Quick Search
|
Search Results
You searched for: More Like: 'Fittie howffs'
23 items
items as
Leaving Aberdeen Harbour
502 A Leith registered fifie leaving Aberdeen Harbour. The white building seen behind the sails is the Round House, the Harbour Master's office, on the New Quay at Fittie.
The fifie was a fast wind-powered sailing boat favoured for herring fishing on much of Scotland's east coast from the 1850s until well into the 20th century. Its main features were the vertical stem (front) and stern (back) and the wide beam (width) making them stable in the water.
Fifies had two masts, a main dipping lugsail and a mizzen sail. Fifie's were increasingly decked following the recommendations of Captain Washington's 1849 report into the Moray Firth fishing disaster.
See SCRAN's webpage on Scottish sail powered fishing boats for more information on the subject.
The Tidal Harbour is in the background, beyond the landing stage of Pocra Quay's Lower Basin. A Dead Whale
868 Crowds gathered round a dead whale, with fishing boats (A329) in the background.
Correspondent Ed Fowler suggests that this photograph shows the "Nairn whale".
Initially wrongly identified at the time as a blue whale, it was actually a sei whale (Balaenoptera Borealis), one of the 4th-largest balaenopterid.
The whale stranded at Nairn on 18th December 1884 and was subsequently purchased by Mr Davidson, fish-dealer, Aberdeen. The whale was then towed by the tug Granite City on 2nd February 1885.
The Evening Express from Wednesday 4th February 1885 provides more details about the operation:
"This was accordingly done about five o'clock yesterday afternoon by the tug Granite City, and the leviathan was successfully placed on the waggons which had been provided for the purpose. Suspended in mid-air, the whale presented a remarkable spectacle, its huge proportions being displayed to full advantage. The task of placing it on the huge waggons by which it was conveyed to its destination proved a very laborious and onerous one, and occupied a large staff of men from four o'clock in the afternoon till midnight. Ultimately, the leviathan stretched upon the waggons, and the horses - numbering about two dozen - being attached, the unusual procession proceeded on its way to the Recreation Grounds [Queens Links]. The quay was literally besieged by a crowd which swelled in proportions as time wore on, and whose enthusiasm the disagreeable odour which proceeded from the whale was wholly unable to quench. [About] four o'clock this afternoon, after many difficulties had been encountered and overcome, the whale reached its destination - the Recreations Grounds - where it now lies. As before stated, a very strong smell is felt in the vicinity of the carcase, and the sanitary inspector has brought the matter under the notice of the Public Health Committee".
Ed Fowler adds that "The Landing was a difficult operation as it can reach 19.5M (64-ft) long and weighing as much as 28-Tons. An attempt to haul it from the water at Fittie (Perhaps Alexander Hall's Slipway) with Horses failed and so it was Towed into the harbour to the North Lock Sheer-legs (a lifting system) at the North Lock, Waterloo Quay and hoisted in mid-air with a tackle around the Tail, then placed on a series of Wagons and then dragged by 24 Horses and a crowd of Men to the Recreation Grounds (Queens Links), for Public Exhibition."
James Tulloch
1914 A portrait of Baillie James Tulloch (30th September 1830 - 16th November 1925). Upon his death, at home at 5 Devonshire Road, The Press and Journal wrote that "Aberdeen has lost one of its oldest citizens and certainly one of the most public spirited it has possessed in the course of the last half-century."
Tulloch was the second son of a ship-master who hailed from Shetland. He was a "Fittie Boy", having been born at 14 Clement Street. His primary business was supplying emigrant boats with groceries and other supplies. He was one of the founders of the Party of Progress and entered the council in 1869.
He was instrumental in the construction of Victoria Bridge after the Torry ferryboat disaster. He was also associated with the Riverside Road scheme, Ferryhill, Union Terrace improvements and the Public Library movement. Tulloch was also involved in infrastructural improvements to mail delivery, railway and the telegraph. Furthermore, he played a crucial role in the extension of the university. Old Inn at the Pier
1991 A drawing titled Old Inn at the Pier, signed W. Gordon, 1890.
The label on the library's glass slide identifies the building as the Ferry Boat Inn. It was located past the old Blockhouse at the end of Pocra Quay. The harbour side pub was run by Willie Cormack, who also ran a shop in Fittie called Highland Willie's.
Comparing the shape and location of the pub shown here with the Ordnance Survey Aberdeen town plan surveyed 1866-67, particularly the pub's bay windows, suggests this is in fact the Steam Yacht Inn. This inn, which was further up Pocra Quay, east of Pocra Jetty, can be seen on the above town plan on sheet LXXV.12.21. The Victoria Bridge
1994 The Victoria Bridge as seen from across the River Dee on the shores of Torry.
Victoria Bridge was erected following the Dee Ferry Boat Disaster, which claimed the lives of 32 people on 5 April 1876.
The ferry had for centuries took people from Pocra Quay, near Fittie, to Torry and back again.
The 5th April was a feastday so the ferry was particularly busy when it went down and 32 people lost their lives.
There had long been plans to build a bridge here but the Ferry Boat disaster was the final impetus needed for the project.
When the bridge opened finally in 1881 it enabled direct access for carriages from Torry into the heart of Abedeen via Market Street. The new bridge facilitated the rapid expansion that Torry would see in the following years.
By 1969 it was clear to Aberdeen Corporation that Victoria Bridge was no longer coping with the amount of traffic using it to cross the Dee.
A report in 1965 showed that traffic was 20% above the level for which the bridge had been designed.
This overload and the deteriorating state of The Wellington Suspension Bridge saw the opening of the nearby Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in 1981. Torry and the River Dee
2245 This photograph by George Washington Wilson shows Old Torry from Balnagask, with Victoria Bridge in the distance.
In the early 19th century Old Torry developed out of the medieval settlement of Lower Torry. It was a centre of fishing industry and culture. Old Torry was eventually largely demolished in the 1970s to make way for support service buildings for the emerging oil and gas industry. Only one or two streets, such as Abbey Road, remain of Old Torry.
Victoria Bridge was erected following the Dee Ferry Boat Disaster, which claimed the lives of 32 people on 5 April 1876. The ferry had for centuries took people from Pocra Quay, near Fittie, to Torry and back again. The 5th April was a feast day so the ferry was particularly busy when it went down and 32 people lost their lives. There had long been plans to build a bridge here but the Ferry Boat disaster was the final impetus needed for the project.
When the bridge opened finally in 1881 it enabled direct access for carriages from Torry into the heart of Aberdeen via Market Street. The new bridge facilitated the rapid expansion that Torry would see in the following years. |