A Little Bit of Newfoundland and Labrador Quiz

Answer: March 31st, 1949

Plans were made to have the official papers signed on April 1st, 1949, until someone with a bit of sense realized that would be April Fool's Day, so the ceremony was rescheduled for March 31st.
Labrador had been part of the Dominion since 1927 when the dispute over boundaries between Newfoundland and Quebec was settled

Answer: nickel, copper and cobalt

Extensive deposits of nickel, copper and cobalt were discovered near Voisey's Bay in Northern Labrador. The Voisey's Bay Nickel Company is actively developing the site, with surface and underground extraction and an on-site concentrator.

Answer: Hawthorne Cottage

Signal Hill sits over the entrance to St. John's harbour; Cabot Tower is at the crest of the hill and is the spot from where Marconi sent his first wireless message. The Rooms is Newfoundland's new provincial museum opened in 2004. The Johnson Geo Centre is about the world of geology and is mostly underground, embedded in solid rock walls. Hawthorne Cottage is in the community of Brigus, and is the heritage home of Captain Robert A. Bartlett, famous for his work as Peary's navigator in the journeys to the North Pole.

Answer: 4th

The province would rank fourth behind Alaska, Texas and California. Island area is 111,390 sq. km; Labrador area is 293,330 sq. km. for a total land area of 405,720 sq.km., with a total coastline of 17,542 km and a population of just over 500,000. There are lots of wide open spaces!

Answer: Bonavista

The name Bonavista is said to derive from Cabot's cry of "O Buena Vista" ["O Happy Sight"] when sighting shore, and the town is generally credited with being the official landfall of Cabot. St. John's is the capital of the province. Keels is a community not far from Bonavista, said to have derived its name from boats being hauled up from the water for either repair/maintenance or winter storage. Terra Nova Point may exist somewhere other than my imagination!

Answer: Dildo

Dildo and South Dildo are situated on the South Eastern Arm of Trinity Bay. Signs on the Trans Canada Highway have often made people do a double take. Dildos have traditionally been the name of the two round pegs on a dory (small rowboat) which keep the oars in place. The other names are again from my fertile imagination!

Answer: Salt beef, vegetables and pease pudding

Probably Newfoundland's most traditional meal and cooked on a regular basis. Figgy Duff is a raisin pudding; soused herring is, well, soused herring, and capelin are small silvery fish which come ashore to spawn, and are used as a food and a fertilizer for potato gardens - they are very good smoked and tossed on the barbecue for a few minutes - but that's just my opinion.

Answer: Drop In The Bucket

Leading Tickles, Heart's Content (the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable was landed here in 1866), and Old Shop are all outport communities.

Answer: Provincial flower - the Dragon's Mouth Orchid

The provincial flower is the pitcher plant, not pretty, but very representative of the province. The dragon's mouth orchid is only one of 21 species of orchids found in the province. Newfoundland is the only province to have its own anthem.

Answer: Weather

"mauzy" is "misty" and a "droke" is a valley with steep wooded slopes. That's why you needed the coffee - to warm yourself up and figure out where you were! Unfortunately, Newfoundland has a reputation for poor weather, which is a shame, since we do get quite spectacular good weather during July and August, if we're lucky!