Don's Blog Devon Island and Dundas Harbour I

Once across Lancaster Sound we explored the shores of Devon Island (Tatlurutit) one of the world's largest uninhabited islands. It is made of Precambrian gneiss (feldspar,quartz and mica) and Paleozoic shale and siltstones, with a massive glacial ice cap on the eastern part. 

We were able to explore Dundas Harbour, an historically interesting outpost near Johnson Bay. The nearby cliffs showed fascinating erosion.

The Canadian Government established Dundas Harbour in 1924 to better control area whaling. The Hudson Bay Company leased  Dundas Harbour in 1933 and in 1934 a group of 52 Inuit from Cape Dorset was moved there by the government to try to establish Canadian sovereignty over the area. The Inuit called it Tullaruti which means 'a woman's chin with tattoos on it'. This referred to those eroded cliffs nearby. More about that later. The relocation experiment was not successful and the natives returned to the mainland after 13 years. A Royal Mounted Police detachment  was present in the late 1940's but finally left for good in 1951 since when it has been uninhabited.

The remnants of the outpost are over the rise and at the base of the hill on the right.

The site is a tundra treasure trove.

The abandoned buildings remain stable in the dry arctic climate. Up the hill to the left is a small cemetery with three graves.

Inside the main building is this weather-beaten copy of a book which indicates that, "there is one man left in the universe who can save the Planet Earth. He is… Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". By the looks of the inside of the cabin I had no reason to doubt it.