Last modified: 2012-08-09 by rob raeside
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image located by Doug Bloudoff, 30 November 2011See also:
The town of Isle aux Morts has confirmed it has a flag but has no image,
photo or documentation to send me
Valentin Poposki, 10 May 2010
The image appears to state "THE HARVEY FAMILY", who acted as ship wreck
rescuers, according to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_aux_Morts. I presume they are illustrated
on the flag too.
Rob Raeside, 27 December 2011
The Town of Isle aux Morts (718 inhabitants) is located on the southwestern
coats of Newfoundland.
The municipal website shows the flag without
lettering. However, a photo of the town hall seems to confirm that the flag in
actual use has the lettering (at least, "TO" from "TOWN" is visible)
http://mysterq.blogspot.fr/2010/02/12-juin-arrivee-lisle-aux-morts-journal.html
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5EU9iTHNC5s/S4boMqvo3NI/AAAAAAAAAew/GgZ4sCxzFoA/s1600-h/Hotel+de+ville+de+l%27Isle-aux-Morts.JPG
(bigger photo)
The scene depicted on the flag is the Harvey rescue:
"Isle Aux Morts has a rich maritime heritage of fishing and sailing with many
tales of shipwrecks and loss of lives in the treacherous waters offshore. For
this reason the French named it "Deadman's Island", or as it is known locally
"Island of the Dead". It is a town noted for its heroism and discovery. One of
the first families who settled in the area in the early 1800s was the George
Harvey family, well known for their heroic rescues. In 1828, the Harvey family,
with the aid of their Newfoundland dog, "Hairyman", rescued 163 people from the
sinking brig "Despatch", shipwrecked on the rocks off Isle Aux Morts. They made
another daring rescue in 1838, saving 25 crew members from the Glasgow ship, the
"Rankin". The present day Coast Guard Ship "Ann Harvey", is named in memory of
the daughter of George Harvey who, while she was only 17 years old, assisted in
these heroic deeds. Ann has also been recognized as the "Grace Darling of
Newfoundland", an honor bestowed upon a heroine in each colony of the British
Empire, after the heroic exploits of the daughter of a lighthouse keeper in
England who at 22 years old rescued 9 people from the sinking steamship,
Forfarshire, ten years after Ann had performed her first heroic deed."
In
the lower left corner is represented the Portuguese astrolabe discovered in
1981:
On November 26, 1981, Wayne Mushrow discovered a very rare and working
Portuguese mariner's astrolabe on a shipwreck near Isle aux Morts. The year
"1628" and "Y. Dyas" are stamped on the astrolabe, indicating that it was likely
made by known astrolabe maker Joas Dyas. Portuguese mariner's astrolabes are
unique because they are graduated for zenith distance only.
http://www.isleauxmorts.ca/our_history.php - Municipal website
See
also the George Harvey Memorial Sign:
http://ngb.chebucto.org/Cemetery/view-harvey-family-plot-isle-aux-morts-1-blp.shtml
Ivan Sache, 29 July 2012
