An immense crowd awaits news following the Newfoundland Sealing Disaster of 1914. The Newfoundland and Labrador spring sealing industry was more hazardous than any other local fishery at the turn of the 20th century - the dangers augmented by human error or negligence ? resulted in numerous deaths and accidents. The most horrific of these occurred in 1914, when 252 of the country?s sealers died in two separate but simultaneous disasters involving the SS Newfoundland and SS Southern Cross. These tragedies were immediately seared into the public consciousness and ultimately prompted government officials to change the way they regulated the seal fishery.