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 cool old building in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It's a one-story wooden building with a special roof. This building was first used as a wireless communications station. Today, it's a museum and an archive, holding many historical records. People believe it's the last of 11 similar stations built worldwide during World War I.
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Land Use in Early Days
This historic building stands on land once owned by early settlers. These settlers were James Pearl and Lady Anne Pearl.
In 1914, the British Admiralty chose this spot for a very important reason. They wanted to build a communications post for World War I. The Marconi Telegraph Company built the station in 1915 for the Royal Navy.
Its main jobs were to:
- Catch secret messages from German ships.
- Keep track of dangerous icebergs.
- Help ships that were in trouble.
The Admiralty called this place the North Atlantic Intelligence Centre. Marconi Company members joined the British Navy to work here. They were led by Officer Lieutenant G.L.J. Wolley. This station was one of the most powerful in Newfoundland. It had advanced equipment. This allowed it to send and receive signals over 1000 miles away!
Members of the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve protected the station.
The SS Florizel Rescue
On February 24, 1918, the HM Wireless Station received an urgent message. It was a distress signal from the ship 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. Rescue ships were then prepared to help.
The station stopped operating in 1925. The property was later put up for sale.
From Farm to Office
In 1927, Heber Parsons bought the property. He turned the old wireless station into a farmhouse. The three tall 305-foot towers were used by a new radio station called VONF.
Later, in 1967, the property was sold again. It became part of a housing development called Admiralty Wood. For a while, it also served as offices for the local Housing Corporation.
Admiralty House Museum and Archives
In the 1990s, the City of Mount Pearl decided to save the old wireless station. They wanted to fix it up and turn it into a community building. Architect William MacCallum designed the restoration work.
Restoring a Piece of History
The outside of the building got a new roof and new wooden siding. The large porch was also repaired. Workers found an original chimney and fireplace in the commander's old wing. They even found a mantel to make it look just like it used to.
Inside, they discovered that the walls were built using "wattle and daub." This is an old method using branches or reeds covered with plaster. The wooden beams in the roof had "RN" carved into them, meaning Royal Navy. These beams were left exposed, creating a great display space. Master Carpenter Howard Roberts oversaw all the restoration work.
The restoration cost about $700,000 in 1996. The Admiralty House Museum and Archives officially opened in 1997. H.R.M. Duke of Edinburgh opened the site on June 23, 1997.
What You Can See at the Museum
Since opening, the building has been a museum. It has exhibits about:
- The history of Mount Pearl.
- Guglielmo Marconi and how wireless communication works.
- The sad story of the SS Florizel shipwreck.
- HMS Calypso, a training ship for the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve.
The museum also keeps many collections and documents. These show what life was like in early 20th Century Canada. They include photos and papers from both World Wars. The museum works with the CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.
Recent Discoveries and Events
In 2018, construction in the museum's parking lot stopped. Workers found the foundations of one of the original Marconi towers!
In 2019, the museum teamed up with Landwash Brewery. They made a special beer to celebrate Mount Pearl's role in the 1919 transatlantic Daily Mail aviation prize. This beer was launched with an exhibit. The exhibit told the story of the transatlantic air race. It showed it from the view of Margaret Carter, a St. John's socialite and photographer.
