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Discovery Day is a
provincial holiday in
Newfoundland and
Labrador and in the
Yukon. It replaces the
Civic Holiday observed
on the first Monday of
August in other areas of
Canada.
In Newfoundland and
Labrador Discovery Day
is celebrated on the
Monday nearest June 24th
in commemoration of the
discovery of the
province in 1497 by John
Cabot. Since 1997, it
has also been known as
Cabot 500 Day.
In the Yukon it is
celebrated on the Monday
nearest August 17th
(the 3rd
Monday in August). It is
a statutory holiday in
the Yukon.
Newfoundland and
Labrador Discovery Day
Giovanni Caboto (Cabot's
Italian name, other
spellings are used as
well) departed Europe on
May 20, 1497 with only
one vessel, the Matthew.
It was a small ship, but
fast and able. The crew
consisted of only 18
people. He landed on the
American east coast on
June 24, 1497. His
precise landing-place is
a matter of much
controversy. He went
ashore to take
possession of the land,
and explored the coast
for some time, departing
on or about July 20.
Back in England, Cabot
got well rewarded (a
pension of 20 pounds a
year), and a patent was
written for a new
voyage. The next year,
1498, he departed again,
with 5 ships this time.
Except for one of the
ships, that soon after
departure made for an
Irish port because of
distress, nothing was
heard of the expedition,
or of John Cabot, ever
since.
The location of Cabot's
first landfall is still
unknown. Many experts
think it was on Cape
Breton Island, but
others look for it in
Newfoundland or Maine.
The truth may never be
known.
Yukon Discovery Day
Gold was discovered in
northwestern Yukon
territory on August 16,
1896. The discovery of
placer gold on Rabbit
Creek - later known as
Bonanza Creek - touched
off the great Klondike
Gold Rush.
The discovery was made
by George Carmack and
his aboriginal friends
Skookum Jim Mason and
Tagish Charlie. While
Carmack always
maintained that he was
the first to find gold,
both Jim and Charlie
agreed that it was Jim's
discovery. The claim was
registered the next
morning on August 17.
At the height of the
great Gold Rush, Dawson
City -- named after
George Dawson of the
Geological Survey of
Canada -- was the
largest city west of
Winnipeg and north of
Seattle with a
population of 30,000.
Once the gold ran out,
the adventurers moved
on. Today, the Yukon is
one of the most remote
and under populated
regions of the world.
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