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June 10, 1997
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)


Cabot and His World Symposium Under Way in St. John's Tomorrow

The Cabot and His World Symposium gets under way tomorrow morning in St. John's. Tomorrow night's opening session at the LSPU Hall features a presentation by eminent naval architect and designer of the Matthew, Colin Mudie. Mudie has been involved with the Matthew project since he was asked to design the vessel in 1992.

On Thursday morning, Daniel Ashini, Innu Nation, and Shayne McDonald, Miawpukek Band/Federation of Newfoundland Indians, present Newfoundland and Labrador before European Arrival.

In the afternoon, the symposium presents a discussion of European Knowledge of the North Atlantic before Cabot. Presenters Brigitta Wallace and Alan Williams will speak on The Norse Voyages and From St. Brendan to the Early Bristol Probes, respectively.

A highlight of the symposium will be Thursday night's session: The Cabot Landfall: A Debate. Moderator Leslie Harris will guide speakers Fabian O'Dea, Bonavista; Brian Cuthbertson, Cape Breton; and Alan Williams; Straits of Belle Isle, through what promises to be a lively, and at times heated debate, about the Cabot landfall site.

Other presentations throughout the three-day symposium include Culture and Contact, Alternative Landfalls: The Grates Cove and Flatrock Traditions and Cabot, Canadians and Newfoundlanders. Participants and speakers come from varied backgrounds and experiences.

The Cabot and His World Symposium is the essential introduction to a summer filled with celebrations marking one man's achievement. Speakers at the symposium will discuss and debate many aspects of the voyage and the long term significance of European settlement in North America. The symposium will help all who participate to put the voyage and the celebration in context.

Cabot and His World closes in St. John's on Friday evening, and moves on to Bonavista for June 14 and 15. Editors note: The Cabot and His World Symposium programme is attached.

  • Contact:

    Doug Burgess
    Manager, Marketing and Communications
    Cabot 500 Celebrations
    (709) 729-1997

    Pat O'Brien
    Coordinator
    Cabot and His World Symposium
    (709) 722-2781


                      ----------------------------
                                Programme

                           Cabot and His World
                              June 11 - 15

                               St. John's 
                              June 11 - 13


Wednesday, June 11

OPENING SESSION AND RECEPTION                               $7   

7:30 pm   "The Naval Architecture of the Matthew"           LSPU Hall
          
          Presentation by Colin Mudie, RDI, Naval Architect
          Chair: James Hiller

          Presentation sponsored by Hibernia Management and Development
          Company and the British Council

          Reception hosted by Canada's National History Society



Thursday, June 12

MORNING SESSION

10:00 am  "Newfoundland and Labrador before European Arrival"
          
          Daniel Ashini - Innu Nation
          Shayne McDonald - Miawpukek Band/ Federation of Newfoundland
          Indians
          Chair: Adrian Tanner

Lunch                                                  Invitation Only

12:00 pm  Hosted by the City of St. John's                  City Hall


SPECIAL CONCURRENT LEARNED SOCIETIES SESSION                N/C

2:00 pm   "Discovery"                             Memorial, Arts &
                                                  Admin, Room A1043
          A multi-disciplinary roundtable
          Chair: Robert Paine

AFTERNOON SESSION                                           $5

2:00 pm   "European Knowledge of the North Atlantic before Cabot"
          
          Brigitta Wallace (Parks Canada), The Norse Voyages
          Alan Williams (Birmingham), From St. Brendan to the Early
          Bristol Probes
          Chair: Olaf Janzen


3:15 pm   Break sponsored by Auntie Crae's Food Shops

3:45 pm   "The English Context of the Cabot Voyages"

          Tom Evans (Memorial University), Henry VII's England and "new
          found lands"
          Todd Gray (University of Exeter), Fishing and England's Need
          for Exploration
          Evan Jones (University of Leicester), Bristol and
          Newfoundland, 1490-1600
          Chair: Ches Sanger

RECEPTION                                          Invitation Only

5:30 pm                                           Government House

EVENING SESSION                                                  $5

8:00 pm   "The Cabot Landfall: A Debate"
          
          Fabian O'Dea (St. John's) - Bonavista
          Brian Cuthbertson (Halifax) - Cape Breton
          Alan Williams (Birmingham) - Straits of Belle Isle
          Moderator: Leslie Harris

     Presentation sponsored by the Newfoundland Historic Parks
     Association

Friday, June 13

MORNING SESSION                                                  $5

9:00 am   "Culture and Contact"

          Ingeborg Marshall
          Daniel Ashini - Innu Nation
          Shayne McDonald - Miawpukek Band/Federation of Newfoundland
          Indians
          Chair: To Be Announced

10:30 am  Break sponsored by Browning Harvey Ltd.

11:00 am  "The European Presence, 1500-1650"
     
          Olaf Janzen (Grenfell College), France, England and the
          Newfoundland Fishery, 1500-1604
          Darlene Abreu Ferreira (University of Winnipeg), Terra Nova
          through the Iberian Looking-Glass: The Portuguese-Newfoundland
          Fishery in the 16th Century
          Chair: Daniel Vickers

11:00 am  "Alternative Landfalls: The Grates Cove and Flatrock
          Traditions"                                  Court House
          Speakers to be announced.

GENEALOGICAL WORKSHOPS                                      $15

10:00 am - 4:00 pm                      Gower St. United Church Lecture
                                        Hall

          The Newfoundland and Labrador Genealogical Society will run
          genealogical workshops, concentrating on West Country
          connections.

LUNCH                                             Invitation Only

12:30 pm                                               The Kirk

          Hosted by the Department of Canadian Heritage


AFTERNOON SESSION                                           $5

2:00 pm   "Cabot, Canadians and Newfoundlanders"

          Shane O'Dea (Memorial University), Cabot Tower and the
          Construction of Nationalism
          Peter Pope (Memorial University), The Many Landfalls of John
          Cabot: The Construction of National Memories in 1897.
          Roberto Perin (York University), What's in a Name?  Giovanni
          Caboto and the Sense of Belonging
          Chair: Laird Rankin

2:00 pm   "Ships and Navigation"                  Newfoundland Museum 

          Daniel Vickers (Memorial University), Navigating Without Maps:
          The Explorer's Problem in the Age of Discovery
          Brad Loewen (Universite Laval), New Research on Shipbuilding
          in the Age of Discovery
          Chair: Malcolm MacLeod

3:15 pm   "Cabot and Popular Culture"

          Gerald Pocius (Memorial University)
          Chair: Terry Bishop-Stirling


A WEST COUNTRY EVENING                                      $20

7:00 pm   Dinner and Entertainment                     Masonic Temple

          Host: Otto Tucker
          Music by Anita Best and Jim Payne
          Cash Bar


Saturday, June 14

1:15 pm   LUNCH                                             $6

3:45 pm   Break sponsored by Browning Harvey Ltd.


AFTERNOON SESSION                                           $1

4:00 pm   "North Atlantic Voyages before Cabot"
     
          Birgitta Wallace (Parks Canada), The Norse Voyages
          Alan Williams (Birmingham), From St. Brendan to the Early
          Bristol Probes
          Chair: Warren Trask

          Debate                                            $3
          With Dinner                                       $15

6:30 pm                                           United Church Hall

          Dinner sponsored by the Bonavista Historical Society
          Host: Otto Tucker


8:00 pm   "The Cabot Landfall: A Debate"

          Fabian O'Dea (St. John's) - Bonavista
          Brian Cuthbertson (Halifax) - Cape Breton
          Alan Williams (Birmingham) - Straits of Belle Isle
          Moderator: Leslie Harris

Reception hosted by Fred Mifflin, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans


Sunday, June 15

BUS TOUR                                                    $20

8:30 am   "Built Heritage"
     
          A bus tour (approx. 4 hrs) of Port Union, Trinity, King's
          Cove, Keels and Cape Bonavista with George Chalker, David
          White, Aiden Maloney, Gordon Bradley

          Hosted by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador

GENEALOGICAL WORKSHOPS                                      $15

10:00 am - 3:00 pm                                     Court House

          The Newfoundland and Labrador Genealogical Society will offer
          genealogical workshops, concentrating on West Country
          connections.
          David Sturge Artiss (Memorial), John Guy and the Bristol Rule
          of the Bonavista Bay Sturges

LUNCH AND ADDRESS                                           $7

12:45 pm  "The Aboriginal Experience"
     
          Shayne McDonald - Miawpukek Band/ Federation of Newfoundland
          Indians

AFTERNOON SESSION                                           $2

2:00 pm   "The West Country Fishery and Migration"     

          Gordon Hancock (Memorial University), The Question of Origins
          Todd Gray (University of Exeter), Fish and Ships
          Evan Jones (University of Leicester), Bristol and
          Newfoundland, 1490-1600
          Chair: Marilyn Coles Hayley

3:15 pm   Break sponsored by Bonavista Foodland

3:45 pm   "Cabot, Canadians and Newfoundlanders"

          Shane O'Dea (Memorial University), Cabot Tower and the
          Construction of Nationalism
          Peter Pope (Memorial University), The Many Landfalls of John
          Cabot: The Construction of National Memories in 1897.
          Roberto Perin (York University), What's in a Name?  Giovanni
          Caboto and the Sense of Belonging
          Chair: Gordon Bradley

EVENING SESSION                                                  $2
WITH DINNER                                                      $15

6:30 pm   Dinner Hosted by the Town of Bonavista
          Host: Otto Tucker

8:00 pm   "Cabot and Popular Culture"
          Gerald Pocius (Memorial University)
          Chair: Bramwell Mouland
1997 06 10   4:30 p.m.

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