‘Rugged spots and quaint havens and all the unmatched scenery of the sea’: constructing landscapes of tourism along the South Shore of Nova Scotia, 1928–1941

During the early twentieth century, tourism flourished along Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Much of the industry’s success can be attributed to the social and physical constructions of the region’s landscape. The South Shore landscape was constructed to appeal to antimodern sentiments. In efforts to draw in a broad array of middle-class tourists, tourism promoters constructed landscapes along gendered lines. The South Shore was portrayed as a sportsman’s paradise, appealing to a bourgeois sense of masculinity. Meanwhile, the pastoral landscapes, sublime coastlines, and inviting beaches were highlighted in tourism promotional materials, such as newspaper articles and advertisements, to attract families. While men participated in hunting and fishing activities, their wives and children could enjoy the beaches and other recreational pursuits. Although the outdoor landscape was conceptually constructed to convey both a rugged wilderness for sportsmen and a more domesticated landscape for their families, the landscapes were also physically reconstructed through the creation of the resorts. The construction of comfortable resorts with electricity and running water, such as White Point Beach Lodge, attracted tourists who, tapping into the antimodernist sentiments of the time, sought to escape city life but not its comforts and amenities.