Sir Charles Hamilton Sound, which has been shortened to and is more commonly known as Hamilton

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

, is a body of water on the northeast coast of the island of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, between Fogo Island and the mainland to the south, and including (from west to east) Dog Bay, Gander Bay, and Rocky Bay. The western half of Hamilton Sound is dotted with a number of islands, with the largest group being the Indian Islands. At the east end of Hamilton Sound lie the Wadham Islands. The Gander River is the largest river to empty into Hamilton Sound through Gander Bay. The native peoples of Newfoundland, the

Beothuk The Beothuk ( or ; also spelled Beothuck) were a group of Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous people of Canada who lived on the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland. The Beothuk culture formed around 1500 CE. This may have been ...

, are presumed to have used the Gander River to gain access to the rich bird population on the many islands that dot Hamilton Sound. The sound, and many of the bays that make up Hamilton Sound, was first frequented by Europeans in the eighteenth century. By the late 1700s the salmon fishery was very well established and operated by Trinity-Poole merchants such as Benjamin Lester and Thomas Street. During the 1820s, when many of the bays were being settled, Hamilton Sound was named after Sir Charles Hamilton who had served as Commodore Governor from 1818 to 1825. The many communities in and around Hamilton Sound were largely settled in the period from 1840 to 1870 by settlers from Fogo in the western section, and in the eastern section, in communities such as Musgrave Harbour, settlers arrived from the

Bonavista Bay Bonavista Bay (BB) is a large bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. It opens directly onto the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is demarcated by Cape Freels to the nort ...

and

Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it ...

areas. Hamilton Sound was used to name the ferry which travelled the route from Farewell to

Change Islands Change Islands is an Newfoundland outport, outport community in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The community spans two small islands of the same name which lie off the northeast coast of ...

and Fogo Island. It was a 387-ton vessel built in Quebec in 1968. After decommissioning from the ferry run and sold in 2015, it was then named Norcon Galatea.

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