|
I rise in the House today to recognize Dr. Selma
Barkham’s thirtieth anniversary of discovering the
sixteenth century Basque whaling site in Red Bay,
Labrador.
This anniversary was celebrated in the community with
ceremonies organized by Parks Canada and the Town of Red
Bay, and were attended by Dr. Barkham and her two
children, Michael and Serena.
In 1977, Dr. Selma Barkham travelled to Red Bay and
linked roofing tiles and whale bone she discovered there
to the Basque whaling industry of the sixteenth century.
Mr. Speaker, it was through her painstaking
investigating of documents in the Basque archives that
established the early presence of the Basque in
Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mr. Speaker, it was also Dr. Barkham’s work that
led to Red Bay receiving worldwide recognition and being
named as a national historic site. Red Bay has gone from
a small quiet community with few visitors to a place
where people from all over the world come to see the
history that has been revealed there. Newfoundlanders
and Labradorians have come to embrace this site that has
provided many missing links in our Canadian history.
Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues in the House today
to join me in paying tribute to Dr. Selma Barkham who,
thirty years ago, was responsible for the discovery of
the Basque whaling site in Red Bay, in Newfoundland and
Labrador.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. |
