History

The Naming of “Kilmory Resort”

A lot of our guests are curious about where the name “Kilmory” comes from.

It’s family derived. The ancestors of the owner, Roger Jamieson (father, Don, of Sound Island, then St. John’s and later Swift Current; paternal grandfather Charles, of Sound Island; and paternal great-grandfather Alexander) came from a place in Scotland called O’er Kilmory, near Peter Head, which is located in Northern Scotland. It was Alexander who came as a very young man to work as a cooper making barrels for the thriving herring trade at Sound Island Placentia Bay which is a few miles south of the Resort.

The Honorable Don Jamieson, father of the owner, loved this place. Even though he traveled the world extensively as Canada’s Foreign Minister and Diplomat, his thoughts were always about returning to Newfoundland and Swift Current. He fondly called it “O’er Kilmory”. So with acknowledgment to the Honorable Don Jamieson, and in his memory we named this place “Kilmory Resort”.

Area History

The Mi’Kmaqs of Conne River once frequented Piper’s Hole River and Swift Current areas. The Aboriginal People would walk across country from Bay d’Espoir to hunt the inland area of the island and actually overwinter in the Swift Current area. There are a few families in Swift Current who can trace their heritage back to Conne River.

Somewhere across from Kilmory Resort, it is said, there is an Aboriginal burial ground that dates from the early part of the 1800’s. This was the area they occupied during their winters here.

European settlement of the area dates from the French occupation of Placentia Bay. The French garrison at Placentia would regularly send hunting and exploration parties up Pipers Hole River to cut timber for ships and, with the aid of the Mic Macs in the area, hunt caribou for meat provisions.

The Legend of Piper’s Hole

The name “Piper’s Hole River actually comes from this time in history. The story goes that in early winter during the first part of the 1700’s a hunting party was sent to Pipers Hole River (at that time it was called “Salmon Hole”). Included in the party was a piper from the French garrison in Placentia. A disagreement took place between the piper and one of the other soldiers. The argument escalated and the piper was killed. To dispose of the body, a hole was cut in the frozen pond and the piper’s body was slipped into the water. When the soldier returned to the garrison he told his superiors that he had become separated from the piper and had searched for him to no avail, and so, had to return to Placentia because he was out of supplies.

Legend has it that on return trips to the area the French soldiers could hear the lonely lament of the piper being played in the river valley, thus the name Piper’s Hole River.

This story may have some basis in fact. It is said that the soldier who committed the murder confessed his crime years later on his death bed back in France. It just so happened that the priest who heard his confession had been stationed in Placentia during the time the piper was lost. They say that on a good night with the wind just the right way, you might still hear the lonely piper play.