Origin of Bluenose - theories on her name
First recorded use of the word "Bluenose" was in 1785

Lunenburg Nova Scotia's Bluenose II is the well-loved replica of the famous schooner, the Original Bluenose. Launched at the Smith and Rhuland Shipyard in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on July 24, 1963, the schooner was built by many who helped to construct the Original Bluenose at the same location.

The term "Bluenose," used as a nickname for Nova Scotians, dates from at least the late 18th century. The first recorded use of the word was in 1785 by the Reverend Jacob Bailey, a Loyalist clergyman living in Annapolis Royal after the American Revolution.

Cranky clergyman

Writing to a friend that year, Bailey complained about the outcome of the recent elections, where the political lines had been clearly drawn throughout Nova Scotia between the newly-arrived Loyalists (Americans will know them as 'Tories') and the New England Planters - long-time residents since at least the 1760s.

Bailey sourly noted "The blue noses, to use a vulgar appellation . . . exerted themselves to the utmost of their power and cunning." In another letter the next year, Bailey continued his complaints by listing several regrettable aspects of life in Nova Scotia, one of them being "Violent contentions between the Loyalists and the old inhabitants called blue noses."

The Oxford English Dictionary awards first published use of the term to Thomas Chandler Haliburton, in The Clockmaker; or, the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville (1838).

Sam was a fictionalized Yankee traveling salesman, sharp as they come, whose specialty was clocks. When he described his standard sales pitch, he chuckled heartily over the typical gullible response from his Nova Scotia customers: "When bluenose hears that, he thinks he's got a bargain."

Blue mittens?

Another story brings mittens to mind. Fishing from a dory on the moody North Atlantic required a spirit of bravery and tenacity. Dorymen's days usually started around 4am with a hearty breakfast. After which they chopped bait, boarded their dories and were lowered over the side to the water (two men per boat). They rowed up to three kilometers from the schooner to haul their lines from the night before, unhook the fish, then re-bait and set their lines.

Once the dory was filled with fish, they'd row back to the mother ship, unload their catch and grab a quick mug up of tea and buns, then back to fishing - this routine to be repeated three or four times a day.

At home, the women of the family prayed for the safety of their men and knitted them thick wool socks and mittens, using a cheap blue dye to bring some colour to the humble garb.

The fishermen worked from the dories for hours at a time often surrounded by fog so thick it threatened their safe return to the ship. Constantly blowing winds slapped their boats and stung their faces. Running noses were absentmindedly wiped on the back of the mitted hand, finally giving up its dye to the fisherman's face, colouring his nose an indigo blue. This version, although favoured by Captain Wayne Walters is yet to be verified.

Blue potatoes?

In the end, who knows what the word really means, or where it comes from? Maybe it describes Nova Scotian noses in winter; perhaps it began as the name of a mottled purplish-blue potato once common in the Annapolis Valley. Regardless of its origin, the term caught on and from the mid-19th century, "Bluenose" was widely used in the names of publications, incorporated companies, businesses, railway services and boats - in particular, Nova Scotia's most famous boat of all, Bluenose.