Amelia Earhart Statue

Unfortunately, under the cover of darkness in April, 2025 thieves stole the famous 

Amelia Earhart statue and commemorative plaque. 

The search is still underway with hopes that she will be returned to the town regardless of condition. There is a reward offered for her return.

Amelia Earhart Statue

History

Ever since her transatlantic crossing as a passenger in 1928—the first for a woman at the time—from Trepassey, Newfoundland, to Burry Point, Wales, Earhart wanted to conquer the Atlantic Ocean as a pilot, without any help at the controls. On May 19, 1932, she, Ed Gorski, her mechanic, and Bernt Balchen, the prestigious Norwegian aviator, left Teterboro, New Jersey, at 3:15 p.m. and headed to Saint John, New Brunswick. Balchen did most of the flying and even registered Earhart’s Lockheed Vega in his own name, to avoid press attention.

Their eventual destination? Harbour Grace, from which many famed and ill-fated flights had taken off to “challenge the Atlantic.” At 2:00 p.m. local time, Earhart’s single-engine monoplane landed at the airstrip. From there, Earhart went to the Cochrane Hotel for a short rest; Balchen and Gorski stayed at the airfield to prepare the Lockheed Vega for takeoff. At the hotel, Earhart met the proprietress of the iconic establishment, Rose Archibald, whose gifts of tomato juice and a thermos of soup have become legendary in the town’s aviation history and lore.

Local Arthur Rogers then took Earhart and her company back to the airstrip, where she would leave at 7:20 p.m.

Four hours out from Harbour Grace, the plane’s exhaust manifold broke, and for the next ten hours flames shooting from the vent threatened the success of the flight. Soon the altimeter malfunctioned, which resulted in Earhart flying blind for five hours. And if that wasn’t enough, she dealt with thick clouds and ice developing on the wings of her aircraft.

Unable to make it to Paris as Lindbergh had in 1927, Earhart landed in a cow pasture belonging to the Gallagher family, just outside the small hamlet of Culmore, north of Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The record-breaking flight took fourteen hours and fifty-six minutes after her departure from Harbour Grace.

She became the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic and the second person to accomplish this feat, after Charles Lindberg in 1927.

The Gallaghers offered Earhart a room for the night, which the aviatress accepted, so long as they “didn’t mind her clothes.” Famished, she told Mrs. Gallagher that “tomato juice” had been her only meal since leaving America.

The flight established Earhart as an international hero, making her the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. For her bravery, Earhart won many honours, including the Gold Medal from the National Geographic Society, presented by United States President Herbert Hoover, the Distinguished Flying Cross from the U.S. Congress, and the Cross of the Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French government.

Statue In 2007, on the 75th anniversary of Earhart’s flight, a statue of the aviatress was placed in the Spirit of Harbour Grace Park. Site design came from Lorne Rostotski, the inspiration and funding from Roger Pike. Sculpted by Luben Boykov, the statue stands as a permanent reminder of Earhart’s special history in Harbour Grace.

The statue is located in Harbour Grace on the site of the Spirit of Harbour Grace, the SS Kyle, and Kearney Tourist Chalet (Visitor Information Centre).

Location: GPS Coordinates: 47.672233, -53.256379

Street Address: 468 Water St, Harbour Grace, NL

Note: Excerpts from this biography come from the blog post “Transatlanticism: Amelia Earhart in Harbour Grace” (2017), written for the Conception Bay Museum by Matthew McCarthy.