I was visiting a friend in Murray River today and after lunch, we drove to the Cape Bear lighthouse. The driveway to the lighthouse was gated, but that was not a big deal as I’ve seen the lighthouse a few times and taken photos. So, this time I turned the camera in the other direction and took in a different view.

There is a bit of history here. It was the first wireless station in Canada to receive a distress signal from the Titanic.

The Marconi wireless telegraph station was built in 1905 next to the lighthouse and it was used to communicate with ships at sea and the ice-breaking steamers. On the night of April 14, 1912, the station received the first distress signal in Canada from the Titanic as it was sinking off the coast of Newfoundland. A similar station at Cape Race in Newfoundland was in communication with the Titanic, but at that time Newfoundland was not a part of Canada. The Cape Bear Marconi Station ceased operations in 1922, and the building that housed the station was sold to Robert Glover in 1929. The structure now serves as a family home in Guernsey Cove and it is visible in the image below. When the Marconi station was in use, it communicated through a 165 ft pole built next to the lighthouse.

All images taken with an Olympus Pen-F and M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8

#capebear #lighthouse #murrayriver #marconi #titanic #wirelessstation #pei  #princeedwardisland #pen-f #penf #olympus