Broadcast Feb 28 - Mar 4, 2005 on CBC Radio On The Go
"The average person here is such that we ought never to have had self-government, we are not fit for it."
(St. John's businessman Eric Bowring in testimony to the Amulree Royal Commission 1933)
This five-part documentary series recreates the period March 1932 - March 1934. At that time Newfoundland had been a self-governing independent country for over a century, with an elected government modelled on the British parliamentary system. When the Newfoundland parliament prerogued its last session in December 1933, the country became possibly the only nation in history to voluntarily abandon elective democracy.
If you would like further information about this remarkable period in Newfoundland history, you could begin with the following
Suggested Reading List:
SUSPENDED STATE by Gene Long, Breakwater Books 1999.
NEWFOUNDLAND IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC WORLD by Peter Neary, McGill-Queens University Press, 1988.
WHITE TIE AND DECORATIONS by Peter Neary, University of Toronto Press 1996
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF NEWFOUNDLAND 1929-1972 by Peter Neary, Copp Clark Publishing 1973.
POLITICS IN NEWFOUNDLAND by S.J.R. Noel, University of Toronto Press 1971
NEWFOUNDLAND AT THE CROSSROADS by John FitzGerald, Terra Nova Publishing 2002
CONFEDERATION: DECIDING NEWFOUNDLAND'S FUTURE by James Hiller 1998
I CHOSE CANADA by Joseph Smallwood, Macmillan 1973
THE NEW NEWFOUNDLAND by Joseph Smallwood, Macmillan 1931
THE EYES OF THE GULL by Margaret Duley, Griffin Press 1976
JOEY by Harold Horwood, Stoddart 1989
THE OLDEST CITY by Paul O'Neill, Boulder Publications 2003
AMULREE'S LEGACY: TRUTH, LIES AND CONSEQUENCES (Syposium presentations), Nfld Historical Society 2001
REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION 1933, H.M.Stationery Office 1933
Online:
Newfoundland political history 1929-34
The 1933 Amulree Royal Commission
Commission of Government in Newfoundland 1934-49
This is a partial listing of research resources.
How Newfoundland gave up elective democracy.
Written and recorded by Chris Brookes
Produced for the CBC by Battery Radio.
Winner 2005 Atlantic Journalism Award
In this series you hear the voices of historians Peter Neary, James Hiller, John Fitzgerald and Gene Long together with Helen Whiteway, Paul O'Neill, Bert Riggs, Bill Coady and Bert Sparkes. Performers Robert Chafe, Brian Hennessey, Ivan Morgan and Aidan Flynn dramatically recreate the voices of the era. You also hear the hit songs of 1932-33, and movies and sports events playing in St. John's at the time.
Bonus Audio Tracks:
(RealAudio Player required)
Click the buttons below to hear:
The Commission of Government being sworn in at St. John's, February 16, 1934.
Photographs: Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador