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Although not the Island’s first coastal boat service, the Alphabet
Fleet, owned by the Reid Newfoundland Company, holds a distinct place in
the history of shipping in Newfoundland. This family of boats had the
imperative job of carrying provisions and passengers to the outport
regions around Newfoundland’s rugged coastline.
The Alphabet Fleet started with eight boats which were built in
Scotland beginning in 1897. The Argyle, Bruce, Clyde, Dundee, Ethie,
Fife, Glencoe and Home, each given a Scottish name by the Reid family
whose ancestry comes from Scotland. In subsequent years the fleet was
increased by the addition of new vessels: the Inverness, Kyle, Lintrose
and the Meigle. As the fleet name suggests, all ship names began with
consecutive letters of the alphabet. The Alphabet Fleet gradually
disappeared from Newfoundland and by the 1970s the Kyle was the only one
left in the Province. Property of the Newfoundland Government, she lies
beached at Riverhead, Harbour Grace.
This section of the exhibit will provide you with
examples of the correspondence between the builders and the Reid
Newfoundland Company, documents regarding specific voyages of the
different vessels, and general information of the whole fleet |
