I am pleased to rise today to inform my honourable colleagues about an exciting event I attended on Saturday, in which Their Majesties, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway visited the L�Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site to unveil a replica bust of Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad.

I was extremely delighted to represent the provincial government in welcoming the King and Queen of Norway during their visit to Newfoundland and Labrador, and especially to the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage Site in L�Anse aux Meadows. As we joined with Their Majesties in dedicating a monument to Dr. Helge Ingstad, and his wife and partner, Dr. Anne Stine Ingstad, we were reminded of the important contribution they made to the history of Newfoundland and Labrador.

As hnourable colleagues are aware, Helge Ingstad, a Norwegian historian and explorer, accompanied by his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, uncovered the remains of the 11th century buildings in L�Anse aux Meadows in 1960. They have made considerable contributions to world history, verifying that the Vikings were the first to arrive in North America, 500 years prior to Columbus.

These dedicated anthropologists and explorers have truly earned the admiration and thanks of the province and people of Newfoundland and Labrador. There are few among us who commit to a vision, and an ideal to the extent of Dr. Ingstad. With his wife, he left Norway and made this province his home while he toiled for more than seven years to uncover the evidence needed to prove the Norse sagas, that the Vikings discovered North America at L'Anse Aux Meadows 500 years before Giovanni Caboto.

The discovery at L'Anse Aux Meadows is hailed as one of the most significant pieces of archaeological and historical research to have ever taken place in this province. This work has retrieved for us, as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, an unknown part of our history, a history that allowed us to so proudly recognize the arrival of the Vikings at L'Anse aux Meadows more than 1,000 years ago.

During the Vikings!1000 Years Celebrations in 2000, we embraced this heritage as a people. We were awakened to a past that is proud and strong and we came to know better the history of those who lived here before us and those who visited them. To the Ingstads, we are grateful for this.

The ceremony on Saturday symbolized the never ending ties that exist between Newfoundland and Labrador and Norway, by virtue of this site and the work of the Ingstads in its discovery and development.

It also symbolized the gratitude of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to the Ingstads and the connection we feel with another northern region and culture that is taking its place on the world stage.

I would invite all honourable members of this House to take the time to visit the L�Anse aux Meadows site, as I have, and experience its beauty, history and culture firsthand.

2002 05 13                              2:30 p.m.