Located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, more than eighty kilometres from the nearest landmass, the Îles de la Madeleine, if undetected, were a treacherous area for mariners. Between 1855 and 1880, over 200 vessels shipwrecked on the islands. Île du Havre-Aubert (Amherst Island) is the largest and southernmost island in the Îles de la Madeleine. A lighthouse was established on Rocher aux Oiseaux (Bird Rock), the northernmost island in the archipelago, in 1870, and Amherst Island was a natural choice for the islands’ second light.

The lighthouse established in 1870 was built on the southern cape of the island, and then in 1911, a lighthouse was built on the wharf at the eastern end of Amherst Island and also at the wharf at Pointe Basse on Île du Havre aux Maisons (Alright Island). These wharf lights were identical in shape and size. The following Notice to Mariners advertised the completion of the new wharf lighthouse at Pointe Basse:

A 6th order, dioptric, fixed red light, elevated 28 feet above high water and visible 7 miles from all points of approach by water, has been established by the Government of Canada on the outer end of Pointe Basse Wharf, Alright Island, Magdalen Islands.

The lighthouse is a small, white, square, wooden building, supported on four steel columns and surmounted by a square wooden lantern, painted white with red roof. The height of the structure from the deck of the wharf to the top of the ventilator on the lantern is 30 feet.

J.H. Dube supervised the day’s labour that erected the lighthouse at Pointe Basse at a cost of $278.55. Goold, Shapley, & Muir of Brantford, Ontario supplied the metalwork for the foundation of the lighthouse at a cost of $298. In 1912, wooden braces were added to strengthen the tower.

A. Arseneau was hired as the first keeper for Pointe Basse Wharf Lighthouse at an annual salary of $90. He served through at least 1923, when his annual salary was $136.

Annual Light Lists indicate that the original lighthouse was on the wharf in 1932, but by 1933 a pole light had replaced the original lighthouse. In 2021, a square, sekeletal tower was displaying a flashing green light from the end of the western breakwater at Pointe Basse.

Keepers: A. Arseneau (1911 – at least 1923), Eucharist Arseneau ( – 1937), Fred Boudreau (1937 – 1940), Firmin Boudreau (1940 – 1941), Albin S. Arseneau (1941 – 1954).

References

1. Annual Report of the Department of Marine, various years.

A modern light marks the harbour at Pointe Basse today.

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