What’s in a name? Carbonear resident takes issue with street named after 17th century marauder
A Carbonear resident is determined to┬аhave one of the town’s┬аstreet names reviewed, as┬аhe feels it┬аhonours┬аthe wrong person тАФ Pierre Le Moyne D’Iberville.
Lorne Power, who┬аdoesn’t live on D’Iberville Street himself,┬аbelieves it’s inappropriate for a street to be named after a 17th century French soldier ┬аwho came to destroy the town.
“I don’t think it’s fair. What was right 10, 15, 20 years ago, perhaps was OK┬аbut society has changed.┬аAnd we don’t want streets named after people that don’t deserve it,” said Power.
“The people on D’Iberville Street should be outraged.”
D’Iberville came to Newfoundland in 1696, during the Anglo-French war. He was tasked with┬аdestroying all English settlements on the island тАФ including Carbonear. While he succeeded in burning down that┬аtown plus┬а35 others, and killing hundreds of people, Carbonear residents saved themselves by escaping to Carbonear Island.
In recent years, more debates around monuments, streets and buildings named after historical figures have┬аarisen тАФ particularly those connected to┬аslavery and colonialism. While several Quebec towns and streets┬аcarry D’Iberville’s name, in N.L., only a trail and the Carbonear street are named after him.
Power said┬аthat was a poor choice.
“I believe that there are people from this town, and currently living in this town, that deserve the honour more than a murderer,”┬аhe said, pointing to┬аDavis Earle, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, and Dr. Leslie Wells┬аas examples.
Yet, for Carbonear Mayor Frank Butt, naming a street after someone doesn’t necessarily have to do with honour.
“We’re recognizing the history behind the name, not the individual for what he did. I know that he was a murderer,”┬аsaid Butt.
“It’s a part of our history and we can’t erase history. And as Winston Churchill quoted┬атАж if you don’t remember history, you’re bound to repeat it. So, this is what we’re doing here.”
The street was developed as part of a new subdivision in 2011, he said, so the town council reached out to the Carbonear Heritage Society for a list of historical figures, place names and events.
On that list were┬а150 names, like Rorke, after John Rorke, who built several businesses in Carbonear, including The Stone Jug, and┬аNicholl┬аfor Tryphoena Nicholl, a postmistress in the early 1900s who sacrificed her life to save others┬аduring a fire тАФ and D’Iberville.
For Butt, “everything was fine”┬аuntil Power approached the town council with his concerns in August 2022.
“[The public works committee] addressed it as best as I thought they did,” said Butt. “I personally reached out to him┬аand said, ‘Listen, we had our meeting, this is the results of it’. After that, I guess we thought that was all fine, everything was done.”
Yet for Power, it’s┬аnot done тАФ since his last contact with the committee over two months ago, he said,┬аnobody has provided him with an update.
“I don’t know at this stage where it is.┬аWhether they are considering doing it, or whether they’ve dropped the idea or whether they believe that if they leave me alone, that it’ll go away,” said Power.┬а“I assure you, it will not.”
A┬аpetition Power started to bring attention to the issue carries 151 names, all in support of a street name review.
Yet, Butt┬аsees┬аno “appetite” for a name change from the town’s residents and┬аbelieves the push for a street name review should come from those living on it тАФ none of whom have┬аever openly complained, he said.
While Butt┬аsaid the town council will meet again on the issue┬аand┬аannounce an official decision on the fate of D’Iberville Street, Power said a “no” from┬аtown officials won’t satisfy him.
“I will continue my quest until enough people say to me, ‘Lorne, leave it alone,'” said Power.
“And then, perhaps, I will.”
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