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Gros Morne National Park of Canada
Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse
Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse
© Parks Canada / Rob Hingston / 1193-101, G8-186, 1992
Lobster Cove Head lighthouse has marked the marine approach to Rocky Harbour and the entrance of Bonne Bay since 1897. The light is still run by the Canadian Coast Guard. It is now automated, but the lightkeeper's house is open as a park interpretive exhibit.
The exhibit interprets how people have lived along this coast and harvested the sea for more than 4,000 years. Original artefacts, historical documents, and photographs (many donated by local and former residents) help to make the story come alive.
Exhibits inside lighthouse at Lobster Cove Head
© Parks Canada / Wayne Barrett / 1584-100, X-131, 1996
The exhibit shows how marine resources and the availability of raw materials for tools accounted for the prehistoric camps of Maritime Archaic Indians and Palaeoeskimos in the park area. The seasonal fishery for salmon and cod by Europeans in the 1800s led to the growth of communities. The rapid changes of the 20th century have shifted lifestyles away from the sea and lessened dependence on its resources. The last wall of the exhibit pays tribute to the Lobster Cove Head lighthouse keepers.
One room portrays the light keeper's den as it might have looked in the early part of this century. In the building's small theatre, an eight-minute audio-visual program called Constant Forces reminds viewers that the environment continues to shape life along this coast.
Be sure to check the hours of operation web page to find out when the exhibit at Lobster Cove Head is open for the visitor season.