Dildo, Newfoundland and Labrador

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Dildo is a town on the southeastern Dildo Arm of Trinity Bay on the island of Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is about 100 kilometres west-northwest of St. John's. South Dildo is a neighbouring unincorporated community.

1 General History
2 History of All Saints' Anglican Church
3 Present
4 Name
5 South Dildo
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] General History

Dildo has a great amount of history associated with it, going as far back as 2000 BC when Maritime Archaic Indians resided at Anderson's Cove. By 700 AD Dorset had inhabited Dildo Island.

In 1613, Henry Crout, whilst sailing up Dildo Arm, came in contact with the Beothuks, who were residing on Dildo Island at this time. He traded with them and left gifts.

In 1711 the inhabitants of Trinity Bay were ordered by Governor Crow to Leave their homes during the winter, to defend themselves against the French who burned their houses. Dildo Island is one of the places designated for this purpose.

The Town of Dildo was founded in the late 1700s and settled by the Reids, Prettys and Smiths to exploit the abundance of marine resources such as fish, whales and seals.

In 1889 a codfish hatchery was constructed on Dildo Island. It was the largest and most advanced in the world and the first in North America, However due to a lack of government funding it closed in 1897. It was a very successful endeavour.

In 1932, the German flying boat Do-X, which was then the largest plane in the world at this time, landed in Dildo Arm.

In 1933 a giant squid was discovered by two local residents Reuben Reid and Richard Gosse. The squid was 30 feet long, and a replica is on display at the local museum.

In 1991 the Gaia, a replica of the Gokstad ship visited Dildo on the Vinland Revisited trip, along with descendants of the original Vikings as they retraced their ancestors voyages to North America.

[edit] History of All Saints' Anglican Church

The first church was built In 1878 by the people of Dildo. It was a simple structure that had no tower and was 30 feet wide by 80 feet long. It had a seating capacity of 250 people, and was heated by two coal stoves at either end which shared a common chimney. The first Priest was Arthur C. Waghorne.

[edit] Present

Present Day

Dildo has a fast-growing tourist industry. Dildo offers picturesque scenery, several bed and breakfasts, eating establishments, the Dildo Museum interpretive centre, the Historic Dildo Days celebration in August, boat tours, the Society of United Fishermen, the Lions centre, several heritage structures, walking trails, many businesses and, of course, the road sign souvenirs.

Dildo won the Harrowsmith Magazine Award in 2001 as one of the ten prettiest small towns in Canada.

Dildo has also been featured on CBC's On the Road Again and Land and Sea as well as a live radio broadcast from the interpretation centre.

Picturesque scenery of Dildo {Photo © A.D.Pretty}

Some residents have tried to change the name several times but to no avail. One person stated, "It was good enough for our forefathers so it's good enough for us".

In August of 2006, Dildo was also the subject of the "What the...?" segment on the Australian television talk show Rove Live.

[edit] Name

Dildo has an unusual name, which has attracted attention worldwide. The common usage of the word dildo is for an object typically shaped like an erect penis, and used for sexual stimulation. This has nothing to do with the original naming of the community, however.

Dildos is the traditional name for the two round pegs in a dory (a small traditional rowboat) which brace the oars during rowing. There is speculation that the town was named after a location in Spain or Portugal or the name of a short sword that is shaped like Dildo Island.

Dildo achieved greater notoriety when it was mentioned in the song "A Night in Dildo" by the Canadian musical comedy group The Arrogant Worms. "A Night in Dildo" mentions Dildo as one of many examples of real, but amusing, Newfoundland place names.

[edit] South Dildo

South Dildo is an unincorporated community with a 1991 population of 272. At the beginning of the 20th century, South Dildo (pop. 62) was primarily involved in lumbering and supplied one schooner to the Labrador fishery. South Dildo has the roadside attraction of a wooden life-size humpback whale head and a seal pelt tannery.