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Home Past Times

Silver City Vault: Archive images show history of Aberdeen’s harbour

By Silver City Vault
1930s postcard showing the meeting point of the River Dee channel and the Tidal Harbour with Pocra Quay on the right. Steam trawler Victoria Regina (A590) heads out to sea, while Crisabelle Stephen (A374) returns to harbour.
1930s postcard showing the meeting point of the River Dee channel and the Tidal Harbour with Pocra Quay on the right. Steam trawler Victoria Regina (A590) heads out to sea, while Crisabelle Stephen (A374) returns to harbour.

This week we’ve teamed up with the Silver City Vault for a special Aberdonian focusing on Aberdeen’s historic harbour.

Aberdeen Libraries’ Local Studies collection contains thousands of photographs of the city.

The service is committed to making all of these images available via the Silver City Vault.

Early 20th century postcard looking north west along Victoria Dock in Aberdeen Harbour with the town centre in the background. The steam paddle tug John McConnachie is shown towing the Aberdeen Steam Navigation Company’s passenger and cargo steamship the City of Aberdeen out to sea.
Postcard showing the interior of a fisherman’s cottage. The inhabitants are sat in front of a remarkable collection of crockery.
1910s postcard showing large sail ships moored in Victoria Dock at Waterloo Quay on a wintry morning. Great North of Scotland railway wagons are in the foreground and the 75- and 100-ton shear poles, a form of crane, can be seen at the North Lock in the background.
George Washington Wilson 1880s photograph overlooking Old Torry with the new Victoria Bridge in the background. The bridge opened in 1881 enabling direct access between Torry and Aberdeen via Market Street. This, coupled with booming local industries, facilitated the rapid expansion of New Torry in the years that followed.
Torry fishwife with a creel on her back and a basket and shopping bag in her hands. Many fishwives walked miles into the centre of Aberdeen, and back, every day carrying heavy loads. Other time was spent mending nets, curing fish and on other domestic tasks.
Front cover of a programme for an Aberdeen Sailor’s Home fundraising event held at the Music Hall in 1900. The nautical design is by Robert Douglas Strachan, a graduate of Gray’s, who went on to be a prominent stain glass window artist during the 20th century.
George Washington Wilson photograph showing harbour developments in the 1870s. Between 1869 and 1873 the Town Council diverted the River Dee to a more southernly and controlled course. As shown here, Albert Basin was created and ground was reclaimed for the harbour we know today.
20th century portrait of workers from a fishcurers on Torry’s Sinclair Road. The fishing industry created many jobs onshore especially following the boom of the 1880s. Fishcurers would gut and preserve fish for local and export markets. This could involve smoking, pickling, salting or air-drying fish.
The New Quay at the mouth of Aberdeen Harbour with the North Pier beyond. Its development was crucial for enabling larger ships to enter the interior of the harbour. It was first designed by John Smeaton, constructed between 1770 and 1781, and has been extended and repaired extensively since.
Late 19th century photograph looking east from the junction of Market Street and Palmerston Road showing Albert Quay and Albert Basin full of fishing boats. Steam trawling for white fish was introduced into Aberdeen in 1882 and, in a few years, the fleet of vessels grew to number several hundred.
1930s postcard showing the meeting point of the River Dee channel and the Tidal Harbour with Pocra Quay on the right. Steam trawler Victoria Regina (A590) heads out to sea, while Crisabelle Stephen (A374) returns to harbour.
Across the harbour mouth, the village of Old Torry. This 19th century image looks east along Sinclair Road, towards its harbour, and out to sea. Old Torry developed in the early 19th century and was known for its architecture of narrow lanes and forestairs and the fishing way of life.
Aberdeen Sailors’ Mission and Home was established in 1862 to support seafarers who had fallen on hard times. The premises on Mearns Street shown here were built in 1894. They have since been demolished and developed as modern flats. The building’s granite façade has been retained, however.
Late 19th century photograph showing junction of Regent Quay and Waterloo Quay. The building with the pediment is the offices of the Great North of Scotland Railway Company. To its left is the entrance to Waterloo Goods Station. Opened in 1856, the station was active into the mid-20th century.
Postcard showing the tugboat John McConnachie towing scaffie fishing vessels into Aberdeen Harbour. The south breakwater can be seen in the background. Steam tugs were used for the orderly navigation of the harbour by sailing ships. They were also employed in rescue and salvage and for launching boats.
A Leith registered fifie leaving the harbour, passing Pocra Quay's Lower Basin and the Harbour Master's office on the New Quay. 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.
Poster for The Scottish Salmon and White Fish Company (Scot Sal). Illustrations indicate the river and sea locations from which they sourced their fresh fish. Scot Sal was active in Aberdeen throughout the 20th century and was based at South Esplanade East in Torry.
The area between the railway lines and Market Street, created by the harbour and river works of the 1870s, was another hub of fish processing and sale. This 1907 advert for Allan & Dey includes an illustration of their Poyernook Road premises and lists their services and products.
Photograph of herring gutters at a Point Law yard in around 1900. These selected images have been only a partial glance at Aberdeen’s ever-changing connection to the sea. In the second half of the 20th century the oil and gas industry would emerge and radically change this relationship once more.

Many can already be seen at www.silvercityvaults.org.uk and in the gallery above we’ve featured some of their views of Aberdeen’s harbour.

 

 

 

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To explore more of the city’s history, visit the Silver City Vault: http://www.silvercityvault.org.uk/

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.