Grey River: Continuing westward is the town of Grey River, a community with an obviously English name. Previously known as Little River, the name was changed due to a very unfortunate event that resulted from a duplication of names.

According to Dale Peters, who wrote an article entitle "Grey River" in Decks Awash, comes the following bit of history: Shortly after the turn of the century (certainly within the living memory of a number of Grey River residents) a severe form of measles struck the community.

The sickness hit the settlement so hard that the residents wired to St. John's for a doctor and medical supplies.

In the Capital, the supplies and doctor were quickly dispatched but unfortunately they were NOT to the Little River on the Southwest Coast but to another community called Little River located somewhere on the northern part of the island.... A great many productive members of the community died.

When the full details of what happened in Little River emerged, the name of the community was changed to Grey River, to insure that a similar mistake would never happen again."

Grey River is on the northwest side of Jerts Cove, east of Ramea, about a mile within the inlet and the community, like many of the outports on the south coast has a natural harbour, in this case protected by two "mountains" that basically surround the harbour.

Scott Cunningham, a biologist and Senior Instructor with the British Canoe Union, and avid sea kayaker, described the harbour and its surrounding mountains as "a lilliputian outport, where claustrophobes would definitely feel ill at ease, hides in a notch inside the entrance".

The mountains are between 199 and 305 meters (1000 ft) tall, and without the shelter that they provide, boats, including the ferry that provides the link to the "outside" world, would not be able to dock.

It was originally settled by English men (often referred to as "youngsters"), who were brought to Newfoundland to fish by the established merchant houses who were the exporters of seafood (in this area predominantly ground fish, lobster and scallops) to England, that were based primarily in Burgeo, Ramea and Gaultois.

While the population never was very big, by 1966 it had reached its peak of a few more than 200 people, but by 2016 Grey River's population had dwindled down to 104, down from 124 in 2011 (a 16.1% decrease).

On the Wikitravel travel site, Grey river is described as follows: Grey River is a fascinating place to explore. While there, one can hike the snowmobile trails to the top of the hills that surround the community or hike along the shore that leads to North East Arm. A sense of the community's history can be experienced by visiting the cemeteries.

Grey River is the site of an old tungsten mine and one can easily find pyrite, or fool's gold, amongst the rocks at the mine entrance.

A virtual paradise for the photographer or sportsman, the Grey River Fjord runs past the community and then separates into three river systems.

North East Arm is considered to be one of the best salmon fishing rivers, in all of eastern Canada. South East Arm offers breathtaking scenery. Its colourful landscape is a palette of lush green forest, rugged mountains and sandy beaches.

In some areas, the beaches stretch out for a mile at low tide. North West Arm is also a spectacular site. However, it is best known for the big game animals found there, especially moose and caribou.

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/22103.html