The wind was blowing, the sun was shining and we were heading off to the Random Passage film set. 
This area was preserved from the TV Series “Random Passage” 
which was filmed in 2002. 
The film set replicates an early 1800s fishing station that includes houses,
church, school, garden, sheep, and salt fish making.
McKenzie got her first introduction to sheep.
It seemed they didn’t want her infringing on their territory and when she decided to sniff one, she got a good “butt” for her effort. Lucky for the sheep, her daddy picked her up before she got her terrier attitude in gear! Our guide also showed us how to carry two buckets of water without spilling a drop 
and though I got dressed for the part, the winter wool cloak was just too heavy and hot.
I have a new respect for actresses and actors! We so enjoyed the movie set, that we bought the DVD before we left so we can sit down and see the entire storyline.
The next town we arrived at was Port Union, the only union-built town in North America.
In 1916, the town of Port Union began to take shape. The Fisherman’s Protective Union Trading Company premises was completed and the Union Corporate Headquarters transferred from St. John’s. A salt fish processing store, a department store with electric elevators, a seal oil plant, houses built for workers, and a medicine shop were among some of the amenities available in Port Union back in the early 1900’s, when cod ruled international trade. Throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, that trade was closely controlled by a small elite group of merchants. An archaic “truck” or trade system was in place. The merchant monopoly set the prices, and fishermen were paid in goods, not cash. In 1908, the Fishermen’s Protective Union (FPU) founded by William Coaker, set out to change all that. Its goal was to revolutionize the fishery, placing control of the fish trade in the hands of fishermen. It chose Port Union – part of a coast steeped in the 500 year fishing tradition – as the center of FPU activities.
William Coaker was an activist, labor leader, visionary, businessman, publisher and politician. He began his career as a fish handler on the St. John’s docks and led his first successful strike when he was 13 years old. Later, the Fisherman’s Protective Union he envisioned and founded grew in three years to a record 25,000 members – one tenth of Newfoundland’s population at the time. Convinced that whoever controlled the media controlled the message, he set up a press and published the Fishermen’s Advocate. He was eventually knighted for his achievements. His bungalow, as he called it, was beautiful!
At the tip of the Bonavista Peninsula is the town of Bonavista, one of the most important towns in Newfoundland. In 1497, Giovanni Caboto aka John Cabot was said to have sighted land and claimed the island for Britain.
He noted the plentiful cod stocks and, for the next couple of hundred years, people arrived from England and Ireland to fish. We drove out to Cape Bonavista and took pictures of the lighthouse
which is currently under refurbishment and the sea stacks and cliffs surrounding it.
South of Cape Bonavista is a very unusual rock formation known as the Dungeon. 
The Dungeon is a twin entrance sea cave with a collapsed roof. 
Back in town we visited the Matthew Legacy site which berths the full scale replica of John Cabot’s ship,
The Matthew, which brought John Cabot and his crew to the “New Founde Lande” more than 500 years ago.
With all the talk of “salt fish”, we decided we had to try some to see what how it tastes. I had fishcakes made out of mashed potatoes, onions and salt fish, fried into a patty and George tried the salt fish and hardtack.
Both were good but I don’t think I could take a steady diet of it.
To walk off the lunch, we decided to visit the Mockbeggar Plantation which may well be the oldest fishery plantation on the island of Newfoundland.
One of the unusual aspects of the house was a beautiful open beamed library.
The house was built in the 1870’s and was the home of F. Gordon Bradley, Newfoundland’s first federal cabinet minister after Confederation. It has been restored to the 1939 period.
Ryan Premises is a restored 19th century industrial salt fish complex of warehouses and a proprietor’s house.
For more than 500 years the fishery has influenced settlement, culture, and economic development on Canada’s east coast. Ryan Premises National Historic Site depicts the rich history of the fishery and its impact upon the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. James Ryan was only 15 when he and his father, Michael, a native of Ireland started the James Ryan firm in 1857. The business quickly became a typical mercantile establishment, supplying essential food and supplies to the community while finding foreign markets for the fish upon which the community depended for its survival. When James Ryan died in 1917, the business was at its peak and Ryan was a wealthy man.
The family business continued for another 61 years but gradually declined along with the salt fish trade and closed its doors for good in 1978.
Because of over-fishing with new modern innovations, traps and ships, a moratorium has been declared on catching cod on the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts. Now, fishermen are limited to a certain number of pounds of fish or a certain number of fish which can be caught during a specified period once or twice a year. Gradually the cod stocks are recovering, but it is a slow process. In the mean time, thousands of fishermen have had to find new careers.
As we head out of Bonavista, we will be driving down the Bonavista peninsula toward Terra Nova National Park, gradually making our way around one of the most beautiful islands we have ever visited. There’s still lots of history and gorgeous scenery so we hope you’ll stop by again and take a few minutes to dream along with us.
This area was preserved from the TV Series “Random Passage” which was filmed in 2002. The film set replicates an early 1800s fishing station that includes houses, church, school, garden, sheep, and salt fish making. McKenzie got her first introduction to sheep. It seemed they didn’t want her infringing on their territory and when she decided to sniff one, she got a good “butt” for her effort. Lucky for the sheep, her daddy picked her up before she got her terrier attitude in gear! Our guide also showed us how to carry two buckets of water without spilling a drop and though I got dressed for the part, the winter wool cloak was just too heavy and hot. I have a new respect for actresses and actors! We so enjoyed the movie set, that we bought the DVD before we left so we can sit down and see the entire storyline.The next town we arrived at was Port Union, the only union-built town in North America.
In 1916, the town of Port Union began to take shape. The Fisherman’s Protective Union Trading Company premises was completed and the Union Corporate Headquarters transferred from St. John’s. A salt fish processing store, a department store with electric elevators, a seal oil plant, houses built for workers, and a medicine shop were among some of the amenities available in Port Union back in the early 1900’s, when cod ruled international trade. Throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, that trade was closely controlled by a small elite group of merchants. An archaic “truck” or trade system was in place. The merchant monopoly set the prices, and fishermen were paid in goods, not cash. In 1908, the Fishermen’s Protective Union (FPU) founded by William Coaker, set out to change all that. Its goal was to revolutionize the fishery, placing control of the fish trade in the hands of fishermen. It chose Port Union – part of a coast steeped in the 500 year fishing tradition – as the center of FPU activities.William Coaker was an activist, labor leader, visionary, businessman, publisher and politician. He began his career as a fish handler on the St. John’s docks and led his first successful strike when he was 13 years old. Later, the Fisherman’s Protective Union he envisioned and founded grew in three years to a record 25,000 members – one tenth of Newfoundland’s population at the time. Convinced that whoever controlled the media controlled the message, he set up a press and published the Fishermen’s Advocate. He was eventually knighted for his achievements. His bungalow, as he called it, was beautiful!
At the tip of the Bonavista Peninsula is the town of Bonavista, one of the most important towns in Newfoundland. In 1497, Giovanni Caboto aka John Cabot was said to have sighted land and claimed the island for Britain.
He noted the plentiful cod stocks and, for the next couple of hundred years, people arrived from England and Ireland to fish. We drove out to Cape Bonavista and took pictures of the lighthouse which is currently under refurbishment and the sea stacks and cliffs surrounding it. South of Cape Bonavista is a very unusual rock formation known as the Dungeon. The Dungeon is a twin entrance sea cave with a collapsed roof. Back in town we visited the Matthew Legacy site which berths the full scale replica of John Cabot’s ship,
The Matthew, which brought John Cabot and his crew to the “New Founde Lande” more than 500 years ago.With all the talk of “salt fish”, we decided we had to try some to see what how it tastes. I had fishcakes made out of mashed potatoes, onions and salt fish, fried into a patty and George tried the salt fish and hardtack.
Both were good but I don’t think I could take a steady diet of it.To walk off the lunch, we decided to visit the Mockbeggar Plantation which may well be the oldest fishery plantation on the island of Newfoundland.
One of the unusual aspects of the house was a beautiful open beamed library. The house was built in the 1870’s and was the home of F. Gordon Bradley, Newfoundland’s first federal cabinet minister after Confederation. It has been restored to the 1939 period.Ryan Premises is a restored 19th century industrial salt fish complex of warehouses and a proprietor’s house.
For more than 500 years the fishery has influenced settlement, culture, and economic development on Canada’s east coast. Ryan Premises National Historic Site depicts the rich history of the fishery and its impact upon the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. James Ryan was only 15 when he and his father, Michael, a native of Ireland started the James Ryan firm in 1857. The business quickly became a typical mercantile establishment, supplying essential food and supplies to the community while finding foreign markets for the fish upon which the community depended for its survival. When James Ryan died in 1917, the business was at its peak and Ryan was a wealthy man. The family business continued for another 61 years but gradually declined along with the salt fish trade and closed its doors for good in 1978.Because of over-fishing with new modern innovations, traps and ships, a moratorium has been declared on catching cod on the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts. Now, fishermen are limited to a certain number of pounds of fish or a certain number of fish which can be caught during a specified period once or twice a year. Gradually the cod stocks are recovering, but it is a slow process. In the mean time, thousands of fishermen have had to find new careers.
As we head out of Bonavista, we will be driving down the Bonavista peninsula toward Terra Nova National Park, gradually making our way around one of the most beautiful islands we have ever visited. There’s still lots of history and gorgeous scenery so we hope you’ll stop by again and take a few minutes to dream along with us.
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