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Shipwreck of the Idaho
603 Ellerman Steamer the Idaho ran ashore on Aberdeen beach on the 16th January 1929. Arriving in dense fog the ship missed the entrance to the harbour. In July of that year it was re-floated, repaired at the pontoon dock and berthed at Blaikie's Quay. On the 19th September the Idaho left Aberdeen towed by two steam tugs for the Clyde where it was to be dismantled and broken up.
In March of 1929 Rev. James F. Kellas of Mannofield Parish Church delivered a sermon entitled "The stranded steamer and the stranded life - a comparison and an allegory."
The Aberdeen Journal described the aftermath of the wreck as "weird in the extreme". The article continues: "The hazy gleam of the moon cast a cold radiance over the deserted wastes of snow-mantled sands, while across a dark strip of water loomed the black hull of the vessel. A biting wind blew from the north-east. No movement could be seen aboard the steamer, but red lights showed from her mastheads." Sandilands: phosphoric acid production plant
842 The foundations for the new phosphoric acid production plant in progress at Sandilands Chemical Plant, following the demolition of houses in Baltic Street. Sandilands Chemical Works
847 Sandilands Chemical Works - foundation work in progress for the new phosphoric acid production plant, with Flemings the timber merchants' chimney in the background. John Knox Church
1823 An illustration looking south along Mounthooly, with John Knox Church in the centre, from near the bridge opposite Canal Street. The bridge was initially over the Aberdeenshire Canal and later the Great North of Scotland railway.
This drawing shows the old John Knox Church. It was built as an extension church in the parish of Greyfriars. Building commenced in 1833 and finished in 1835.
Demolition of the old church and construction of its replacement began in 1910. A larger building was needed to accommodate an expanding congregation. Alexander Gammie, in his Churches of Aberdeen (1909), credits the increase in attendance to the popularity of Rev. George A. Johnston, who served as the church's minister from 27th September 1905 to 1909.
At the rear of the original church there was a boys and girls school that can be seen on the Ordnance Survey map from 1869 (Aberdeenshire LXXV.11). The 1902 OS map suggests this school was replaced by the congregation's church hall, finished in October 1885. The 1926 map indicates the hall was in turn demolished during construction of the new church.
Summarizing the progress of the church up to 1909, Gammie writes:
"The congregation of John Knox is composed almost entirely of the working classes, and the church is situated in what is practically an east-end district. Yet it has not been lacking in the enterprise and ability to undertake and complete important schemes solely by its own efforts. The erection of a church hall, the introduction of a pipe organ, and the erection of a handsome new oak pulpit are instances of what it has accomplished in this respect."
The soon to be undertaken construction of the new church building would perhaps remain the greatest accomplishment in the congregation's history. In 1997 John Knox Church united with Greyfriars Church on Broad Street, ceasing to be a seperate congregation. The 1910 church building was later converted for residential use.
The kirk session records of the church are held by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives. 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. SS James Hall
1937 The wreck of the steamship "James Hall".
On Tuesday 23rd February 1904, the steamer James Hall, belonging to the Aberdeen, Leith and Moray Firth Steam Shipping Company Ltd, and the Luddick, belonging to the Aberdeen, Newcastle and Hull Steam Company Ltd, collided in Aberdeen Bay.
The crew of the James Hall were rescued by the Luddick and the former was left to drift ashore on the beach. The damaged Luddick successfully steamed into harbour.
There was a large hole about 17 feet long in the James Hall, but it was thought possible to temporarily repair the damage and refloat the ship. For the next few days, the local press reported that crowds of people had been to see the wreck, and that two trams with posters saying 'To and from the stranded steamer' were put on the Beach route.
Unfortunately, owing to strong winds and heavy seas, salvage attempts were not possible, and the vessel began to break up and its cargo was washed ashore. By the 8th March, very little remained of the wreck. SS James Hall
1938 The wreck of the steam ship the 'James Hall'. It drifted ashore after colliding with another called the 'Luddick' on 23rd February 1904. Peter Esslemont
2045 A portrait of Provost Peter Esslemont (1834 - 8th August 1894). He served as Provost of Aberdeen between 1880-1882. He was the son of Peter Esslemont, farmer, and Ann Connon and was born at Balnakettle in the parish of Udny. He was apprenticed with William Shirras, wholesale draper and manufacturer in Aberdeen. He later went into partnership with William Macintosh in the wholesale and retail trade. Esslemont entered the Town Council in November 1869 and was a member of the "Party of Progress." He died at his residence, 34 Albyn Place, aged sixty years. S.S. G. Koch
2705 An Adelphi Series postcard showing the wreck of the S.S. G. Koch off Girdleness, Aberdeen.
The G. Koch was a Danish cargo steamer of 1159 tonnes that was registered in Odense. Due to a particularly bad storm the ship was dashed on the rocks south of Aberdeen harbour on Saturday 13 January 1913.
Despite heroic efforts of three life-saving brigades, and many volunteers, seven of the nineteen on-board drowned. The rescue operation was not completed until Sunday morning. Treasure 41: Mary Garden Record Collection
210 We hold a number of original vinyl records in our collections, including those of Mary Garden, a local girl who found global fame as an opera singer in the early 20th Century.
Born at 35 Charlotte Street on 20 February 1874, Mary Garden left her native Aberdeen around the age of nine when the family moved to America in search of better opportunities and a new life.
After a period of uncertainty and several moves, a young Mary accepted a role as a childminder in Chicago, with payment taking the form of singing lessons to further her obvious interest. By 1896, Mary had shown sufficient progress that she accompanied her tutor to Paris in a quest to pursue a career in opera.
Mary's first big break came in 1900, when she performed in the new opera, Louise after the main star became unwell. A series of leading roles followed in 1901, including Thaïs, Manon and Madame Chrysanthème. For the next decade, Mary courted both limelight and controversy as she portrayed leading characters on stage, while being romantically linked to various composers and directors off-stage. Adding fuel to these fires of speculation, Claude Debussy chose Garden to create the title role of his new play, Mélisande, overruling the preference of his own librettist.
At the outbreak of the First World War, Mary attempted to enlist in the French army - but with her identity discovered, she instead turned to nursing at a hospital in Versailles. When she returned to America, she continued to raise funds for the French Red Cross. Her efforts during both war and peacetime generated awards from Serbia and France.
Mary appeared in two silent films - the first released in 1918 - but she found difficulty adapting to the new medium and this separate career never took off. She returned to her first passion and continued to perform in opera until the mid-1930s.
In 1921, Mary was offered the role of director of the Chicago Opera Association, and as she was still performing - undertook both roles with fervour. Under her tenure, the Association took on many new and exciting artists and works.
At the outbreak of war in 1939, Mary chose to remain in Paris, until the German invasion forced her to escape, leaving all of her possessions behind. In June 1940, she returned to Aberdeen but the lure of teaching the next operatic generation proved too strong and she once again travelled to America to coach young stars and give lectures in 1949-1950.
By this time, it appears that Mary's memory had started to suffer - evidenced by the 1951 autobiographical publication Mary Garden's Story which was riddled with factual errors. The book received disastrous reviews and possibly led to her decision to reside permanently in Aberdeen from 1954.
Mary died in 1967 in the House of Daviot, a country hospital near Inverurie, aged 92. Fifty friends attended a small ceremony. A small commemorative plaque is located at 41 Dee Street where the Garden family lived, and a small garden is dedicated to her memory in Craigie Loanings.
Although she remains relatively little known in her native Aberdeen, Mary's legacy is considerable in the United States - particularly in Chicago where her stewardship of the Opera Association is still remembered fondly.
Treasure 101: Advice to Women
322 In recognition of International Women's Day (March 8th), we offer a selection of books for this month's treasure which highlight the role of women in society, and how attitudes and approaches have changed over time. One of our Treasures this month includes a work entitled "The Five Talents of Woman" in which the author (a male) proposes the five main talents as:
- Pleasing people
- Feeding them in dainty ways
- Clothing them
- Keeping them orderly
- Teaching them
With the exception of the final "talent", the author proposes a rather limited view of a woman's capabilities! However, this is from the same author who writes that "Shakespeare's mother could not have written Hamlet, but she - perhaps she alone - could and did produce Shakespeare".
Offered as a contrasting view for our Treasures, is another work: "Pearls for Young Ladies", in which the author (female) rightly comments that "we scarcely ever, in our study of education, ask this most essential of all questions about a man - What patience had his mother or sister with him?" Regardless of the viewpoints proposed, the truth remains that even at the close of the Victorian period, one key symbol of equality - that of the parliamentary franchise - was still denied to women. All later developments towards equality - including the Suffragette movement, and the right to vote - can trace their origins to the early Victorian writers who began to propose, argue and question how society should treat women. While it may be claimed that these writers did very little to progress the situation, it can also be proposed that the conversation they started is one that remains with us today.
Find out more about Victorian attitudes towards women in the Treasures from our Collections interactive exhibition on the touchscreen. The Guestrow
450 This image was digitised from Artistic Aberdeen: A Sketch Book (1932) by W. S. Percy.
The book describes the scene as follows:
"The Guestrow, which will not exist much longer except as a name - a demolition scheme is in progress - is one of Aberdeen's most storied streets. At one time controversy raged around the derivation of its name. Some said it meant exactly what it conveyed - that it was the row where guests were housed, and there was foundation for that. But that is too recent a matter, compared to its mention in documents hundreds of years before, in which it is described as Vicus Lemurum, the Road of the Spirits, hence the Ghaist Raw. This name is ascribed to the fact that the row at one time overlooked the city churchyard. Up to within less than a hundred years ago the Guestrow was one of Aberdeen's busiest and most convivial thoroughfares. But within the past fifty or sixty years its narrow ways and congeries of courts had become slums that were a blot on the city. Its glory departed, its actuality is departing too, and soon it will be something only to be read of in local history books or seen in drawings such as this." Aberdeen Awa'
453 This image was digitised from Artistic Aberdeen: A Sketch Book (1932) by W. S. Percy.
The book describes the scene as follows:
"Here are the old houses of the Guestrow in process of demolition. Many a scene of centuries of Aberdeen history now lies open to the air, and when the ultimate fate of the 'big houses' of the 'Gush' (the local name given to the Guestrow) is remembered the air's inroad were no bad thing. Over a hundred years ago, however, matters were very different. In 1807, for instance, Major General Macdonald, commanding the north-eastern district, gave 'an elegant ball at his house in the Guestrow to a large assemblage of the most fashionable people of the place.' By contrast it may be recalled that in the twenties of the last century the Guestrow had a "burking" house where bodies for dissection by the anatomists were received or kept. So slowly but surely the hands of time and progress set the houses and even the street itself among the ghaists of Aberdeen that was." |