Admiralty House, Mount Pearl facts for kids
| Established | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Location | 365 Old Placentia Road, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Type | Communications Museum |
Admiralty House is a special old wooden building in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was first built as a wireless communications station. Today, it is a museum and archives. People believe it is the last of 11 similar stations built around the world during World War One.
Contents
Where the Building Stands
The land where Admiralty House sits was first settled by James Pearl and Lady Anne Pearl. They were early settlers in the area.
A Secret Wireless Station
Building a Spy Station
In 1914, the British Admiralty chose this spot for a special communications post. It was built in 1915 by the Marconi Telegraph Company. This station was meant to help the Royal Navy during World War One.
Its main jobs were:
- To listen for secret German naval messages.
- To track dangerous icebergs in the ocean.
- To help ships that were in trouble.
The Admiralty House station was known as the North Atlantic Intelligence Centre. It was very powerful for its time. It had amazing equipment that could send and receive signals over 1000 miles away! Members of the Marconi Company joined the British Navy to work here. Lieutenant G.L.J. Wolley was in charge. Soldiers from the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve guarded the station.
A Rescue Mission
On February 24, 1918, the station received a very important message. It was a distress signal from the SS Florizel. The ship had crashed near Cappahayden. The message said: "S.O.S. Florizel ashore near Cape Race. Fast going to pieces." The station quickly sent this message to the Bowring Brothers shipping company. This helped rescue ships get ready to save people.
The wireless station was taken apart in 1925. The land was then put up for sale.
From Farm to Office
In 1927, Heber Parsons bought the property. He turned the old wireless station into a farm house. The three tall towers, each 305 feet high, were used by a new radio station called VONF.
Later, in 1967, the property was sold again. It became part of a housing area called Admiralty Wood. After that, the building was used as offices for the local Housing Corporation.
Admiralty House Museum Today
Bringing the Past to Life
In the 1990s, the City of Mount Pearl bought the wireless station. They wanted to fix it up and turn it into a community place. Work began with architect William MacCallum.
The outside of the building got a new roof and new wooden siding. The large porch was also fixed. Inside, a part of the building that used to be the commander's office was changed. They found an old chimney and fireplace. They even found a mantelpiece to make it look like the original.
Workers also found that the inner walls were built using "wattle and daub." This is an old way of building walls with branches or reeds covered in plaster. The wooden beams in the roof had "RN" carved into them, which stands for Royal Navy. These beams are now part of the museum's display space. Master Carpenter Howard Roberts oversaw all the restoration work.
Opening the Museum
The restoration cost about $700,000 in 1996. The Admiralty House Museum and Archives officially opened in 1997. H.R.M. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh opened the site on June 23, 1997.
Since then, the building has been a museum. It has exhibits about:
- The history of Mount Pearl.
- Guglielmo Marconi and wireless communications.
- The wreck of the SS Florizel.
- HMS Calypso (later HMS Briton). This was a training ship for the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve during World War One.
The museum also keeps many old photos and documents. These show what life was like in early 20th Century Canada. They include items from both World Wars. The Museum works with:
Recent Discoveries and Events
In 2018, construction work in the museum's parking lot stopped. Workers found the foundations of one of the original Marconi towers!
In 2019, the museum worked with a local brewery called Landwash Brewery. They made a special beer to remember Mount Pearl's role in the 1919 transatlantic Daily Mail aviation prize. This special beer was first shown at an exhibit. The exhibit told the story of the transatlantic air race through the eyes of Margaret Carter, a socialite and photographer from St. John's.
