NLIS 4
November 9, 2001
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

 

Minister accepts former Newfoundland Governor's diaries for Provincial Archives Holdings 
and opens new exhibit

Kevin Aylward, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, accepted the diaries, photographs and correspondence of former Newfoundland Governor Walter Davidson and opened the exhibit Davidson's St. John's, at an event at the Colonial Building today. The documents, presented to the province by Davidson's granddaughter from Wales, Caroline Charles-Jones, give incredible detail of the Governor's time in Newfoundland from 1913-1917.

"The Governor's diaries are a vivid daily account of everything he lived through during this time and truly a rare find for any archive," said Minister Aylward. "The wealth of detail Governor Davidson provided us in these diaries, which includes everything from daily weather conditions to the considerably notable events surrounding the beginning of World War I, offers us an eye witness account to one of the most significant periods in our social, political and military history. These diaries allow generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to live and experience everything that Governor Davidson did and saw."

The minister continued, "This exhibit and the Governor's documents also provide an insight into Davidson's relationship with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, a lasting symbol of pride and identity for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The story of how these documents were repatriated is just as interesting, when a conversation in a pub in Wales between a Newfoundlander and the Governor's granddaughter became the catalyst of bringing this remarkable collection back to the province."

These diaries will be a valuable source for historians, students and the general public interested in exploring one of the most interesting periods in this province's history and will be an important collection for the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador as it moves into its new home at The Rooms in 2003.

The exhibit will run from November 9 to March 22. The general public can visit the exhibit Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Colonial Building. Admission is free. 

Media contact: Catherina Kennedy, Communications, (709) 729-0928.

2001 11 09                              1:10 p.m.


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