The Light on Chantry Island

Melba Croft was a freelance historian living in Owen Sound, Ontario.

This book offers a wealth of material concerning Chantry Island in Georgian Bay during the period 1857-1957. The 49 maps, charts, photographs, drawings, (many of archival significance) are well produced, the print clear, the paper glossy. There are detailed comparisons of 11 lighthouses. Brief biographies of the men responsible for having them built, and financial records of their construction, are all there for those who demand them. The transitions in construction of wharfs, lighthouses and shops are documented; 43 ships are described. There is a surprising end note on bird life on Chantry Island.

The affection for Chantry Island felt by the authors is reflected in tidbits of diary excerpts and anecdotes that take the book out of the narrow readership of “mariners” and into the wider field of adventure and Canadian nostalgia.

The only book in the local library close to the subject is a nautical chart, “Chantry Island To Cove Island” 1961 by Canadian Hydrographic Services. This is a timely addition to Canadian navigation history.