Battle Harbour

Battle Harbour was the unofficial capital of the Labrador salt-fish trade for two centuries, with merchant premises, stores, a church and a population that swelled each summer with schooner crews. Robert Peary gave his first press interview claiming the North Pole from the Marconi station here in 1909. Resettlement policy emptied the island in the 1960s. Rather than let it fall down, a trust restored the whole settlement from 1990 and now runs it as a place to stay: the buildings are the accommodation, there are no cars, no roads and no mobile signal, and the ferry runs once a day in season.

History

The Poole firm of John Slade and Company set up its salt-fish premises here in the early 1770s, and after 1820 Newfoundland fishing schooners made Battle Harbour their main port of call, the capital of the Labrador floater fishery; Baine, Johnston and Company ran it from 1871 to 1955 and the Earle Freighting Service until the inshore fishery declined at the start of the 1990s. A major fire in 1930 and the decline of the cod fishery weakened it, its people were resettled between 1965 and 1970, and the premises were given to the Battle Harbour Historic Trust, which preserves them as a museum (Wikipedia, Battle Harbour).

What you'll find

• The intact outport - a whole settlement restored rather than a single building.
• The merchant premises - salt-fish stores and stages on the waterfront.
• The Peary connection - where the North Pole claim was first announced.
• The car-free island - no roads, no vehicles and no phone signal.

When to go

June to September only; the ferry runs in that window and the island closes entirely otherwise. Icebergs pass in June and whales arrive in July. Booking is required well ahead.

Good to know

Access is by a once-daily ferry that fog and swell cancel. There is no cell coverage. Accommodation is limited and books months ahead. Everything closes for winter.

Nearby

Mary's Harbour is the ferry port; Red Bay lies west along the Labrador coast.

Key facts