Gooseberry Islands: Located off the coast of the Bonavista Peninsula east of Bare Bay, to the north of Eastport, Gooseberry Islands consist of two groups of islands (which should really be referred to as "islets"), Inner Gooseberry Islands and Offer Gooseberry Islands ("offer" being another term for "outer").

Inner Gooseberry Islands are composed of North Island and South Island, and the southern shore of North Island, and northern shore of South Island were settled by English fishermen in the mid-1880s, and like many of the other settlements, the Irish were close behind.

The population peaked in 1901 with a total of 389 people but over the next 10 years it dropped to 234. It remained pretty constant until 1945 when it dropped again to 117. Because of its isolation and lack of facilities there was nothing to keep people on the island, so as part of the resettlement program of the 1970s the remaining inhabitants moved to other centres.

It is presumed that the islands were so named due to wild gooseberry that were able to survive on relatively barren islands.

Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill

Address of this page: http://nl.ruralroutes.com/GooseberryIsland