Stoodley Fishing Stage

The Town of Grand Bank, on the Burin Peninsula, is one of Newfoundland’s oldest communities. It was once home to many fishing stages and structures and  during the period (1890 -1940) Grand Bank, with its fleet of banking and foreign-going ships, earned the distinction "The Bank Fishing Capital" of Newfoundland. But, today the Stoodley Fishing Stage is the last remaining of its kind.   In 2002 the Grand Bank Historic Waterfront District applied to the Fisheries Heritage Preservation program in an effort to restore the late 1800s fishing stage and improve the waterfront.

The Stoodley Fishing Stage was built by Robert Stoodley circa mid-1880s as a fishing stage; he was an inshore fisherman.  It was equipped with a heading hole for the cleaning and gutting of fish and a holding basin below it to catch the offal, later to be used as fertilizer.  In 1929 an extension was added and a partition wall erected to divide the stage equally. The wharf was also equally divided, with one half having a boat landing. The stage has passed down through the family, being used for various purposes, including a slaughter house.  Today it is owned by a member of the Stoodley family, Timothy Matthews and a non-family member, Tom Hardy.

The waterfront location, combined with the age of the structure and years of harsh weather had taken their toll on the building.  At the time of the funding request Stoodley Fishing Stage was in need of new foundation pilings as the original ones were in a state of decay.  The floor of the building had also deteriorated and a new stage head was required.

Throughout 2002-2003 work was undertaken to restore the stage to make it stable, safe and useable. The exterior, sheathed in wooden shingles, was painted with red ochre, while the shores were replaced, the floor repaired and the stage head restored. Roxanne Roberts of the Grand Bank Historic Waterfront District said of the project, “This structure has undergone great improvements and is anticipated to stay standing for many more years to come.  Our main goal to preserve this building has been achieved.”