News Releases
Government Home Search Sitemap Contact Us  

June 20, 1997
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)


Royal Visit to Highlight Bonavista Landfall Ceremony

When Captain David Alan-Williams and his crew of 18 from the Matthew step ashore at Bonavista on June 24, they will do so before a multi-million person television audience, and to the immediate and personal welcome of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Almost five years of planning on both sides of the Atlantic have gone into the Bonavista Landfall event, both in terms of the Matthew construction endeavour at Bristol, England, and the extensive preparations for Newfoundland and Labrador's Cabot 500 Anniversary Celebrations to receive the 15th century caravel replica.

The thousands of people who will be on hand at Bonavista to greet the Matthew will also be joined by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, John Bruton. Ireland is recorded as the last European point of land from where Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot, set out on his epic voyage of exploration 500 years ago.

Premier Brian Tobin and Bonavista Mayor Don Tremblett will host the Landfall Ceremony, with introductory remarks by Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister Sandra Kelly. They will be joined by Newfoundland and Labrador Lieutenant Governor Dr. Max House and Mrs. House, and Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and Mrs. Klein.

The Government of Canada will be represented by Veterans Affairs Minister and Secretary of State for ACOA, Fred Mifflin, who will address the ceremony, and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Sheila Copps.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien will be in St. John's on June 23 and 25 to take part in the Royal Visit arrival and state functions.

Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot, was born in Italy and was registered as a citizen of Venice. In recognition of his ancestry, Dr. Franco Bozzolin, Minister for Immigration of the Region of Venice, will unveil a marble plaque at the landfall ceremony in tribute to Cabot, as a gift from the people of Venice to the place of Cabot's landfall in North America.

Extensive planning efforts had been undertaken in Italy and Canada in anticipation that Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro might be able to attend the landfall event. Due to the arduous nature of the President's travel schedule and extensive prior commitments to engagements in other parts of Canada, it regrettably proved impossible for him to include Bonavista in his itinerary.

A three-hour live telecast, including the address by Her Majesty, the Matthew arrival and the landfall re-enactment ceremony will be carried by CBC television nationally on June 24 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Newfoundland time.

  • Contact:

    Doug Burgess
    Manager of Communications
    Cabot 500 Celebrations
    (709) 729-4247

1997 06 20 9:40 a.m.

SearchHomeBack to GovernmentContact Us


All material copyright the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server.
Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement