Sunderton

Sunderton is a town on the edge of Thort Cape in Stanshur, Edury. A coastal resort town of a permanent population around 3,000, its summer population can swell to 60,000. The town is especially well known amongst Eduran vacationers and beachgoers for its beaches, resorts, hotels, restaurants, and its reputation as a gaycation spot.

History
Fishing villages of some form or another are believed to have existed around the same time as any other human habitation in northern Edury, around the migration or the original inhabitants of east Alutra. Blethic peoples and proto-Edurans settled the area around 500-300 BCE. The original Blethic inhabitants of the area around Sunderton would probably have operated in a semi-nomadic lifestyle, boating from one shore to the next, following the migratory patterns of certain fish, the weather, etc.

Sunderton would have been a small village of peoples on the coast, and rather unimportant. There are no records of castles or fortifications nearby, which speaks to how the political rulers in the larger towns saw the area. The land that is now Stanshur province in Edury would have had some amount of trade, with ships from Renesia and the Samenwaterryke coming around the Ecoralian peninsula, bringing goods to the merchant towns of Edury. However, the towns on the western coast of the Eduran peninsula were not as wealthy as their counterparts in the Edu river basin or estuary, and most goods went that way. In either case, Sunderton’s harbor was suitable for sturdy vessels, but with little in the way of a wealthy client base, few ships would land there. This situation, of semi-nomadic fishermen living in poverty at the very tip of Cape Thort, would persist from the 200’s BCE until the 14th century.

Starting in the 1320’s, with the conclusion of the Last War, Sunderton was brought under the auspices of the Eduran Confederation. The northernmost land of Edury was reorganized under the domain of the town of Hurglingburton, a somewhat prominent trading town on the Hurgling river, which drained westwards, towards the sea north of Ecoralia. With the inclusion of Sunderton in the wider Eduran sphere, its stocks of fish that its fishermen took from became open to a larger clientele. Sturgeon and herring were the primary object from the 14th century to the 18th, when anchovies, and later, shellfish, took over. The people of Sunderton, by this point, had dropped their nomadic lifestyles to live permanently on land. Sunderton would continue to be a small backwater fishing town into the 19th century.

Sunderton would have its dock expanded in this period, and houses and larger structures would be built on it. While the harbor would be burnt, razed, destroyed, and rebuilt many times, this is the period when the harbor piers would begin to take their familiar shape.

Shellfish would begin to be farmed in or near Sunderton around the 17th century. The farming of shellfish- clams, mussels, oysters, etc- would bring some regularity to the food supply, and ease the burden of depleting natural fish and food stocks.

During the revolution, salt herring from the town would be requisitioned by the invading Ecoralian army, which took much of western Stanshur until their ultimate defeat in the revolution.

As the 19th century wore on, Sunderton would begin to gain popularity with the Eduran art scene. The 1888 Hypergale damaged much of the on-land infrastructure related to fishing, and so impoverished artists moved into some of these buildings. This period also saw the emergence of the tourist industry. Cheap land and rent allowed many struggling writers and artists to move into the town, so that by the early years of the 1900’s, the town had a reputation as an artists colony. A rail line extended to the town as a branch from the main Godenhaven-Dawborough line. This would bring further interest to the area, but it mostly remained an out-of-the way spot for artists and those looking for a cheap vacation- as well as fishermen. With the Toll War, long-distance fishermen could now trawl the Onse Bay- the involvement of Eduran trawling ships in the Onse Bay would be some cause for consternation between Edury and the monarchist sea-faring states Renesia and Ecoralia.

The 1921 Workers Spring changed the foundation of Sunderton. The town was left out of most of the conflict, although some of the artists there developed propaganda for both the Smithist faction and Barend de Boer’s Workers Association. The fishing industry was put on complete hold from March to May, as the involvement of the Central Alutran powers, and the threat of Myrish intervention as well, meant any activity upon the sea was fraught. At this point, the shellfish farms firmly established themselves, as they sold some of the only seafood that was safe to harvest during this time. The close of the conflict returned the town to its sleepy demeanor. However, with the newly ascendant Workers Association in government, the independent fishermen of Sunderton had to deal with the involvement of the Trawlerman’s Brotherhood- a union of seafarers and fish workers- asserting rights to higher wages.

As Sunderton was a small little fishing village, it didn’t really matter during either the second or third world wars.

By the 1960’s, the tourism industry was firmly established. Regulations regarding trawling and overfishing had started to put strain on the fishing industry, which made the Worker’s Association- so far the only party to have control of cabinet and the Magisterial chair- unpopular with many members of the Trawlerman’s Brotherhood. By this point, however, much of Sunderton’s citizenry were employed in the service industry- as hoteliers, restaurant staff, retail workers, tchotchke slingers, etc. These workers, while associated with the Workers Association, had long had a feeling of discontent. The party- known in its local acronym as the WF (Workman’s Folkmeet)- was seen by many to champion the interests of industrial laborers, rather than the entire working population. Service industry employees had a harder time organizing strike actions, and other acts of coordinated labor. By this period, chapters of the various Folkmeets were no longer chapters of the labor unions, but were still associated with a particular faction of workers. Furthermore, the cultural makeup of the town had shifted. The two subcultural groups of Eduran society- Gardeners and Besteerers- were, at this point, associated with either the blue-shade Feburarist governance of de Boer’s Workers Association, whereas the Besteerers were primarily thought of as middle-class clerks and managers. However, the Gardeners were more closely related to the industrial labor movement, and the service industry was firmly entrenched in the Besteerer part of society. The fishermen, being more industrial manual labor, were typical Gardners, whereas the rest of the employed section of Sunderton were Besteerers. From the Worker’s Spring in 1921, to 1962, the makeup of the town shifted significantly towards the latter group.

By this point, the policy of the worker-dominated state had also done quite a bit to shift the town. Private landlordry is illegal in Edury- those who own houses or apartment buildings lease them to the state, who pays them a stipend based on square footage. The owner is responsible for satisfactory maintenance and upkeep, which if they fail to, they do not get paid for the month in which they have been unable to perform their duties. Renters are assigned an apartment, and all renters pay the state the same subsidized rent, depending on how many people are living in a certain unit. However, as seasonal tourism had by this point become the dominant industry, property owners were loath to make this agreement with the state, as they would make more money by having their properties empty half the year, and renting it as seasonal lodging for vacationers in the summer. Many of these properties were owned by fishermen, as the unionization efforts and policy of the state had significantly uplifted those persons over the decades. The local government was hesitant to bring reform to this situation, for fear of alienating the still-powerful Trawlerman’s Brotherhood.

In the 1970’s, economic falters were felt over east Alutra. In the 1976 Great Kerfuffle, the Eduran economy took a significant tumble. Ripples in the economy caused by the closure of several coal mines spiraled out of control, and by 1978, Edury was in the throes of a recession. As in every period of economic decline, the tourism industry was one of the first to feel the squeeze. The government’s response initially focused solely on the decline of mining and manufacturing in the country, and as such, much of Sunderton’s vibrancy died off. The subsequent flight of many of the chapters of the Workman’s Folkmeet to the Other Party (known officially as the Band of Free Folkmeets, or BFF) was embraced with full force in Sunderton. The first chapter to do so was Workers Association Chapter 17509, a chapter made up mostly of restaurant workers and bartenders. However, as these Besteerer chapters switched to the Other Party, the local folkmeet chapter most closely associated with the Trawlerman’s Brotherhood also felt the squeeze. Workers Association Chapter 1205, the Gardener one with close ties to the Brotherhood, would suspend its charter on April 24th, 1978. The next day they adopted a charter which cemented them, like the other Folkmeet chapters of the town, as part of the Other Party. Eduran Lord-Magistrate Bucephalous Horseman is supposed to have said, upon hearing news of Chapter 1205 leaving his party, “Well that can’t be good.” This would be a part of a trend of traditionally Gardener, semi-industrial workers leaving the Workers Association, and joining the Other Party. This would cement the Other Party not as an anti-syndicalist party, but as an opposition party of a different sort of worker. The Band of Free Folkmeets would win its first general election in 1980. Sunderton’s voters, on the partisan ballot, gave 34% of their electorate to the Other Party.

In the 1980’s, a movement to accept gay men and women would find significant purchase in Sunderton. As a Stroomist country, Edury had no anti-buggery laws, and homosexuality was not seen as immoral. However, those who expressed interest only in the same gender were seen as “unbalanced”, and either physically or spiritually unwell. Marriage between the same gender was not an option. However, as the movement to accept homosexuality as normal and part of the same balance as the rest of the population gained speed, Sunderton grew as a “gaycation” spot. Today, it is known as the gay capital of Edury.

From the 2000’s onwards, it has been known as a premiere resort town. With the laws now clearly defining rented apartments and vacation rentals, as well as a plethora of hotels, motels, and bed-and-breakfasts, vacations are easily accessible by much of the population. The rail line, which was upgraded to high speed service in the 90’s, allows for weekend trips from people in Marshire and the capital of Godenhaven. However, the relative lack of land means that despite prices being available to most Eduran people, hotels are often reserved and booked fully for the entire summer as early as April. There are a few hostels and other institutions which operate on a no-reservation, first-come-first-serve basis to accommodate this market.

The town’s first and only Nembo opened in 2006.

Geography
Sunderton is located at the tip of Cape Thort, the very northern point of Edury. The harbor, of which the town is centered on, is on the eastern shore of the cape. To the east and north, the town is bordered by the sea, and to the south, its neighboring town of Burroduglington. To the west of the town, there is a significantly large series of sand dunes, which are consolidated by seagrass and hardy, coastal trees. These shield Sunderton from much of the wind. Sunderton has a warm-summer humid continental climate (DfB).

The main harbor is a dredged shelter for boats, protected from wave activity by a stone breakwater. South of the main harbor is Gods Sound, a tidal harbor that was was blocked off in the 1950's in order to make a road. It is now a saltwater lake.

Stanshur is the northernmost town in Edury.

Demographics
According to the last census in 2015, the town has a permanent population of 3,106. Most of those living there are of Eduran ethnicity, with the largest minorities being Myrish, Ecoralian, Tretuish, and Gundiagh. Most of those who live in the town are employed in the tourism or service industry, with only about 500 of the roughly 3,000 people permanently employed in fishing or aquaculture. The average income was Ꝟ49,207 (ɛ24,603) in 2020. Most workers in the town are seasonal, coming from elsewhere in Edury or abroad to accommodated employment for the summer. The town has the highest concentration of self-reported same-sex couples than any other in Edury.

Resort town demographics
Being a resort town, the numbers gained from traditional censuses can be unexpected or misleading. In Stanshur, second homes are not legal in towns which have a homeless population. This has led towns like Sunderton to have extremely thorough housing programs, which controversially have a policy of sending those experiencing homelessness to other towns for housing. This has led to Sunderton being able to allow people to buy second or vacation homes in the town, while there are calls for reforms to this law from homelessness advocates. The summertime population estimates can vary wildly, from about 20,000 at the low end to as high as 80,000 on the high end.

Arts and Culture
Sunderton has been host to the Sunderton Play House and the Cape Thort Theater since 1934. These two institutions have been competing centers of drama and other arts, and have each produced a full summer season every year since the second world war. The two have received accolades and awards for their productions, and are considered the “premiere small-town playhouses in Edury” by several critics.

The Luna and Jove galleries are two public art galleries which have been open since 1956 and 1957 respectively. They allow artists from the town and surrounding area to display and sell their work. Famous painters such as Yohn Freeman, Seabearn Wrightend, and Kinwine Waleson have had paintings displayed early on in their careers in both galleries.

The Onse Bay is considered the oldest gay bar in Edury. It and many other restaurants, bars, and cabarets host dozens to hundreds of shows and gay themed events, such as drag shows. It is a common sight in the town to see drag queens hawking their shows during the day in outrageous or extravagant costumes (if they are wearing much at all.) Famous drag queens from all over Vanatas have done shows in the gay institutions of Sunderton.

The town is known for its fine seafood. Chef Wolfrich Actun of Last Haven in Sunderton is the reigning champion of seafood, being the chef currently with the most awards and accolades.

In regards to the subcultural mix, despite the tight hold the tourism and service industries have on the town, the permanent population skews towards the Gardeners. The people who live there tend to be of professions that cannot leave during the winter months- fishermen, shellfish harvesters, mechanics, carpenters, welders, etc. These professions have typically been of the Gardener persuasion.

In recent years, as beachgoing and seaside vacations have become more popular and more available to the general population, Sunderton has been the spot where many of the two groups have defined their etiquette regarding staying by the sea. Gardeners, being the generally more casual group, find that it is appropriate to always be wearing a t-shirt and shorts, maybe even swimming trunks. The more liberal Gardeners even find it excusable for persons to be topless unless in a place of business. Besteerers, however, have been historically more uptight. They held that it was only appropriate to be wearing such casual clothing while actually at the beach. Otherwise, the lax-ness afforded to vacation wear extended only to being able to forgo a tie and waistcoat. In recent years, however, the general consensus has been that they find it appropriate to be wearing casualwear while on vacation (although it is preferable to wear a button-up, and floral shirts have gained popularity) and that the shirt, tie, and pants are only required when going out to dinner.

Parks and Recreation
There are numerous parks in Sunderton. The town’s beaches are administered by the Stanshur Coastal Commission, of which the town has plenty of coastline. Busses and streetcars are available from almost any point of the town to a beach. The most popular beaches have people present nearly 24/7 during the summer months.

Government and Politics
The town received the right to elect a Burgomaster in 1920. They are otherwise governed by an Open Council, where any citizens who are residents may show up to town government meetings to act as the legislature of the town. There are also the Aldermen, the executive committee of the town, who elect the Burgomaster.

The town mostly votes for the Other Party in general elections. There are three Folkmeet chapters in town- their numbers all changed during the Great Kerfuffle. The chapter which first switched sides to the Other Party is now known as BFF Chapter 1312. The one associated with the Trawlerman’s Brotherhood is now BFF Chapter 1313, and the only remaining chapter of the Workers Association is Chapter 17809.

Economy
The town is dominated by the tourism industry, although fishing has been symbolically important. The town’s most successful fishery is the Moltworm Consolidated Farm, an oyster aquaculture plant. The town produces over 10,000,000 oysters (or moltworms in the native tongue) a year. Over half of all businesses are either foodservice or hospitality related. Many private art galleries exist, which display and sell various bits of art. Fishing, despite being diminished, still is an extremely important piece of the local economy- a resolution adopted by the town in 2013 says that restaurants may only sell fish that were caught by Sunderton fishermen. The dozens of hotels, motels, and resorts bring in tens of thousands of tourists a year, and the large amount of BnB’s do as well. More money is spent per capita at Sunderton restaurants than in any other town in Edury.