Partridge Island - Canada's Emerald Isle

Partridge Island is both a national and provincial historic site that sits in the blowing winds of Saint John's Inner Harbour. For many years it was a quarantine station for hopeful immigrants coming to Eastern Canada. At the peak of Irish Immigration, between 1845 and 1847, up to 2,500 people were quarantined with typhus fever and smallpox. Thousands were buried on the island. In memory of the Irish immigrants who died and were buried on the island, a huge Celtic Cross was built in 1927 by George McArthur who was later buried at the base of the cross in 1932.

Partridge Island has a long and fascinating past. It was North America's first quarantine station; site of military posts from the late 1700's until after World War II, including documented sightings of German U-boats in World War II; the world's first steam operated fog alarm was invented, built and used on the island in 1852 and lighthouses on the island were manned for 198 years from 1791 to 1989.

This is a production that I have been wanting to put together for a number of months. An island that continues to sit abandoned in the Saint John Harbour. It is rich in our cultural history and has been neglected for a number of decades. It is a place that has always intrigued me and I just recently set foot there for the first time ever. I think it is important for us to never forget our heritage and this little island that serves a significant purpose in the history of our city. Please join our group entitled The Restoration Of Partridge Island on Facebook and help to support our cause.

The photography is from my recent venture to the island and the history is compliments of our esteemed local historian Harold Wright, otherwise known as Mr. Partridge Island. The song choice is called Aldebaran by Enya. She remains the music artist I have used most in my videos overall, appearing in 4 of them. The story behind my song choice is quite magical. Once listening to the song I knew that I wanted to use it for one of my videos. I eventually decided to use it for this video. Afterwards, as I was reading through a book about Partridge Island, I came across the word Aldebaran. It was actually a boat that brought immigrants from Ireland to Partridge Island. How special is that? I hope you all enjoy this and I hope it allows your mind to take a mystical journey back in time.....