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Catalina History
Situated on the eastern coast of the Bonavista Peninsula in Trinity Bay, Catalina adjoins the town of Port
Union, home of the Fisherman's Union Trading Company established by Sir William Coaker. According to
E.R. Seary (1971), the name Catalina probably derives from the French Havre Sainte Katherine, later
superseded by the Spanish Cataluna. As early as 1534, when Jacques Cartier spent ten days in
Catalina harbour, the name was well established as it is clear from Cartier's accounts that he already
knew the place by name and did not name it himself. In the Sixteenth Century fishermen from the west
coasts of England, France and Spain frequented the harbour and by 1580, claims Ernest Tilley in his
serial account ``Ye Olden Times in Catalina,'' Catalina had a permanent population of one hundred.
Fishing remained the main occupation of the people of Catalina until the Twentieth Century. In 1981 it
was primarily a commercial centre and site of one of the largest salt fish businesses in Eastern Canada,
the Mifflin Fisheries Limited, and a large frozen fish plant operated by Fishery Products Limited.
Blueberries and partridge berries are picked for commercial sale but because of poor soil there is little cultivation in the area.
Catalina was the first community outside St. John's to set up a public library. Joseph Clouter, a former
resident, donated 5,000 books and the library opened in 1937. In subsequent years the Public
Libraries Board granted it financial assistance and the success of the library at Catalina encouraged the
Board to extend library services to other outlying communities.
Since 1583, when one of the men from Sir Humphrey Gilbert's expedition found what he believed to be
gold in a cove nearby, Catalina has been famous for its Catalina Stone When this stone was assayed in
England it was found to be only ``fool's gold'' or iron pyrite. In 1877 Catalina again achieved notoriety
when a huge squid, or cuttlefish as it was then called, was driven ashore in a storm. Two of its tentacles
were 9 m (30 ft) long and 1.5-2.4 m (5-8 ft) wide; its body measured 2.7 by 1.8 m (9 by 6 ft). Such
was its size that the squid was sent to St. John's for exhibition and an illustration and description of it
appeared in the Oct. 27, 1877 issue of the Canadian Illustrated News. The squid was purchased by the
New York Aquarium and served as the basis for a model of a squid in the American Museum of Natural
History in New York City
Union, home of the Fisherman's Union Trading Company established by Sir William Coaker. According to
E.R. Seary (1971), the name Catalina probably derives from the French Havre Sainte Katherine, later
superseded by the Spanish Cataluna. As early as 1534, when Jacques Cartier spent ten days in
Catalina harbour, the name was well established as it is clear from Cartier's accounts that he already
knew the place by name and did not name it himself. In the Sixteenth Century fishermen from the west
coasts of England, France and Spain frequented the harbour and by 1580, claims Ernest Tilley in his
serial account ``Ye Olden Times in Catalina,'' Catalina had a permanent population of one hundred.
Fishing remained the main occupation of the people of Catalina until the Twentieth Century. In 1981 it
was primarily a commercial centre and site of one of the largest salt fish businesses in Eastern Canada,
the Mifflin Fisheries Limited, and a large frozen fish plant operated by Fishery Products Limited.
Blueberries and partridge berries are picked for commercial sale but because of poor soil there is little cultivation in the area.
Catalina was the first community outside St. John's to set up a public library. Joseph Clouter, a former
resident, donated 5,000 books and the library opened in 1937. In subsequent years the Public
Libraries Board granted it financial assistance and the success of the library at Catalina encouraged the
Board to extend library services to other outlying communities.
Since 1583, when one of the men from Sir Humphrey Gilbert's expedition found what he believed to be
gold in a cove nearby, Catalina has been famous for its Catalina Stone When this stone was assayed in
England it was found to be only ``fool's gold'' or iron pyrite. In 1877 Catalina again achieved notoriety
when a huge squid, or cuttlefish as it was then called, was driven ashore in a storm. Two of its tentacles
were 9 m (30 ft) long and 1.5-2.4 m (5-8 ft) wide; its body measured 2.7 by 1.8 m (9 by 6 ft). Such
was its size that the squid was sent to St. John's for exhibition and an illustration and description of it
appeared in the Oct. 27, 1877 issue of the Canadian Illustrated News. The squid was purchased by the
New York Aquarium and served as the basis for a model of a squid in the American Museum of Natural
History in New York City
