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The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent §tre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada THE PLACE OF THE LABRADOR FISHERY IN THE FOLKLIFE OF A NEWFOUNDLAND COMMUNITY Submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Master of Arts By Clara Joan Doyle Murphy Rutherford Memorial University of Newfoundland 2009 ABSTRACT This study takes a life history approach to a community study which analyzes the effect of the Labrador fishery on an area comprising several settlements - Colliers, Conception Harbour, Avondale, and Brigus - but focusing on Colliers. The Labrador stationary fishery developed among Newfoundland fisherpeople, principally from Conception Bay, during the nineteenth century. The fishery faltered in the 1940s, revived in the 1960s, and continued into the time of my study with greatly reduced numbers and with structural changes. While this study centers on the traditional fishery, it also deals with the post-1960 fishery and with Newfoundlander and Labradorian relationships past and present. The bulk of the data used in this work was collected in three main ways: fieldwork, archival survey, and library research. The fieldwork consists of two parts: (1) two field trips to Labrador and (2) fieldwork in the community of Colliers and surrounding areas. The trip to Labrador by coastal boat was undertaken during the month of July 1984. A follow-up visit was made April-May 1986. The experience of taking the coastal boat as a participant observer helped to place the experiences of informants into geographical and cultural context. The tangible results of the trip include two hundred photographs, an inventory of Newfoundland fishermen who were fishing on the Labrador and their fishing stations, six lengthy interviews, and dozens of shorter interviews. A preliminary list has also been compiled of people from Colliers and the surrounding areas who went on the Labrador between 1857 and 1948. n I searched the Memorial University Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA) for student collections which deal with the Labrador fishery from the point of view of "floaters" and "stationers". Respectively, floaters and stationers were fishermen from Newfoundland who prosecuted the fishery either by schooners or from rooms (fishing premises) on the Labrador. To supplement the interviews done in Labrador, I also searched the Them Days Archives and its publication, Them Days Magazine, a regional oral history magazine, for the point of view of Labradorians on the Newfoundland fishermen. The archival research revealed five areas of descriptions of trips to the Labrador: (1) "going in collar" (preparing for the trip), (2) "on the passage" (the trip down), (3) work on the Labrador, (4) sociability on the Labrador, and (5) the return to Newfoundland. The narratives presented in the final section of this thesis concern the effect of the annual summer migration on the home community in Newfoundland. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During my studies I was assisted financially by a bursary from the School of Graduate Studies, a fellowship from the Institute of Social and Economic Research, and a scholarship from the Women's Association of Memorial University of Newfoundland. Fieldwork was funded by the Institute of Social and Economic Research and the Institute for Northern Studies. Archive assistantships from the Department of Folklore and a research assistantship from Dr. Gerald Pocius not only assisted me financially but also kept me constantly aware of how the Labrador fishery affected all areas of Newfoundland. Dr. Wilfred Wareham supported and nurtured this project in its infant stage. Dr. Larry Small provided the original idea and the incentive to stay with it. Dr. Martin Lovelace gave up his vacation time to encourage me to keep writing. Dr. Diane Tye took up the battle cry and helped me tie it all together. Jamie Moreira, Melissa Ladenheim, Philip Hiscock, Susan Hart, Lynn MacDonald, Eileen Condon, Barbara Rieti, Kathy Kimiecik, Anita Best, Marie-Annick Desplanques, and Sister Mary Theresa Doyle, P.B.V.M, gave insightful comments and criticisms throughout the preparation of the thesis. John Ryan provided pictures of Colliers which are greatly appreciated. Eric and Hyra Skogland, Don and Una Saunders, and Richard and Marie Rich provided living accommodations for me in Labrador. Tom Murphy, the Carey and Doyle families, Lynn MacDonald, Susan Hart, and Deanna Skinner provided home life and companionship for my children when I was out in the field. Doris Saunders and Judy McGrath greatly increased my knowledge of the Labrador. Family members, Mom, iv Theresa, Vince, John, (my sister) Lynn, Katrina, and Doug financed the writing stage of my thesis. Special thanks are extended to my former employers, Newfoundland and Labrador Council of Archives and the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archivists, for allowing me to take my annual leave so early into the contract to write the thesis to meet the first deadline. Many family members and friends supported me emotionally, physically, and financially in sickness and hard times, through my full-time single parent graduate student days, my subsequent days as a part-time graduate - a lifetime of underpaid contract work, overpriced slum housing, broken leg, and all - and life after grad school. My gratitude to them, my husband Doug and to my children, Katrina and Tom, and to my grandson and soul mate Ryan James Douglas Murphy is heartfelt. This thesis is dedicated to the men and women of Newfoundland and Labrador who lived the fishery and shared their memories with folklore students, and especially to my father who taught me that a job is never finished until the work is done and to my mother whose work is finally done. Clara Joan Doyle Murphy Rutherford v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER 1 2 History of the Labrador Fishery 11 Colliers 15 Physical Description of Colliers 19 Colliers: Community Life 20 Songs 23 Religious and Educational History 24 Theoretical Approaches 26 CHAPTER 2 36 Origins of the Study 36 Fieldwork 38 The Northern Run 44 My Stay at Tickeraluck Point 51 The Trip Home 55 Fieldwork in Colliers 58 Labrador Revisited 64 Summary 65 vi CHAPTER 3 68 Going in Collar: Narratives of the Voyage 68 Experiences of People from Colliers 80 On the Passage 84 Sex on the Passage 87 Neptune 93 Summary 95 CHAPTER 4 97 The Fishery in the Nineteenth Century 98 The Fishery in the Twentieth Century 100 Work Rounds 102 Women's Role in the Folklife of the Labrador Fishery 104 Occupational Hazards 115 Conflict 119 Disruptive Tricks 127 Interview with James Doyle 129 Cooperation 131 Blackflies & Mosquitoes 134 Supernatural Beliefs 136 Summary 139 vii CHAPTER 5 140 Harbour Days 140 Songs 142 Dances 145 Gulching 147 Pranks and Practical Jokes 149 Stories of Strength 152 Games 153 Harbour Days: Summary 154 The Trip Home 154 Narratives of Death and the Supernatural 158 CHAPTER 6 165 Final Comments 175 BIBLIOGRAPHY 178 APPENDIX A 189 APPENDIX B 191 Figures 194 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map showing the areas covered in the fieldtrips of 1984 and 1986, as well as key places not covered in Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2. Map of Colliers. Figure 3. Fishing Areas. Figure 4. An illustration from Herman Moll's map of 1710. Figure 5. My grandfather's house, the oldest one in Colliers, with Tom Doyle's house in the background. Figure 6. House located at Tickeraluck Island, Labrador, used for summer fishery. ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this thesis is twofold. First, it aims to document a significant item in the history of Colliers, Conception Bay, a community whose history has not received extensive consideration in printed sources. The second objective is to examine the Labrador fishery from the perspective of the Colliers people who participated in it on a seasonal basis.

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