Historical Interpretation
Sealers Statue & Memorial Wall
The Sealers Memorial Statue, created by acclaimed sculptor Morgan MacDonald, depicts Reuben Crewe and his son, Albert John Crewe, from Elliston who lost their lives in the 1914 SS Newfoundland Sealing Disaster. It represents all sealers who have risked and lost their lives in their efforts to support their families and communities. Also at this site is a memorial granite wall listing the names of all 364 men and boys who were on the S.S. Newfoundland and the S.S. Southern Cross during those fateful days in the spring of 1914. Those who perished, those who were injured and those who survived against desperate odds will forever be remembered.
John C. Crosbie Sealers Interpretation Centre
On June 19th, 2014 Elliston officially opened the John C. Crosbie Sealers Interpretation Centre. On the same day the Memorial Statue including a Granite Memorial Wall (see above) was unveiled. You might ask why this is located in the small town of Elliston and what this is all about. To answer those questions, you have to consider the history of the seal fishery and events of 1914. (A much more comprehensive account of the Newfoundland Sealing Disaster is available by Clicking Here.)
At that time, sealing was a very dangerous endeavor. Communication was rather primitive and sudden blizzards combined with massive ice fields could be fatal for ships and their crews. Sealers would spend countless hours on the ice and one never knew when the weather could turn. Unfortunately, on March 30th, 1914, 166 men left the SS Newfoundland and walked in the direction of the SS Stephano seven miles distant. 34 men decided to turn back as the weather conditions deteriorated and the remainder continued onward. The result was that the men were stranded, in a vicious blizzard, for two days and the captains of both ships involved wrongly assumed these men were aboard the other's ship. In the end, 78 men froze to death or were lost to the frigid waters. Elliston has a special connection to the tragedy of 1914 because our community lost more men percentagewise than any other. Eight of the twelve involved perished on the ice.
During the same storm, the SS Southern Cross was lost at sea with 251 sealers aboard. The Dominion of Newfoundland was a country of only 250, 000 and the loss hit hard.
Site of Former Memorial School
This Interpretation Centre encompasses the former site of the old Elliston Memorial School, opened in 1923. It was built as a memorial to honour local residents killed during the Great War (1914-1918).
War Cenotaph
Elliston also has a cenotaph for those that died during the World Wars. The war memorial in Elliston was renovated in late 2014 marking the centennial of the First World War. It is located next the Sealing Interpretation Centre that was once the site of a Memorial School.
For more information on Elliston’s participation during the following conflicts click either - First World War, Second World War or the Cold War/Korean War.
Community Time Capsule
Elliston has a time capsule that was completed in June 2022 in time to be dedicated on July 1st. It will be opened a century later on July 1st, 2122, hopefully in conjunction with Memorial Day/Canada Day events. It contains hundreds of photographs relating to Elliston and Maberly along with documents and personal letters to future residents of the area. The site is covered by a thick 6' diameter reinforced concrete slab and it is topped with a granite marker bearing its details. It is situated on Catalina Road leading into Elliston.
WWI Trench Replica
Elliston has become home to many different and even unusual attractions over the years. However, a trench similar to those active during the First World War (i.e., Great War) is something special indeed. This piece of recreated history opened on July 1st, 2014 at the Discovery Shooting Club just outside of Elliston. In 2015, Parks Canada filmed some scenes depicting the WWI era Royal Newfoundland Regiment and some video excerpts are below. In July of 2016, an event “Legacy of Remembrance” was held featuring Parks Canada and local interpreters making use of this trench. That video is also below.
By 2020 this replica had fallen into extreme disrepair. However, it was rebuilt as a cut-away trench with cement in the sandbags instead of sand/earth. This reiteration is not as accurate but will last as the cement will remain long after the burlap sandbags disintegrate. This reconstruction is the only example, in Newfoundland, where rifles with live ammunition can be fired. It has been built above ground for ease of access & aims to provide the visitor with some small sense of what it may have been like. The public is welcome to view the trench and walk through it. While there be sure to step up on the "fire step" and peer over the parapet into what would have been "no man's land" on the battlefields of Europe.
For a CBC news story on this trench, History buffs bring WWI to life in Elliston, Click Here.
