Hon. Fabian Manning: Today, I am pleased to present Chapter 76 of “Telling Our Story.”

Colleagues, through previous Chapters 42 and 43, I informed you of some unique facts of my province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Today, I want to add a few more to that list.

I am sure that many of us here in this chamber and throughout the globe, for that matter, would wonder how we could live and work without wireless communication. It has changed our world drastically, and we can debate at some other time the pros and cons of that change. But for today, I want you to know that on December 12, 1901, Guglielmo Marconi raised a 150-meter-long antenna, which was attached to a kite, over Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland. This antenna received the world’s first transatlantic signals ever sent via radio waves.

Another fundamental change in the past century is how we travel around the world. Once again, our province played a pivotal role in the origin of aviation.

At 1:45 p.m. on June 14, 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown lifted off Lester’s Field in St. John’s aboard their modified Vickers Vimy airplane. It was not an easy flight. They battled heavy fog and only barely missed the top of the trees during takeoff. They lost radio contact after a short time in the air, and with a failed generator, they soon lost their heating source and the ability to communicate through their intercom system. They ran into a major snowstorm, and it is said that Brown had to climb onto the wings and clear the engines. I guess the action of de-icing had its beginning here also.

Through it all, the pilots persevered and beat the odds. At 8:40 a.m. on June 15, 1919, after less than 16 hours’ flying time, they made landfall in County Galway, Ireland, making their endeavour the first non-stop transatlantic flight. A small amount of mail was also carried on the flight, making it the very first transatlantic airmail flight as well. It all began on that rock we know and love as the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Royal St. John’s Regatta is the oldest annual sporting event in North America, with documented proof of boat races taking place in 1816. It is known as the largest garden party in the world, drawing crowds of up to 50,000 people to the shores of Quidi Vidi Lake each year. Regatta Day is also the only civic holiday in North America that is determined by the weather, more specifically which way the wind blows and how much of it blows. Safety is paramount.

Then we have the biggest little street in North America known far and wide as George Street in downtown St. John’s. People from all over the world have made their way to these two city blocks that hold the most pubs per square feet in Canada. You will not need to have Google Maps on your phone to go enjoy a night of bar-hopping on George. There is a great variety of music and restaurants, and the place is rich with some of the best entertainers our province has to offer. If you are musically inclined and want to join in the festive mood, you may end up on a stage singing along with one of our local musicians. If memory serves me correctly, my good friend Senator Gold is fully aware of the opportunity to take the stage on George Street — the locals are still talking about his performance there a few years ago.

Around the year 0, the Beothuk people migrated from Labrador to the island of Newfoundland, becoming our first inhabitants. Their extinction is a sad part of our history that I will tell you about at a later date.

In 1907, Newfoundland was given dominion status by the United Kingdom, thus making Newfoundland its own independent country. It remained a dominion until the rest of Canada decided to join us in 1949. The details of that story I will leave for another day also: stay tuned. Thank you.