Of the first known fish buyers in Burgeo,
a gentleman by the name of Clements began shipping salt fish
to the Portuguese and the Spanish by schooner. Though many
were lost crossing the Atlantic, they kept it up until the
1940’s when the first fish processing plant was established
in Burgeo.
Like most of the outport communities along
the coast, Burgeo was settled for its close proximity to the
rich fishing grounds and for its capacity to safely harbour
its fleet. Roughly 90 kilometres (60miles) east of Port Aux
Basques, Burgeo was home to one of the most accessible and
protective harbours along the coast.
Bundled up in a safe harbour, the people who settled were
undaunted by the hardships of eking a living from the Atlantic.
One time resident and well known Canadian author Farley Mowatt,
referred to the region as a “wonderful terrible place”.
The conditions were reflected in the slow growth of the community
as a population of 23 in 1802 was still but eleven or twelve
families by 1822. The next century however saw the people
of Burgeo settle in for the long haul. By 1836 there were
143 people there and by 1911 the head count in Burgeo had
reached 1,039.
The population of Burgeo declined in the 20th century until
about 1945. In that year a fresh fish filleting plant was
built by Fishery Products Limited, and the benefits associated
with economic prowess was starting to unfold. The population
increased significantly as people moved from places like Rencontre
West, Fox Island, Cape La Hune, and Parsons Harbour. The town
of Burgeo grew and a new elementary school and a new high
school were constructed in the 1960s. In 1978-79 they accommodated
524 and 265 pupils respectively and the new census accounted
for 2,474 people in Burgeo in 1976.
In 1962, electricity came to town and the
majority of the residents enjoyed full water and sewage service
by the end of the 1960’s. Until 1979, the people of
Burgeo relied solely on a coastal steamer service as its connection
to local communities and to the rest of the world. That all
changed in 1979 when a road was completed, connecting the
town with the Trans-Canada Highway at South West Brook, 156
km away. The road has since been completely paved and is only
a short 2 hour drive to Corner Brook, Newfoundland’s
second largest city.
The 1990’s would not be so kind however,
as declining cod stocks forced the federal government to impose
a moratorium on the fishery. That turn of events would mar
the growth of Burgeo, and the entire coast. Since the early
1990’s Burgeo has suffered almost 20 percent decline
in population. Albeit other communities have fared worse,
the decline has had a serious impact on a local economy already
flattened by the demise of the fishery.
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