Brunette Island
Brunette Island is located in Newfoundland
Brunette Island
Brunette Island
Location of Brunette Island in Newfoundland
Geography
LocationFortune Bay
Coordinates47°16′47″N 55°54′02″W / 47.27972°N 55.90056°W / 47.27972; -55.90056 (Brunette Island)
Area20 km2 (7.7 sq mi)
Highest elevation160 m (520 ft)
Administration
Canada
ProvinceNewfoundland and Labrador

Brunette Island is an island in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the largest island in the Fortune Bay.

History

A fishing community was established on the island in the 1800s, and at one time there were about 300 residents living primarily at two locations: Mercer's Cove, and Forward's Cove.. In 1865 a 30-foot high lighthouse was built on the island.[1]

The entire village was resettled off the island in the 1950s.[2][3] A new lighthouse was built by 1924.[4]

In 1964, an experimental attempt to introduce bison to Newfoundland was made, using Brunette Island as a test site; the attempt did not prove successful;[5][6][7] the rocky landscape and sheer cliffs on the island were significantly different from the wide plains to which the bison were adapted.[8]

With more success, wildlife biologists continued to use Brunette as a site for wildlife observation and a breeding ground for Arctic hare, caribou, ptarmigan, and moose.[8] The lack of large predators on the island allowed the populations to expand as far as food resources would allow.[9] At times the island has been opened to hunters.[10][11]

From October 12–23, 2016, Mack McGowen, a native of Tyler, Texas, lived alone on Brunette Island and streamed the experience live on Facebook in a documentary titled "Castaway Live."[12]

Mercer Head on Brunette Island continues to be the site of a navigational light.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Lighthouse Explorer: Brunette Island Light". website of Lighthouse Digest Magazine.
  2. ↑ "Scenes from Brunette Island". Navigator, September 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Surviving Brunette Island". Downhome Magazine, Dec 16, 2016
  4. ↑ Newfoundland. Dept. of Marine and Fisheries (1924). Report. p. 77.
  5. ↑ "Brunette Island". The Canadian Encyclopedia
  6. ↑ "Red tape a nightmare in bringing bison to island". The Western Producer, By Karen Briere, September 12, 2013
  7. ↑ "The bison of Brunette Isle" Archived 2017-12-06 at the Wayback Machine. Bedford-Sackville Observer, Zack Metcalfe | June 26, 2017
  8. 1 2 Gordon Snow (6 November 2015). An Atlantic Trilogy: Tales of Survival and Tragedy. iUniverse. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-4917-8190-6.
  9. ↑ William Eugene Mercer (1969). Ecology of an Island Population of Newfoundland Willow Ptarmigan. University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 134.
  10. ↑ Field & Stream. August 1971. p. 88. ISSN 8755-8599.
  11. ↑ Wildlife Review. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 1965. p. 51.
  12. ↑ "Cold, alone and streaming: Texas man shooting survival documentary on Brunette Island". CBC News, Oct 16, 2016 by Ryan Cooke
  13. ↑ United States. Naval Oceanographic Office. Sailing Directions for Newfoundland, Includes Strait of Belle Isle and St. Pierre and Miquelon Islands. p. 429.
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