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Resettlement of Brunette Island During the early fifties the provincial government implemented the now controversial resettlement program. The concept behind resettlement was to move people from "isolated" communties to centralized locations, increasing their accessibility to modern services. Whether or not this program has merit has been hotly debated since its introduction and continues to be discussed today. Many island communties such as Harbour Buffet and Red Island in Placentia Bay and Exploits in Notre Dame Bay were almost those that the government felt should be resettled. Brunette Island was one of the first to feel the effects of the program. The first families had moved by the spring of 1955. The end of 1955 saw over half of the island's population resettled and by 1957 the last family moved off Brunette Island.
Each family received the sum of six hundred dollars ($600.00) to help them resettle, that is, if they wished to participate in the government program. Whether this was a sufficient amount to resettle a family has also been a point of contention. Most of the residents of Brunette established themselves in Grand Bank and Fortune, while others moved to Harbour Breton and other nearby communties. At least twelve houses were floated from Brunette Island to other locations, but the majority were left as they were on the island. A few men who continued to fish the grounds around Brunette used these houses while they were working, while others used them as summer homes. Those who left their houses either bought new ones or built them in the communties where they resettled. |
