The History of the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts:
The Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts was officially opened as the Grand Falls Arts and Culture Centre in July of 1971. With the amalgamation of Grand Falls and Windsor, it became the Grand Falls-Windsor Arts and Culture Centre. As of July 12, 2005, it became the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts, in honour one of Grand Falls native sons -
actor and writer Gordon Pinsent, on the occasion of his 75th birthday, and during the town's Centenary. The story of how this building came to be re-constructed in Central Newfoundland is a very interesting one. The building began it life in Montreal as part of Expo 67, “Man and His World”. It was the Czechoslovakian Pavilion which housed many of that country’s cultural treasures and technological innovations. Popular Lore :
On Tuesday, Sept.5, 1967 at Gander International Airport, a Czechoslovakian Airliner crashed on take off. Of the 69 people on board, 32 died instantly and five died later in hospital. Without the rescue efforts and dedication of the people from the James Paton Memorial Hospital in Gander, the Central Newfoundland Hospital in Grand Falls, and local rescue workers, more lives would have been lost. In 1968, as a gesture of gratitude, the Czechoslovakian Government transported to this site the major complex from its pavilion at Expo '67 in Montreal. It was reconstructed by the Newfoundland government and kept the exact same design and layout as the original structure. It took several years to complete the reconstruction due to financial problems, but finally the Centre was officially opened in July of 1971. The facts:
The Czechoslovakian Pavilion at Expo 67 was designed as a temporary structure which could be easily disassemble and reassemble. It was hoped that this feature would help in the sale of the building. The Newfoundland Government of the day had expressed an interest in buying the building but was not the first choice of the Czechoslovakian Government. After the aforementioned rescue efforts of the people of Central NL., the Province’s request to purchase may have been raised to the top of the list. Smallwood government purchased the Pavilion for 230,000 crown with the intent of making it into and Arts and Culture Centre in Central NL. He also intended to name the Centre after the sixteenth century Roman Catholic Educationalist, Comenius, to honour the buildings Czech roots. The building was design by Czech Architects Miroslav Repa and Vladimir Pycha and the Centre still houses some of the artworks from the Pavilion when it was at Expo 67 in Montreal. The Pavilion was divided into two separate buildings. The restaurants and small theatre section of the Pavilion were re-assembled in Gander and the larger exhibition area was rebuilt in Grand Falls. In the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts there is an art gallery, a four hundred seat theatre, and a public library. These features in the building are named for pioneers from the community of Grand Falls. The theatre is named the Neala Griffin Theatre, after the prominent theatre and performing arts enthusiast who lived in Grand Falls. She was president and director of the Northcliffe Drama Club and she was also involved with adult education in the region. She was the wife of the mill manager in the early days of the town and also a prominent arts supporter. Cooper arranged many arts exhibits, taught art, and encouraged many young artists to pursue their artistic dream. She also started and encouraged the first performing arts group in this region. The Harmsworth Public Library, named in honour of the Harmsworth family which founded the Anglo-Newfoundland Co. Ltd., moved from its original location on Church Road to this building on November 30, 1971. This wonderful building continues to attract many cultural events. Performers and visual artists from all over the world have performed or exhibited in the Centre for the Arts. Throughout the year visitors and patrons alike are invited to view local, provincial, and national artworks and performers as well as use the public library as a resource centre. Housed in the Art Gallery are two permanent collections. The first is called "Project 2000", sponsored by the Central Newfoundland Visual Arts Society, which features fine examples of prominent Newfoundland born visual artists. The second collection, also sponsored by C.N.V.A.S., is called the “CNVAS Collection” and is comprised of works by visual artists who live in Newfoundland. The temporary gallery features works by local, regional, and provincial artists throughout the year. The following is an account of the airliner crash, as it appeared in a local newspaper at the time
The Czech Plane Crash:
Thirty two persons died instantly aboard a Czechoslovakian airliner which crashed at Gander on Tuesday, September 5, 1967. Two more died after being admitted to the Paton Memorial Hospital, at Gander. The third casualty, Mr.Pilato, who boarded the flight at Gander, passed away at Montreal General Hospital. The fourth, a man of Polish nationality, died at Halifax and another expired in Montreal General Hospital the following weekend. The Russian built IL 18 Turbo prop aircraft crashed seconds after taking off from Gander. The aircraft, in command of Captain Bacovsky, may have been attempting to land on the soft marsh when it hit the railway tracks and telegraph poles and somersaulted. The first survivors to be located were: a stewardess, flight engineer, radio operator, a man, his wife and four children. Seven hours after the crash, the last survivor, a woman with her legs badly injured, was located under a piece of wreckage. Sixteen of the bodies have not been identified except by nationality and sex. The remainder of the bodies were released by Magistrate Jack A. White of Gander and company planes belonging to Czechoslovakian Airlines and Cubana Airlines have since transported the bodies to Cuba and Prague. Authorities at the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax and the Montreal General have commended the Paton Memorial Hospital for the manner in which the survivors of the crash were prepared for transfer to their respective facilities. Of the original 37 survivors admitted to the hospital here, 20 were transferred to Halifax and 7 to Montreal. Two died at Paton Memorial and one of the seven transferred to Montreal, Mr. Pilato, has also died, bringing the death toll to 37 out of 69 persons on board the aircraft. The hospital in Gander was assisted during the emergency, by: The Central Newfoundland Hospital, Grand Falls; General Hospital, St. John's; St. Clare's, St. John's; Provincial Department of Health Nursing Service, St. John's; Victoria General Hospital, Halifax; Montreal General Hospital, Montreal; Red Cross Service, St. John's and Toronto; and the United States Naval Hospital, Argentia. Hospital Administrator Mr. Gover said, "The assistance received during the emergency was terrific." He made special mention of Les Gettel, Manager of Allied Aviation, for arranging transportation; members of the armed forces, both Canadian and American; members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Eastern Provincial Airways; blood donors; Department of Transport; and numerous others who came forward and offered their services. Though the hospital maintains a ten bed crash ward, it was not in use during the tragedy because there was ample room to accommodate the crash victims throughout the facility. The bodies of 29 victims left Gander on September 10th for the return trip to Prague. On hand for the simple ceremonies were: Rev. W. Vardy of the United Church; Rev. J.H. Moss of St. Martin's; Rev. J.P. McCarthy; the Hon. Charles R. Granger, representing the provincial government; Mr. James Tucker, M.P.; Magistrate Jack A. White of Gander; The Consul General of the Czechoslovakian Embassy in Montreal; Edward Bilek, president of the Czech airline; L. Kilack and airport manager, Jack James. Mr. Bilek said it was his feeling that the number of people who died would have been greatly increased had it not been for the prompt action of the staff at James Paton Memorial Hospital. He said people of Czechoslovakia would always be in debt to those who did so much. He said, "the interest and concern shown by the people of Gander, who came out for the ceremony, is also appreciated." Close to 1,000 people attended the ceremony. Final identification for all but two of the victims came from Prague late that afternoon. The Ilyushin IL 18D turbo prop airliner exploded into flames about 4000 feet beyond the end of Gander airport's runway. The aircraft, a Soviet built four propeller turbo prop aircraft, was owned and operated by CSA (Czechoslovakia State Airlines), and was only in service about three months and was practically new to CSA's fleet. It was given its certificate of airworthiness and registration on May 16, 1967. This aircraft was the mainstay of Soviet transport airliners in the early 1960's and was being built and exported to communist bloc countries. Hundreds were in service all over the world. The IL 18 was a modern passenger transport of sleek design and comparable to western standards of technology and was well proven in service with many airlines. The aircraft, an IL 18D registered OK WAI left Prague, Czechoslovakia for its final destination Havana, Cuba with two technical and refuelling stops at Shannon, Ireland and Gander, Newfoundland. The aircraft stopped at Shannon and continued its flight across the north Atlantic uneventfully to Gander. The crew which flew the plane to Gander deplaned and was replaced with a new crew stationed at Gander. The aircraft lifted off near the end of the runway appearing normal except for a shallow climb out. The air plane, with 8900ft. of runway behind it, pancaked into very boggy ground beyond the end of the runway. The right wing tip struck a radar mast and exploded. Many of the passengers thought it occurred in flight. However the explosion occurred when the left wing and propellers struck the Canadian National Railroad tracks.
