Heart’s Content, the landing site for the first successful transatlantic submarine telegraph cable in 1866, has been named the co-recipient of the Telecom Laureate Special Recognition Award for 2009, and will be inducted into Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame at an awards gala Wednesday at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.
“To be recognized as a one of Canada’s first leaders in telecommunications is an honour,” Tourism Minister Clyde Jackman said.
“The Heart’s Content Cable Station will remain an attraction for tourists worldwide, and a significant part of global communications history.”
Bamfield, British Columbia, also received the Special Recognition Award for 2009, as the site of the first Pacific trans-oceanic submarine telegraph cable.
Lorne Abugov, the founder and director of Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame, said Heart’s Content and Bamfield are both small coastal communities that for decades were Canada’s international telecommunications gateways to the world.
“This is a deserving ‘sea to shining sea’ honour for Heart's Content and for Bamfield, and signifies the tremendous historical significance of the two towns as our country's first international communications links from the New World to the Old World and to the rest of the British Empire,” Abugov said. “The Hall of Fame is thrilled to shine a beacon of light on the two coastal towns, and on the men and women who worked at their cable landing stations so long and so well.”
The Hearts Content Cable Station played an integral role in transatlantic communications for almost 100 years, remaining in continuous service until 1965. It was also the focal point of the Heart’s Content area, and its presence created economic and social conditions unique to rural communities in Newfoundland in the later 19th and early 20th centuries.
Designated a Provincial Historic Site in 1974, the Heart’s Content Cable Station is operated by the provincial government, and has become a well-known heritage site and tourist attraction. It includes a replica 1870s cable office and exhibits that tell the story of the laying of the cable, its impact on the history of global communications, and the station’s role over its century of operation.