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An article by Rannie Gillis, Cape Breton Post, April 13, 2002
Why not Cheticamp harbour? Good question, a very good
question indeed!
Why did French fishermen from the Channel Islands choose the exposed cove at the southern end of
Cheticamp Island (La Pointe) for their summer fishing station, instead of the wonderful, virtually land-locked harbour at
Cheticamp itself?
Well, it seems that back in the 1700s the present entrance to Cheticamp harbour was blocked by a
combination of sand bar and large sand dunes. What we know now as the harbour was little more than a large pond, several miles
long and about a quarter of a mile wide.
We know from historical records that the early aboriginal inhabitants of
Cape Breton never had any permanent year-round settlement in the Cheticamp area, although it was used on a seasonal basis
for hunting and fishing.
We also know that the first recorded visit by a European happened back in 1536, when Jacques
Cartier explored the west coast of Cape Breton Island during his second voyage to North America. By 1752 there is evidence
of Breton and Basque fishermen spending part of each summer fishing out of the little cove at La Pointe, as well as another
summer station in Arichat. By 1770 the summer fishery had expanded to such an extent that the Robin Company from the islands
of Jersey and Guernsey (Channel Islands) had built a fairly extensive system of wharfs and sheds around the little cove at
La Pointe, as well as in Arichat. They quickly became the dominant force in the cod industry, not only in western Cape Breton
but also in all of eastern Canada.
This economic domination happened because the Channel Islands belong to England,
even though most of their inhabitants are French speaking and Protestant. Because of this rather unique circumstance the French
speaking Robins were able to relate to the Acadian settlers around the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Their Protestant faith
made it vey easy for them to the powerful English interests in eastern Canada. They had the best of both worlds. By 1790 the
little cove at La Pointe was a beehive of activity, with fishing vessels of various nationalities caling in to dry their catch
(cod), before heading back across the Atlantic Ocean.
In addition to the many wharfs, there were extensive 'flakes'
set up on shore, on which the gutted codfish were spread to dry in the sun. Then the cod was salted and stored in large warehouses,
before being loaded on board the ships for the long journey back to Europe.
In addition to all this activity, the
Robin family maintained a very large store at La Pointe, which carried various items of food imported from France, as well
as all the necessary supplies required to serve the main Canadian port for an international fishing fleet.
Today,
the name of this original family from the Channel Islands is still very evident in both Cheticamp and Inverness, where the
business still operates under the name of "Robin, Jones and Whitman."
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