In this piece I’ll demonstrate how the food supply of the late 19th century town of Little Bay, Newfoundland was embedded in the larger colonial shipping system. Little Bay was a company town which grew out of a mining boom in Northern Newfoundland. It had a population that peaked at just over 2,200 making it one of the island’s largest centres. Between its founding in 1878 and its destruction by fire in 1903 it was the main copper producer in Newfoundland and one of the largest in the world. It claimed great economic resource and boasted an advanced industrial wharfage. Little Bay relied heavily on shipping for food. Food availability varied seasonally as shipping was stopped in winter months due to ice. In winter they relied on dogsleds which could manage only low weight. This meant most of what the town needed to survive had to be stockpiled.

The majority of Little Bay’s goods were imported. They arrived from other parts of the island, Canada, and Britain. Steamships carrying industrial supplies and general provisions arrived regularly (Twillingate Sun, July 24, 1886). Shipping from Swansea in Whales brought such items as refined sugar, condensed milk, and dried fruit (Clyde Bill of Entry and Shipping List, May 19 1891). Little Bay required much import. For example, when the Billow Crest left Swansea for Little Bay on June 19 1888 it was carrying the following:

15 tons pig iron
23 lbs Portland cement
40 cwt British refined sugar
20 coils of Manila rope
3 packages of marline twine
51 tons fire clay bricks
1 cask earthenware
1 cwt bottled ink
2 boxes writing paper
112 boxes candles
7 brls. paraffin oil
4 coils steel wire rope
1 box printed books and mathematical instruments

Little Bay was a prosperous mining centre. The majority of its goods were imported and the rates on imported goods were considerable (Daily Colonist, Sept 7 1886). Flour was imported as was most fresh mutton and beef (Evening Telegram, Jan 17 1885). Incoming cattle shipments were announced by advertisement (Twillingate Sun, Sept 22 1888). Large numbers of cattle were raised and slaughtered in Trinity Bay for Little Bay (Evening Telegram, Dec 15 1886). The town was reliant on shipping as little food was supplied locally.

Local fishing “prospects [were] very poor” (Evening Telegram Aug 1, 1884). The unexpected arrival of seals was noteworthy (Evening Telegram, March 23 1889). A haul of squid was rare (Twillingate Sun, July 24 1886). The proximity of the French Shore meant encroachments impacted the herring, lobster, and salmon fisheries (Daily Colonist, Sept 17 1887). Furthermore Newfoundland’s merchant system was ill regarded (Twillingate Sun, April 3 1886). Fishermen were kept indebted to the merchants (Daily Colonist, June 6 1887). However, as Little Bay was a mining company town, few people engaged in fishing regularly.

They didn’t do much farming either. Potential farm land went unused and so an argument was made for retraining fishermen in the practice of farming (Twillingate Sun, Jan 26 1889). Agricultural proposals looked to the government for assistance. In 1885 petitions were sent requesting the government’s help with implementing agricultural operations in the area between Little Bay and Hall’s Bay. This could not begin without access roads first being built (St. John’s Terra Nova, April 22 1885). Legislation was sought to compensate farmers for the work of clearing land (Evening Telegram, June 2 1886). The new Agriculture Act had unexpected consequences (Twillingate Sun, March 16 1889). The government was criticized for its miscalculations (Twillingate Sun, Nov 15 1890). Nevertheless, crops were successfully produced locally. A farm advertised for public auction in Little Bay in 1890 was described as “of 6 acres more or less — 4 of which are under cultivation, 2 acres Hay, 1 Oats and Hayseed, 1 Potatoes, Cabbage, and Turnips” (Twillingate Sun, July 19 1890). Farming was business.

Hunting was also business. Most locals appear to have hunted only opportunistically. It was not prominent local practice. However, concerns were raised about the overhunting of caribou by visiting sportsmen (Twillingate Sun, March 20 1886). The sale of venison after a large hunt was a rare event. The meat was cured with brine after it could no longer be sold fresh (Twillingate Sun, June 7 1890). Hunting boons were largely a matter for particular businesses with the meats sold in local market. It does not generally appear to have been harvested regularly by mining families for themselves. Food was commodity to be bought.

Food was sold in Little Bay at several prominent establishments such as Benson’s Provisional Store and the Reddin Brother’s Shop. Reddin Bros. sold “provisions, groceries, and dry
goods” (St. John’s Colonist, July 6 1888). On October 3 1886 police arrested “John Mullins and Thomas Matthews for having entered the shop [to steal] sundry shop goods such as canned milk, canned cherries, tobacco, bottle of vinegar, cheese and biscuits” (Wells, P.167). These foods required shipping and as such were ordered. On Oct 15 1880 the following items were ordered for Little Bay according to the diary of Paymaster Henry Lind:

3 Boxes Sardines
8 Boxes Oysters
2 Brls. Dried Currants
3 cwt Cut Leaf Sugar
10 Sides Sole Leather
20 Brls. Pork
2 cwt Baking Soda
10 cases Anglo Swiss milk 25 Boxes Loose Raisins 10 casks Kero Oil
15 Boxes Soap
12 doz. Mix Pickles
20 Brls. Corned Beef
2 doz. American Axes
5 doz. Crackers, trim salt 20 Brls. Potatoes

4 doz. American Axe Handles
1 doz. Bull’s Eye lantern, small
1 Spring Bottom Glass Globe
2 Only Hanging Lamps
2 doz. Child’s Lace Boots
1 large Canadian flag
1 Gross Newtons F Black Lead Pencils 100 Brls. Super Ex Flour

I suspect Little Bay’s food supply looks more similar to today’s than is popularly conceived of 19th century Newfoundland. The majority of their food was imported. Food was produced elsewhere requiring immense and intense international resource. This had local impact. The people of Little Bay were concerned with overhunting. They looked to their government for retraining and the implementation of agriculture. Together this shows them embedded within systems seen largely beyond their control. Their food supply was an external issue not simply a localized one. That sounds like a shockingly modern problem. We cannot look back at Little Bay as a solution to modern problems. However, I propose that Little Bay can offer us some needed perspective on a colonial shipping system that informs food supply still. By seeing similarities between Little Bay and ourselves perhaps we benefit from some historical distance. It’s difficult to know what to do when faced with today’s problems but it may be easier to see what others could have done differently. And, if so, maybe Little Bay’s past food supply can help us more readily suggest ways to improve our own.