Random Island is an island located off

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast. Part of the Province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, it is located on the east coast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and partially surrounded by the Bonavista Peninsula on the north and within the confines of Trinity Bay. The island is approximately long, its width varies from on the eastern end, to in the middle, to on the western end, with a total area of around . According to the 2016 census, the population of the island is 1,232.

Geography

Situated in northwest Trinity Bay, it is separated from

Smith Sound Smith Sound ( da, Smith Sund; french: Détroit de Smith) is an uninhabited Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Baffin Bay with Kane Basin and forms part of the Nares Strait. On the ...

on the north and the North West Arm of Random Sound on the south and west. It is not circumnavigable except by small boats, as Random Bar (a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

that runs from its northwest corner to Newfoundland) separates the two sounds. The Hefferton Causeway (now Route 231 (Random Island Road)) was built in 1954 across Random Bar, linking the island with the nearby town of

Clarenville Clarenville is a town on the east coast of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Clarenville was incorporated in 1951. It is located in the Shoal Harbour valley, fronting an arm of the Atlantic Ocean called Random ...

Education

Random Island has one school
Random Island Academy
(was Random Island integrated), which educates students from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

to Grade 12. The school's student body has been steadily declining since its high of 445 students in 1982, and by 1996 it had only 213 students. In the 2005/06 school year, the Eastern School District was considering shutting Random Island Academy down in the year 2009 because of its small population. The school is still running now. it currently has 115 students. Random Island Academy was founded in 1973, and originally only served the younger students.

High school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

students had been bused across Random Bar to Clarenville before 1973. However, due to parents' protests, the academy was eventually upgraded to accommodate all students.

Communities

Random Island consists of the following eleven communities: *Random Heights *Elliott's Cove *Snooks Harbour *Aspen Brook *Weybridge *Lady Cove *Robinson Bight *Hickman's Harbour *Britannia *Lower Lance Cove *Petley These communities have undergone name changes over the history of the island, and in some cases have become somewhat consolidated. For example, Petley includes the area known as Aspen (Apsey) Cove, often considered its own community, and Weybridge has in the past been known as Fosters Point. Most of these communities, despite their tiny size, have histories of over 100 years. However, Random Heights and Robinson Bight are relatively recent in their development as communities. Other communities have ceased to exist due to natural or artificial conditions. Ryder's Harbour is considered one of the founding communities, but ceased to exist due to natural evolution away from it, while Deer Harbour was a victim of government resettlement policies in the 1960s.

History

Random Island's first permanent settlement, Ryder's Harbour, was founded in the 1760s. The site, located at the northeastern terminus of the island, was previously visited often by the many fishing expeditions from

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. Deer Harbor and Thoroughfare were settled nearby in the 1800s as fishing traffic to Random Island grew. On the western side of the island, settlers began arriving in the 1850s, mostly from the southern end of Trinity Bay. Soon thereafter, settlement took place on the southern portion of island, becoming Hickman's Harbour. By 1900, Hickman's Harbour, the site of the best deep-water anchorage, had become the centre of the Random Island

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

industries. Other methods of employment include

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

ing and

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

, though the actual

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

was across the sound in Nut Cove. This quarry was closed in 1907, though it reopened in 1990. In western Random Island, the communities were primarily based on

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

mining for

brickmaking A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

, and later,

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

. The population of Random Island had risen to past 1000 by 1901, with Hickman's Harbour being the most populous community at 309 people. However, the industries that had supported Random Island for over a hundred years began to collapse in the early 20th century. Both slate quarrying and fishing had declined drastically, and as a result, shipbuilding and sawmilling also went down. Many residents moved to nearby Clarenville, while others were commuted off the island for their employment. Constructing the Hefferton Causeway, followed by road upgrades, greatly facilitated travel to Clarenville and the rest of Newfoundland. Deer Harbour and Thoroughfare were resettled when it was decided in the 1960s not to link them to the roads. The population continued to rise slowly, and in 1986 the island's population reached just over 1500. Hickman's Harbour continued to be the largest community, with a population of 479. Apart from some fishing and sawmilling, few residents were employed on Random Island itself, more working at Clarenville or farther afield. According to Dirk Septer in his book "Lost Nuke: The Last Flight of Bomber 075", Heritage House Victoria,(2016) ISBN 9781772031294, a United States Air Force B-36, en route from the Azores to South Dakota, crashed on Random Island on March 18, 1953. A total of 22 crew members died including Brigidier General Richard E. Ellsworth after whom the American Air Base Rapid City South Dakota, is now named. A propeller is situated as a memorial to the deceased.Dirk Septer, "Lost Nuke: The Last Flight of Bomber 075", Heritage House, Rev.Ed. 2012,page 168

References

External links