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Newfoundland Tourism Region : Central
Located on the southern tip of Long Island, on the westem shore of Hermitage Bay, the first ferry stop north out of Hermitage is at Gaultois.
According to Le Messurier (1916) the "original name was an old Norman word, Galtas, which means "like a pinnacle or dormer", and as such, he reported "the place itself has several pinnacles their living off the fishing industry, both from the actual inshore fishing, and later additionally from the processing of fish.
With the assistance of Newfoundland Government Loans, in 1952 an entrepreneur by the name of H.B. Clyde Lake established the "Gaultois Fisheries" and that remained the main employer for many, many years.
Twice the plant has closed, once in 1981 and again in 1990. The final closure date, Jan. 5, 1990, is still referred to as "Black Thursday" by the residents.
At that point there were 600; in 2016 there were 136 (a 24% decrease from the 2011 count of 179). The CBC has produced two episodes of "Land and Sea" that documented the fate of Gaultois that should be watched by those interested in the resettlement process and how it affects a community.
The first was shot in 1981 at the time of the first closure; the second was shot in 1990 when the doors of the fish processing plant closed for good.
At one point, Gaultois was the customs town for those travelling to the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, however, in 1949 Gaultois was replaced by Fortune, as the ferry terminal.
The 2016 census showed that Gaultois had experienced a dramatic drop in population.
There was a total of only 139 residents, a 24.0% decrease from the 179 that were enumerated in 2011. After Gaultois is one stays on the ferry heading west you will arrive in McCallum (which technically probably is not part of the Connaigre Peninsula).
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/Gaultois