Home»Newfoundland and Labrador»Battle Harbour, Labrador

Battle Harbour was the historic capital of the Labrador cod fisheries, selling salt cod to Europe and the Americas. It is located on the south Labrador Sea and is a sentinel to passing icebergs. First established in the mid 18th century, it was a working fishing port and salt-cod factory until the late 20th century. The imposition of the 1992 Groundfish Moratorium, due to the collapse of the north Atlantic cod fishery, forced its abandonment as a year-round settlement. The Battle Harbour Historic Trust obtained many of the buildings on the island (for $1) from the last owner of the salt cod fishery and has renovated them as a museum and as a tourism destination. Many people whose families lived in Battle Harbour (so called "livyers") have renovated their old family homes. The remainder are collapsing into a scenic dilapidation. Battle Harbour was also the site of the first hospital built in Labrador by the great medical missionary Sir Wilfrid Grenfell. As it was the site of the most northerly Marconi Station in Atlantic North America, it was to where Commodore Robert Peary sailed in 1909 to report to the world his claim of having reached the North Pole.