The construction of Harbour Grace’s first Aerodrome

Matthew McCarthy interviews Patrick J. Collins, local author and historian, about the construction of the aerodrome and how our town’s aviation story began.

Recorded at Gordon G. Pike Railway Museum on February 11, 2023
Interviewer: Matthew McCarthy
Videographer: Christina Hearn
Duration: 1 minute, 3 seconds

Patrick J. Collins: They had to go to the area in Harbour Grace that had the most open space, that being, what was called Bishop’s Field. So many would know it now as what was St. Francis Field. That was the Bishop’s Field and next to that juxtaposed right to it, it ran, it ran east to west or west to east. And the first section of it was the Bishop’s Field and then came Innots Farm. And those two combined with a number of other small farms, served to be the aerodrome.

PJC: And so they negotiated with the people, came in here, and I understand that they negotiated with the church, the nuns had a farm up in that area as well. So I am assuming that they also negotiated with the Presentation Sisters, and of course the Innots. So they got the rights…for a couple of months to occupy that area and they created this aerodrome which was almost a mile long, and 300 feet wide.