The Ryan Premises & Bonavista Museum
For more than 100 years this merchant-run salt fish complex served as a key economic force behind Bonavista’s inshore fishery. The Ryan family made their fortune buying and curing salt cod and selling it all over the world. It’s a history deeply ingrained in the walls of the waterfront storehouses and in the memories of Newfoundland fishing families.
Cape Bonavista Lighthouse
Located at the headland of Cape Bonavista is the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse. It was erected to guide mariners bound for Labrador. The two-storey wooden structure is built around a masonry tower which supports the lantern. The light was put in operation on September 11, 1843 but is now a Provincial Historic Site, restored to the 1870 period.
The Matthew Legacy
John Cabot’s famous voyage of dicovery to Newfoundland was made in a 65-foot caravel called the Matthew. A full-scale replica of the Matthew made a transatlantic voyage in 1997 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Cabot’s discovery, arriving for a ceremony on June 24th, 1997, presided over by Queen Elizabeth II. The tradition continues in Bonavista as Matthew Legacy Incorporated has built another full-scale replica. The boat was officially christened and launched on June 24, 1998 in Bonavista.
John Cabot
We do not know precisely when John Cabot – or Giovanni Caboto, to use his original, Italian name, was born, or even where he was born. It is most likely, though, he was born around 1455 in Gaeta, near Naples, Italy, and was the son of a spice merchant. On March 5, 1496, Henry VII issued letters patent to Cabot and his sons authorizing them to sail to all parts “of the eastern, western and northern sea” to discover and investigate, “whatsoever islands, countries, regions or provinces of heathens and infidels, in whatsoever part of the world placed, which before this time were unknown to all Christians.”
The Dungeon
Bonavista is built upon sedimentary deposits of the Precambrian Age (600 million years ago). On the road between Lance Cove and Bonavista you’ll find one of nature’s carvings – the Dungeon. It is a circular opening in the cliff with two seaward-side channels where the sea roars through. It is approximately 300 feet across and 15 metres deep. Tidal action has created a natural beach. You can swim or go through the channels in a small punt. Many people explore the bottom and sides of the Dungeon, climbing its high cliffs looking for plentiful iron pyrite (fools’ gold) embedded in the rocks.
