The Victoria Community Development Corporation
Power Plant

When electricity was first supplied, the light bill cost $1.00 a month.

In 1902 the House of Assembly passed the United Towns Electrical Act. Section 29 of the legislation said the company was to provide "lighting for the towns and streets and buildings of Harbour Grace, Carbonear, and Heart's Content." There is no mention of Victoria. This was the second power plant to be constructed in Newfoundland.

Construction of the Victoria power station began in 1902 and was completed in 1904. The huge generators for the plant were hauled up the Ridge by Clydesdale horses bought from St. John's for that purpose. The transmission line was built from the power house, across the valley, up the ridge and down Bemister's Hill in Carbonear, up to the post office and then through Carbonear to Harbour Grace. The first electricity was turned on in Carbonear November 4, 1904. The next day the lights were turned on in Harbour Grace for the first time November 5, 1904. A transmission line was built across the Barrens and Heart's Content was lit sometime during the fall of 1904 or the winter of 1905.

The Daily News of March 13, 1913, said plans were underway to extend the transmission line from Bay Robert's to Brigus, down the shore to Broad Cove and up the coast of Trinity Bay to Scilly Cove. The same newspaper said Western Bay was first lit on September 9, 1913.

Some of these plans were met but others were not feasible and were never enacted. The United Town's Electrical Act, 1902, also stated the company was to construct and operate electrical streetcars in Carbonear and Harbour Grace. They were never built.

From the earliest days of the power house, there is no record of electricity being provided to the residents of Victoria. It seems as though Victoria was not a priority for electrical service. The town had no major industries or services in need of electricity as did the towns of Carbonear and Harbour Grace.

When electricity was first supplied, the light bill cost $1.00 a month. Kerosene oil was cheaper. If people could not afford the service, they did not avail of it. Probably some residents of Victoria did have "the lights" installed, but most did not. There are reports of some homes in Victoria still not having electrical service as late as 1950.

The water for the Power House came from all the ponds on the east side of Heart's Content Road. Two main dams were constructed to control the flow of water: Rocky Pond Dam and Four-Way Blue Hill Pond Dam.

In 1928 Rocky Pond Dam broke. The flood of water washed out the fence, the trestle, and part of the railway track running down the North Shore. During this incident Mr. Stanford, who had worked his shift at the plant, was down the shore courtin'. Because the track was washed out he couldn't get back to Victoria. When Mr. Murphy, the head man from St. John's, came out to investigate he learned Mr. Stanford was not available to go on site at the time of the disaster, he fired Mr. Stanford.

The company then built another dam at Rocky Pond. Legend tells us the foreman or supervisor at the site lived in a shack at the place where the men were building the dam. The shack had a big window. The boss would open the window, put his elbows on the window sill, and watch the men working on the mixing board. Every time a man would straighten up to take a spell, the boss fired him saying, "Your not strong enough to be workin' here".

The first chief operator of the Victoria Power Station was Mr. Benjamin Cooper of Grate's Cove. He worked there until 1915 when Joseph Stanford took over. When Mr. Stanford was fired, his job was taken over by Mr. George Vaters. In 1955, Mr. Harold Priddle went to work at the power station. He worked there with four others. After two years the plant became semiautomatic and the staff was cut down to one operator. Mr. Priddle was the sole operator for 25 years. He was his own boss, chief, residence chief, cook and bottle washer.

Today the Power Plant is a tourist attraction opened from June to August. The water still flows down the flume to the power plant, electricity is still produced, and it will always remain a vital part of Victoria's history.

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