Formal Recognition Type

Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program

Notes

This long, narrow stage was built by Arthur and Hubert Oake in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Now located on the North Island of Change Islands, it originally occupied a cove on the north end of the North Tickle. The Oake brothers participated in the traditional inshore fishery, catching cod, herring, salmon, lobster and seals. “They used to get 400 – 500 quintals of codfish a year, much of it salted in that stage,” recalls Arthur’s daughter Ella Oake. The long, narrow design of the stage also made it an ideal place to store punts and skiffs during the winter months. Arthur also owned the first Coaker engine on Change Islands, an engine named after the famous founder of the Fishermen’s Protective Union, William Coaker. Owner Pete Porter applied to have the stage restored under the Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program, with the support of Change Islands based Stages and Stores Heritage Foundation. New shores and cribbing were installed to stabilize the entire structure, clapboard and trims were replaced, windows and doors were either repaired or replaced with accurate replicas, a new access bridge was constructed on the west side and the entire structure was painted a traditional red ochre hue. Nestled in a picturesque cove, and clearly visible from the main road through Change Islands, Pete Porter’s Stage stands as a proud reminder of the island’s fishing heritage.

Community

Change Islands

Municipality

Town of Change Islands

Civic Address

Seal Harbour Road

Construction (circa)

1930 - 1930

Builder

Arthur and Hubert Oake

Style

Rectangular Short Façade