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Corner Brook, Newfoundland
ABOUT
Corner Brook is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the largest outside the Avalon Peninsula.
The area was surveyed by Captain James Cook in 1767. The Captain James Cook Historic Site stands on Crow Hill overlooking the city. By the middle of the 19th century, the population of Corner Brook was less than 100, and the inhabitants were engaged in fishing and lumber work.
The Corner Brook newsprint mill was built in the early 1920s and first produced paper in 1925. Today it has grown its local economy across several sectors, from retail, to tourism and education.
Population in the city is just under 30,000
Currency is the Canadian dollar.
THINGS TO DO
OUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO
We had a walk around what appeared to be a sleepy little town. But it turned out to be so much more.
Not realising how far it was from the dock to the centre we initially took the shuttle. We had great fun as the shuttle was a traditional school bus. In fact it really was well within walking distance. We were dropped off adjacent to the main street and our first sight was of the war memorial, prominantly placed in front of the City Hall.
There was an easy route along the main street to the far end of Corner Brook. This culminated in lovely park area and is where we were welcomed by some of the Mi‘kmaq people.
NATIONAL DAY OF TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
We were lucky enough to be in Corner Brook the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. We had been advised of this on the ship but there was no real explanation of the symbalism. How fortunate we were to find out for ourselves the interesting and emotional story.
The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, originally and still colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day, is a Canadian holiday to recognise the legacy of the Canadian Indian residential school system. The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. The childrens’ clothes on the stalls, seen in the photo below, were actually part of that commemoration.
The orange shirts are a symbol of solidarity. Wearing orange recognises the many losses experienced by students, their families and communities, over several generations, including loss of family and culture, language, freedom, parenting, self‐esteem and worth, and painful experiences of abuse and neglect.
Meeting a Mi'kmaq descendent
We met a wonderful lady whilst we were strolling around the park and taking in the memorial. She took time to speak to us about the meaning of the Day and to tell her own story – she was then kind enough to agree to explain some of this on camera and part of that is included in our vlog of that day.
She was not one of those children taken into the residential schools but it was still happening when she was young. Her family chose to hide their identity to protect their children and ensure that they could obtain employment.
More than that she also offered us to join in with the barbeque being held. We gratefully accepted her kind hospitality but did not film it out of respect to the people there.
If you happen to be in Canada for this important National Day then please take time to learn about it.
On a lighter note, we stopped off at the Boomstick Brewing Company to sample their wares – well it would have been rude not to!
This is one of two established breweries in the town. Although not brewing on the day we visited, they do brew on site.
They have quite a number of interesting beers on sale including Uphill Both Ways, Every Inch a Sailor, Liquid Sunshine and Double Daylight to name but a few! The beer glasses came complete with a panic line – to indicate when to order the next one.
Rather than have a flight to try, Ken had a local IPA beer which he enjoyed.
To check out our experiences in Corner Brook just click the video below – and if you enjoy the content simply ‘Like’ and ‘Subscribe’ to see more (subscription is free).