A better opportunity I could not have had of viewing this really terrific
headland,
as I ran close round it at the back of the breakers, opening out point
after point.
The mountainous sea left by the recent gale was breaking in sheets of foam
upon its sharp pointed rocks, and sending white spray fifty to sixty feet
up
its high and inaccessible cliffs of dark clay-slate. Lit by the last rays
of the
setting sun, "twas a scene to be remembered, magnificently beautiful."
From the journal of Captain Henry Bayfield, Spring, 1847, as he surveyed
Cape Pine for a location of the lighthouse
On behalf of the British Admiralty. Source: The First Landfall,
David J. Molloy, Breakwater
My cousin Rick Myrick, who now owns the property at Cape Pine, provided me with the following facts:
Cape Pine was the first landfall light
established on the southeast coast of Newfoundland and is the fourth oldest
in the province.
The sixty-five foot cast iron lighthouse
was designed by well-known British building designer, Alexander Gordon.
Constructed in 1850, the light was first
lit on New Year's day 1851. Cape Pine is the southern most light
in Newfoundland,
standing 350 feet above sea level. It
overlooks Trepassey Bay to the east and St. Mary's Bay to the west.
The station was manned by the Hewitt family
for over 100 years, other keepers included the Myricks and Finlays.
The lighthouse was automated and destaffed
in 1996, the last lightkeeper being Peter Myrick. The lighthouse was given
historic
status in 1979 and has been designated
a National Historic Site.
Cape Pine has always held a special place in my heart. My grandfather was a relief lightkeeper there over the years and my two uncles Michael and Peter Myrick were lightkeepers there. My cousin Tom Finlay (Tommy on the Cape) was principle lightkeeper there for many years as well. My Mother spent a lot of time there when my uncle Michael was stationed there as lightkeeper. As a young boy I spent a lot of time there staying with Tom and my uncle Peter. My earliest childhood memory is of spending the night there with my Grandfather in 1975.
As rick mentioned in his notes above, the Hewitt family were keepers there for over 100 years. Below is an old picture of some of the family:
Left to Right: Tommy Hewitt, Mr. John Hewitt, Billy Hewitt. Circa 1920's