The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador:

Mr. Speaker, last week after nearly a decade of collective efforts, a sixth bronze caribou monument was installed in Gallipoli, Turkey, thereby finally completing the Trail of the Caribou.

The Gallipoli Monument was a key legacy project of Honour 100, the province’s First World War commemorations initiative, established in 2012. Ask any Newfoundlander and Labradorian what significant historical event has defined us and you will hear: The Royal Newfoundland Regiment and the First World War.

Proudly worn on the Regimental cap badge, the caribou is a symbol of courage and strength. The final caribou monument honours the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s involvement in the Gallipoli Campaign, 1915-16, the only regiment from North America to serve there during the First World War.

In July 2020, Innovative NL, a St. John’s engineering and project management firm, was selected to undertake the fabrication and installation of the Gallipoli monument.

Mr. Speaker, 19 students from the College of the North Atlantic’s Geomatics/Surveying Engineering Technology program also worked on this historic project, utilizing 3D modeling software to digitally scan the Bowring Park caribou to assist with the fabrication process.

The bronze caribou weighs approximately 1,500 pounds; measures approximately 10 feet from the nose to the back and approximately eight feet from top to bottom. It sits 25 metres northwest of Hill 10 Cemetery in Gallipoli, the final resting place for eight Regimental soldiers, including Private Hugh McWhirter of Humbermouth, Bay of Islands, the Regiment’s first casualty at Gallipoli.

After the war, Padre Thomas Nangle began the arduous process of burying our soldiers. Throughout the 1920s, he successfully placed caribou monuments at significant sites throughout northern France and Belgium, which have become affectionately known as the Trail of the Caribou.

Mr. Speaker, completing the Trail of the Caribou is a historic moment for Newfoundland and Labrador. Many thanks to the Government of Canada and the Republic of Turkey for recognizing the monument’s historical significance to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, and allowing us to properly pay tribute to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s service and sacrifice.

Thank you.