New exhibit open at Heart�s Content Cable Station

Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister Paul Shelley today officially opened the new exhibit Life at Heart�s Content Station, 1868-1922 at the Heart�s Content Cable Station. The minister was joined by Charlene Johnson, MHA for Trinity - Bay de Verde, for the opening.

"The history of the Heart�s Content Cable Station dates back to the late 19^th century when it became the site of the first successful transatlantic cable landing, revolutionizing communications between Europe and North America," said Minister Shelley. "The site continues to be a popular attraction for residents and tourists interested in exploring this unique history, with over 7,500 visitors last year. Today�s exhibit opening will continue to enhance the site and contribute to the ever evolving history of the cable station and Heart�s Content."

Through the use of journals, text panels, photographs and artifacts, Life at Heart�s Content Station, 1868-1922 looks at all aspects of life for those who came to work at the Heart�s Content Cable Station and demonstrates how the presence of the cable transformed the architectural face of the community, as the company constructed buildings to accommodate the transatlantic cable operation itself and housing for its staff.

The new exhibit also explores for the first time the role of women who worked at the Heart�s Content Cable Station in the early 20^th century, including opportunities for recruitment, working and living conditions, and the impact the cable station had on other workforce opportunities for women in the province. The Heart�s Content Cable Station offered a new type of work experience and job opportunity for as many as 61 women, possibly the first work environment (outside of the fishery) in the province where women worked side-by-side with men doing the same jobs and received the same pay, benefits and opportunity for promotions.

Charlene Johnson said the Heart�s Content Cable Station continues to play an important role in the retelling of the history of the town, and the district. "Events that took place in Heart�s Content 138 years ago made this town a place of international significance. The exhibit we opened today will give visitors an insight into what it was like to work in this company town and will draw attention to the local effects of the presence of an international cable company in a small Newfoundland and Labrador community."

Information for the exhibit has been drawn from company records found at the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Smithsonian Institute, personal journals written by staff who worked and lived at Heart�s Content, and from the recollections of relatives of those who came to work at the cable station during this period.

Heart�s Content was the site of the first successful transatlantic cable landing in 1866 which revolutionized communications between Europe and North America. The cable landing has been designated an event of national historic significance by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. The Heart's Content Cable Station was designated a Provincial Historic Site in 1974.

Media contact: Tansy Mundon, Communications, (709) 729-0928

2004 08 02                                        1:30 p.m.