Since the time of the first settlement, St. John’s has been scarred by fires, plundered and sacked by invaders and pirates, and had its share of civil strife, mutiny, and rioting; but the fire of 1892 was the most devastating of all, as it wiped out 70 percent of the city. It was through an act of God that the wind changed and Georgestown, the first of the strictly residential districts, and its adjacent neighbourhoods of Monkstown and Tubridstown escaped the conflagration.
Wallace Furlong describes the history of this unique corner of St. John’s through its personalities and events. Down through the years, Georgestown played host to painters, conspirators and clergy, sailors, sealers, and gentleman farmers. It was a lively suburb, with its athlete clubs, academies and private schools, churches, and commercial establishments. In Georgestown lived Newfoundland’s greatest shipbuilder, Michael Kearney, master builder of ocean-going brigs, clipper barques and brigantines. It was also the home of Newfoundland’s first aviator, Sydney Bennett, and Captain Philip Cleary, master mariner at the age of twenty-five, mining prospector, and advocate for seamen’s rights. Welcome to Georgestown . . .

Wallace Furlong was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland in 1918. As a young man he worked in several garages in the city before taking up responsibilities at Fort Pepperrell as an administrator of supply contracts, and eventually he retired as a land surveyor. Always interested in the history of the city, he wrote and published many articles on the people, places, and events within the section of St. John’s known as Georgestown. These articles were first published in the years 1980 to 1982. Wallace Furlong married Alwynne Hunter and they have two sons, Andrew and David.

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