BACK REFLECTION
SUNNYSIDE, NEWFOUNDLAND: WHERE THE INTERNET by Philip Pilgrim INTRODUCTION
Perhaps I am stretching things a bit with such a title, but for those of us in the Americas, the first INTERnational NETwork (INTERNET) between the old world and the new world began with the 1858 Atlantic Cable that connected Valentia, Ireland to Bay Bulls Arm, Newfoundland. Bay Bulls Arm became the town of Sunnyside in 1921. Sunnyside is a beautiful place to visit. It is at the head of a long arm deep in an even longer Trinity Bay. This location is well protected from the fierce North Atlantic Ocean and makes for a great cable landing site. Sunnyside is a most tranquil location. Beyond the beautiful waters, Sunnyside is well connected to its hilly surroundings by many hiking trails.
Figure 0. The Big Telecom Three!!!
2. 1866 Atlantic Cable Landing Site (Heart’s Content) 3. 1901 Atlantic Wireless Site (St. John’s)
You can follow in the 1858 footsteps of Cyrus Field and walk from the shore landing to the cable station in approximately 30 minutes. Of course, there are also hundreds of kilometers of other hiking and ATV trails in the region that will take you to wonderful places like the top of Centre Hill (365m). Sunnyside is one of the BIG THREE telecom sites that are within 100 kms of each other, making this region is a true Mecca for telecom pilgrims to visit. 1.
1858 Atlantic Cable Landing Site (Sunnyside)
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SUBTEL FORUM | Issue 149
Even with Sunnyside at the top of this list, there is much work to do to give the town its well-deserved recognition. Steps are in place, with support from community leaders like Gerard Lynch and Roger Snook, along with the Sunnyside Heritage Society, support from the Heart’s Content region, and from the government of Newfoundland to increase the awareness of Sunnyside. Even yours truly is donating my 1858 submarine cable samples to the community in hope that an information centre be developed in the town to share this history with visitors and researchers. I will request that any contemporary telecom companies wishing to help in the support of the town’s efforts, please contact me (via STF) or Gerard Lynch. It would be a most welcome and rewarding effort. This Back Reflection is a list of questions and answers related to the historical cable activities in Sunnyside. They form attempts to better understand, and to geolocate, these activities where possible. We have only scratched the surface. You will see