Saint Augustine

What to KNOW

St. Augustine, one of the largest villages on the Lower North Shore, is located on the east bank of the St. Augustine River, across from the Innu community of Pakua Shipi. Tucked several kilometres inland from island-filled passages, St. Augustine is 60 kilometres (37 miles) from any other village besides Pakua Shipi. Spread out across undulating hills, the village is striking with the sandy banks of the St. Augustine River in the foreground. Early visitors and settlers first stayed on the islands near St. Augustine.

A French post may have been established in the late 17th century on Vieux Poste Island. The trading post changed hands throughout the French and British regimes. Two brothers with roots in Boston acquired the post from the Labrador Company when it went bankrupt in the early 1820s. They established a successful seal and salmon-fishing company. Later settlers arrived from England, elsewhere in Quebec, and then Newfoundland. Over time, residents gravitated to the main village of St. Augustine in the winter, and then year-round. Many residents still stay on the islands in summer, fishing haddock, mackerel, salmon, trout and shellfish.