Last week we stopped off at the Anchorage Bar in Dunure on the Firth of Clyde. While we were enjoying some Guinness I noticed the above faded photograph hanging in a corner. There was no annotation but it aroused my curiosity.
While we were warming ourselves by the pub fire we got talking to one of the locals. It turns out that he lives in the recently restored cottage in the photo above.
He told us that apart from the castle, it is the oldest building in Dunure and dates from 1640. More recently, it was inhabited in the late 19th century by one William "Buckie" Munro, the man in the photo! He was one of 31 fishermen of Dunure who went to the rescue of the Valkyrian a 381 ton Danish barque which was wrecked in hurricane force winds off the coast of Dunure during a frightful storm on the night of 11th December 1883.
They rescued 9 of her 10 crew including her master Peter Maersk Moller (above).
No sooner had the fishermen rescued the Danes than another ship was driven onto the rocks. She was the 32 ton steam paddle tug, Iron Duke, which had come to assist the doomed Valkyrian. Again Buckie and the men of Dunure threw themselves into the breaking seas and succeeded in rescuing five of the Iron Duke's crew. Her master, Captain McBride, was lost leaving a widow and five children.
The Valkyrian's bell was salvaged by Buckie after the storm. It remained in the cottage at 1 Habour View, Dunure for many years before being passed to Buckie's descendants.
20/01/2008
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful story. I love combining my love of sea-lore and kayaking. I imagine you must be surrrounded by such interesting stories.
ReplyDeleteThank you Steve, and thanks for dropping by. Watch out for a tale of roasted Abbot over the next few days!
ReplyDeleteWe are really lucky to have so many great paddling destinations in Scotland, with history thrown in for free!
You just need to slow down and look for it.
:o)
Hi Douglas,
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Peter Maersk Moller is a distant relative of:
http://about.maersk.com/en/History/Decades/1870/1876ArnoldPeterMoellerwasbornon2October1876inDragoer.htm l
MikeD
Hello Mike, Not so distant! Peter was actually AP Maersk Moller's father! He bought his first steamship in 1886 (presumably disillusioned with sail!) then set up Steamship Company Svendborg with his son AP Maersk Moller in 1904. AP did not get on with his father and other directors and set up Maersk shipping afterwards. I will post again about this!
ReplyDelete:o)
Douglas,
ReplyDeleteI knew it....... yet another connection between Denmark & Scotland (Vikings....stealing women & raping sheep :-))... next we will find out that they were all Freemasons..... !!
All the best
MikeD
Hi Mike it is a truly amazing story, see post here
ReplyDelete:o)
What is shown in your good account is not a postcard but a painting of the ship which previously was hanging on the wall in Mr Mckinney Maersk Mollers office in Copenhagen. It was presented to me by Mr Moller in December 1985. thus the date is in fact 1986 on the inscription.
ReplyDeleteIt was presented to me as a gift when the bell from the ship(photo in your article)was donated to the Maersk museum in Copenhagen. It had been in the family since the time of the sinking.
William, it is very good to hear from you. Thank you so much for taking the trouble to update and correct the information I had managed to gather.
ReplyDeleteI will edit the page to add your information.
You must be immensely proud to have such an ancestor!
Thank you!
:o)