy of Library and Archives Canada (PA-188854), Ottawa, Ontario.

The photo below left is of a part of the torpedo. Photo courtesy of Madison Hallingham. In the graphic on the right, part #1 seems to be the object in the left photo.

Picture
Picture

Postage Stamps

Iron ore mining on Bell Island has been celebrated four times on Newfoundland postage stamps. The first was in 1897, two years after the start of the mines. The 5-cent stamp shown on the right was issued as part of the commemoration of the Diamond Jublilee of Queen Victoria, which coincided with the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Newfoundland by John Cabot. The image shows two miners drilling a surface pit.
Picture

The second Bell Island stamp appeared in 1932. On May 20th of that year, J.G. Hodder, Deputy Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, visited Bell Island to take a photograph of the ore carrier S.S. Williamsplein loading iron ore at Dominion Pier. The resulting image on a 24-cent stamp appeared later that year. 

Picture

The third stamp was issued in 1937 to celebrate the coronation of King George VI, whose image was added to the 1932 Dominion Pier image.

Picture

In 1941, the original 1932 stamp was re-issued without the image of King George VI.

Proudly powered by Weebly