Fishing Folk

“ THROUGHOUT FISHING FOLK WE FOUND THAT THE MEMORIES AND THE PASSIONS OF NEWHAVENERS TOWARDS THIS HISTORY RUN DEEP.”

Fishing FolkWha'll buy my caller herrinThey're bonnie fish and halesome farin,Wha'll buy my caller herrin,New drawn frae the Forth.Caller Herring, Baroness Nairne (1766 -1845)

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund

With additional support from Edinburgh Museums and Galleries, Edinburgh Libraries and the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.

the village of newhaven, on the Firth of Forth, is now a very different place than that of its heyday. Long gone is the noise and bustle of the fishing industry, likewise the songs of the street sellers and the spray of the sea.

Founded on shipbuilding, Newhaven’s lineage can be traced back to the early 1500s. Because of its importance as a port and subsequent market for fish, oysters and shellfish, it thrived for over 500 years. This industry, and that of its inhabitants, granted a unique social and economic independence that was reflected in local customs, particularly a distinctive matriarchal and folk music tradition that was to influence artists and collectors in Edinburgh, Europe and America. Until the collapse of the fishing industry at the end of the 20th century, the sea and the land were linked by the partnership of the fishermen, who caught the catch, and the fishwives who sold it.

Above: New Lane, with boats in the distance, c1950Opposite: Mending the nets, 1976

“ THE SEA AND THE LAND WERE LINKED BY THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE FISHERMEN, WHO CAUGHT THE CATCH, AND THE FISHWIVES WHO SOLD IT.

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workshops with the local Victoria Primary School, research visits to local collections and archives, and through a range of public and private events, the project worked to reinvigorate the many perspectives that define this place.In doing this, Fishing Folk captured and disseminated some of the memories of the previous generations, those who lived in this once tight-knitted community and those who experienced Newhaven as a working port. Through events and traditional celebrations, such as the Gala Day, we joined with the community to celebrate this inheritance, and by working in partnership with specialists, residents and the new generation of Newhaveners, we have engaged local and national audiences with the historic and contemporary narrative of this place.

Reflecting the declining circumstances of the fishing and its supporting industries, the community has been much depleted since its heyday. With the redevelopment of the village in the 1950s and 60s, many of the original inhabitants were moved out of the area. Very few having an opportunity to return to this once tight-knitted community. However, although depleted, Newhaven is adapting and, through land reclamation and brown-field housing development, even expanding into the 21st century. Like many urban communities, the greater Leith and Edinburgh districts have subsumed Newhaven, but tantalisingly, some of the traditions of the community are still strong and have lasted in the memory of the older generations.

Working over a core six months period from January to May 2014, Citizen Curator delivered Fishing Folk, an artist and community-led investigation of the cultural legacy of the fishing folk of Newhaven. Through visits to the Haven (a community café for older people), school

Above: Working Lunch engagement sessionOpposite: Gala Day, crowning ceremony at Victoria Primary School, 2014

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“THROUGHOUT FISHING FOLK WE FOUND THAT THE

MEMORIES AND THE PASSIONS OF NEWHAVENERS TOWARDS

THIS HISTORY RUN DEEP.

Citizen Curator cultivates the role that culture and creativity have in making sustainable and equitable communities. Following from this, our primary objective with Fishing Folk was raising awareness of local heritage through song, particularly the matriarchal ‘street’ songs, traditionally sung by the fishwives to accompany the selling of fish. This was a sight that could be witnessed throughout Edinburgh in living memory. It was partnered by an investigation of the ‘work’ or ‘dreg’ songs of the men, sung when catching fish and dredging oysters.

Top: Gala Day, Newhaven Community Choir, 2014Above: Newhaven men and boys by Hill and Adamson (active 1843-1848)

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Our secondary objective was an historical investigation of identity through the heritage material of Newhaven. This was developed by researching local and national archives and delivered through engagement events including a local history day, a new exhibition in the ‘Wee’ Museum (a inspired partnership with Edinburgh Museums and Galleries within Victoria Primary School) and supporting Curatorial Manual for staff and pupils in the school. We also created a touring pop-up exhibition in a Police Box on nearby Leith Walk.

In delivering the project we have all been inspired by the history of this place, the desire of the residents to engage with its heritage and the importance of traditions, such as Gala Day, in building a stronger, more resilient community. By bringing together both the older and younger generations to jointly explore some of Newhaven’s history, we have strengthened the links within the community in some cases neighbours, both old and young, talking together for the first time.

Pupils at the Haven with Museums Outreach Service, 2014Land reclamation at Newhaven

Baiting Lines – Photographic Index Card

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Although many, once bustling, fishing communities have similar tales of expansion, industrialisation and collapse, what makes Newhaven unique is its strength of community spirit, and how its narrative is reflected in our wider history, a microcosm as much about Scotland and Britain as of a small fishing port on the Firth of Forth.

It is also timely to remember that history is still in the making and that it is a remarkable achievement that the spirit of the fishing folk and Newhaven has survived and is adapting to the 21st century.

Duncan Bremner

Executive Director, Citizen Curator

Citizen Curator is a participatory arts organisation investigating the history and identity of its operating area of Leith and North Edinburgh.

Kelly’s Kippering Shed, 1969

Along the way we have created new songs, formed a new community choir, unearthed new and historical artefacts, produced animations and interactive displays, uncovered unexamined photographs and recorded contemporary accounts relating to this unique community.

Throughout Fishing Folk we found that the memories and the passions of Newhaveners towards this history run deep. It is a complex and emotive narrative with many layers. Likewise in presenting this publication as a group of essays from our lead investigators, Johnny Gailey and Jed Milroy, and key community partner, Head Teacher at Victoria, Laura Thompson, we wanted to demonstrate some of the perspectives that made up this project. It is not an authoritative history of Newhaven but a record of a time and of events that brought a community together.

Pupils at the Haven with Museums Outreach Service, 2014

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Miss Thompson, Head Teacher, Victoria Primary School, Newhaven.

at victoria primary we have always been very proud that we are a school in the heart of our community. Founded by the Free Fisherman’s Society, there has been a school on this site since 1845. Even our very youngest pupils tell visitors proudly that Victoria is the oldest still working school in Edinburgh! Since Leith and Edinburgh grew, Newhaven is very much part of the city but still retains a village feel. There is a strong sense of history and tradition at the school and we have pupils whose parents, grandparents and great grandparents all came here. There are logbooks in the school going back to 1875, each giving a fascinating picture of school life long ago.

Recently, Newhaven has grown. New houses and flats have been built on the reclaimed land on the other side of Lindsay Road, which is opposite the school. As families moved in there was a feeling that the community was now divided, geographically and socially. With that in mind we discussed holding a community event to celebrate Newhaven.

Victoria Primary School

“ THERE IS A STRONG SENSE OF HISTORY AND TRADITION AT THE SCHOOL AND WE HAVE PUPILS HERE WHOSE PARENTS CAME HERE, THEIR GRANDPARENTS CAME HERE, AND THEIR GREAT GRANDPARENTS CAME HERE.”

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There used to be a Newhaven Gala and I remember a parade through the streets with lots of cheering spectators. Indeed there are lots of black and white photos in the school of past Galas. Through chatting to local residents we found out that that the last Gala was about 15 years ago and had ended with a bit of trouble in one of the pubs. By now the idea of a community event had become a whole day of activities, and this was before we had even formed an organising committee.

A small group of us (myself, the Community Police Officer, a member of the Community Council, the Chairperson of the Residents’ Committee for one of the new blocks of flats and one of our older residents in the village) decided to bring back the Gala, re-branding it as Newhaven Children’s Gala. We wanted to keep the focus firmly on the children and decided to hold the event in and around the school. We took a group of pupils along to the old folks club at Newhaven Church to find out about past Galas and what their views were on bringing a new Gala back. To our delight, they were all in favour of it and the only thing from past Galas they felt strongly about keeping was that the Royal Party should arrive by boat from Granton. That was quite a Risk Assessment to write!

“I REMEMBER A PARADE THROUGH THE STREETS WITH LOTS OF CHEERING SPECTATORS”

Newhaven Gala, 1990s

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The Gala Queen, Fisher King and Royal Party, 2014.Photograph of the Coronation Pageant, 1953. Front and back.

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“ THE ONLY THING FROM PAST GALAS THEY FELT STRONGLY ABOUT KEEPING WAS THAT THE ROYAL PARTY SHOULD ARRIVE BY BOAT FROM GRANTON.”

bring the royal party from Granton to Newhaven; the local taxi firm, Persevere, collects the royal party and takes them to Granton; local florist, Elliot Clark, provides flowers for the royal party; a kilt hire company, Bowdens, provides the Fisher King and his supporter with kilts for the day; our Parent Teacher Association organise stalls and activities in the playground on the day; a local piper pipes the royal party ashore and leads the procession back to the school for the crowning ceremony. And so it goes on!

One of the challenges of organising the Gala Day every year is building on what has gone before but still keeping it manageable. Although we get lots of people providing goods and services free, we also have annual costs, the biggest of which is the stage and PA system. It is difficult to raise even the modest amount we need every year.

Gala Day preparations, Victoria Primary School

With great fear, trepidation and a growing excitement, we planned the Gala Day. Primary 1s and 7s dressed as Newhaven Fishwives and Fishermen and the Gala Queen and Fisher King were chosen from P7 out of a hat. They were each also allowed to choose a supporter for the big day. What we didn’t know was how well the community would support the Gala. I will never forget the thrill I got when we walked with the children round the corner towards Newhaven Harbour and saw a crowd of about five hundred people gathered, all cheering and waving! It was a fabulous day!

Since then, the Gala Day has grown and has become a firm fixture in the Newhaven calendar! One of the loveliest things is the whole community offering their time and services for nothing. A local boat owner, Bill Simpson offers his boat to

Awaiting the Royal Party, Newhaven Harbour

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the whole community I don’t think any of us ever imagined how successful the Gala would be. Feedback from local residents, old and new, young and not so young, has been unanimously positive. Relationships have been built through the choir and the Gala itself and the school is an even stronger heartbeat at the centre of the whole community.

We hope that through the continued support of organisations like Citizen Curator the Gala continues to grow and be enjoyed and celebrated by all.

Miss Thompson

Head Teacher, Victoria Primary School, Newhaven.

Above and clockwise: Land reclamation time line. Stones from breakwater wall, both from the Wee Museum. Working on a new song and Harbourmaster Mike visits Victoria Primary School.

This year, we were delighted to have support from Citizen Curator. As one part of their project, they started a new Newhaven Community Choir, who had its first public performance at the Gala Day. Local musician, Jed Milroy, worked with the group and, although I may be biased, as I am a member of the choir, I think we sounded fantastic! Our other members have an age range of seven to eighty! Jed also worked with our P4 class who created a New Song Newhaven entitled, ‘This is a Change’. It was performed by P4 and the choir and was very well received with excellent audience participation too!

Citizen Curator also provided three cameras, which we gave to three keen photographers in P4 so they could capture their important moments in the day. Their photos were great and a really good insight into what was important to them!

The addition of the new community choir, further enriched our sense of celebrating Newhaven, its past, present and future. When we first started out on this journey of embracing

The first performance of Newhaven Community Choir

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Jed Milroy, Fishing Folk project investigator.

it was a surprise when Citizen Curator first suggested that a ‘Fishwives’ Choir’ might work. I’m not a Fishwife, nor do I even know any Fishwives. To modern ears it’s such a loaded term. Citizen Curator had been researching some local history; a fishing village in Newhaven, and had uncovered some of the musical traditions associated with the area. We looked at old photographs of the Fishwives assembled in their traditional outfits, ready to perform their musical delights. The Fishwives and Fisher-lassies Choirs had been famous at one time and had toured the country performing the songs they had once sung to accompany their work. I was interested but I wasn’t sure that we would be able to convince anyone to join a ‘Fishwives Choir’. It didn’t seem to have a fresh exciting ring about it. But back then I hadn’t spent enough time in Newhaven!

After more discussion our idea was to try and form a choir that would perform at the Newhaven Gala in May. The Gala itself was an old Newhaven tradition that has been resurrected by the community in recent years. How appropriate to continue the spirit of resurrection with a choir, a new Newhaven choir. We also though it would be a good idea to see if we could write a new ‘Song for Newhaven’, in the tradition of the work songs of the past, something new for the choir to sing that represented life today. I thought I might be able to write something in collaboration with the community and record it.

But I had to meet the people of Newhaven to find out about these songs and why they were important. My first visit was to the Haven café, a gathering point for pensioners in Newhaven who meet up at the church hall every Wednesday.

“ THAT FEELING OF COMING TOGETHER IN HARMONY TO ENJOY A SEA SHANTY WITH AFRICAN TWIST AND AMERICAN TWANG. WE FEEL THAT WE BELONG TO SOMETHING. A TRADITION CONTINUED IN OUR OWN WAY...”

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For the following week the first challenge was to stop singing ‘Steve’s Feeding Animals’, which was an undisputed hit. I asked the group if there was anything interesting about Newhaven we could sing about. Someone suggested the harbour. Someone else came up with the idea of their Granddad. The inspiration for ‘Old Granddad Raymond’ had been sparked.

old granddad raymond

In Newhaven Harbour Old Granddad Raymond Was Fishing with his beard He couldn’t find his fishing rod And so he used his beard

He’d been drinking whisky He was sad and lonely In Newhaven Harbour Fishing with his beard

He caught an evil fish Then he dragged it out He was going to eat it A seagull grabbed it off him And he began to shout…

Hey give me that back!! Hey give me that back!!

Newhaven Harbour at night, c1950

Newhaven Pier c1970

Tea and biscuits abound! And I received the warmest of welcomes. ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ and ‘Ring of Fire’ were greeted with an equally enthusiastic sing-a-long response. It seemed like recruits for the choir would not be a problem. Everyone was very keen to let me know about the old Fishwives Choirs and the songs they sang.

Next stop on the campaign trail was Victoria Primary School. We had an idea that we could start some singing at the school and encourage the kids to join and bring their parents along to the choir. The school were incredibly supportive and immediately booked us in. As well as school workshops they also offered us a spare room as a rehearsal space for the choir in the evenings.

And onwards, P5 were a wild bunch! My initial hope of writing a song with the choir metamorphosed into writing a new song every week with the kids. We started with ‘Steve’s Feeding Animals’ a snapshot piece about the trials and tribulations of farming life.

steve’s feeding animals

Steve’s Feeding animals, Steve’s feeding animals, Giving the pigs mud Steve’s feeding animals Putting the sheep in Steve’s feeding animals.

Steve’s gone to bed now Steve’s gone to bed now It’s 9 o’clock, according to his clock Steve’s gone to bed.

Deep stuff!

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this is a change

This is a change of singing a song Come on everybody let’s join along

Everybody, let’s go Everybody, let’s go

Everybody’s getting together Everybody’s coming home To sing a song To sing a song

One of the children had a really clear idea of the melody for this song. As soon as we sang it I knew it was a catchy simple tune that we would be able to teach to anyone at the Gala Day. P5 were already making up some dance moves.

In the meantime we had been digging in the archives again, looking for material for some flyers for the choir. It was a picture of the old fishwives on their annual picnic in the 1930s. I didn’t really think that the strategy would work – in my experience fliers are totally ignored, especially fliers with a picture of sombre looking ladies from 80 years ago. How wrong I was.

So with the groundwork at the Haven and the Primary School laid we booked in the first choir rehearsal on Tuesday 18th March. The turnout was huge! There were a couple of children from the school who had brought parents, one or two teachers from the school and one lady from the Haven. The rest of the twenty or so folk had come as a response to the flyers and posters!

Choir poster

With the Gala day approaching I wondered if the following week we could try to write a song about the Gala. P5 were very obliging.

gala king and queen

Gala King and Queen Gala King and Queen They came in on a boat A boat that had no name

There were coloured flags Got nibbled by a shark Everybody felt the pain For the Gala King and Queen

There were fishermen Playing on the bagpipes Everybody felt the pain For the Gala King and Queen

The boat began to sink Down to the coral reef Or maybe Tenerife That’s where my holiday was!

And maybe a unicorn will save them Or maybe A baby.

Although all the songs so far had something brilliant and ridiculous about them, I had started to worry that we weren’t going to get the new ‘Song For Newhaven’ we had hoped for. Thankfully the last group came up with a community music hit!

Fisher King and Gala Queen

Parading to the School

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“ I WASN’T SURE THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO CONVINCE ANYONE TO JOIN A ‘FISHWIVES CHOIR’. BUT THEN I HADN’T SPENT ENOUGH TIME IN NEWHAVEN!”

Back at the choir over the eight weeks of rehearsals, we gradually built a set of songs from suggestions of the group and through researching old fishing songs. The final set we decided on for the Gala day was:

this is a change (P5’s new song)

Caller Herring Minnie O Shirva’s Cradle Song I’ll Fly Away My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean

There were a few nerves on Gala Day. We had a quick run through before and I’m not sure everyone was feeling too good about it. Finally the time came for Laura, the school Headmistress (and choir member) to introduce ‘the first performance of the newly formed, or re-formed, Newhaven Community Choir’.

It was a massive success, the whole crowd was singing along. P5 came to join us on stage for their song. As a result we gathered some keen new members and were offered at least two more gigs! In the pub afterwards we realised that we had never actually named the choir. Laura had named

us at our first gig. The end of the beginning, and a new start for the newly formed (or re-formed) ‘Newhaven Community Choir’!

Jed Milroy and the Creative Team

As we went around the room asking what had brought people along it seemed there was still an awareness of the tradition of choirs in Newhaven. People were totally up for it and wanted to find out more. The first rehearsals were an exploration of what we wanted to sing. Each week we tried out suggestions from the group. There were some calls for a modern angle, others for more traditional stuff. Everyone agreed that we should be doing some of the material the Fishwives and Fisher-lassies Choirs used to do.

During the introductions we discovered that two of the choir members had attended Victoria Primary School in 1947. We also had two children who had attended the school that day. Almost a 70-year spread of Victoria Primary School pupils in one choir! One of the older ex-pupils taught us a song that he had sung as a boy at school. It was a mainstay of the Fishwives Choir repertoire, a song called ‘Caller Herrin’, based on the songs used by the women to sell the catch.

In the meantime, the sing-along sessions at the Haven Café were going really well. I was adding to my Hank Williams repertoire by request from a table of domino enthusiasts. I was struggling a bit with requests for Andy Williams from the ladies. We arranged for the school to visit the Haven Café to share some songs and to meet some of the folks there. It was a brilliant event. P5 sang ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ complete with some new choreography and their brand new hit ‘This Is A Change’. Diana had come down from Edinburgh Museum and Galleries, and had brought with her loads of pictures and objects associated with the fishing community. The children and the Haven regulars looked at the material and shared some memories of Newhaven, both now and then.

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Johnny Gailey, Fishing Folk project investigator.

too often we think of history as unreachable. A technicolour time lost in black and white, and there’s us at one remove standing on the edge of the harbour, waving a white handkerchief to our past, a community disappearing.

When asked to be part of the Fishing Folk project, I wanted to go beyond the static received view of Newhaven’s history, the fishing and the fishwives, to try and understand some of the dynamism and drama of the historical processes that shaped this place. To situate myself not in the present looking back, but rather in the past looking forwards.

The first thing that struck me, when I initially visited Newhaven in February 2014, was that here was a place whose history has been tied to the ocean for generations, and yet where was the sea? In the school’s Wee Museum there is an incredible photo of waves crashing against the Newhaven foreshore, the school’s recognisable rooftop just visible through the spray. And yet, standing in the playground a century later, you can

no longer even see the sea, never mind feel the spray. Prompted by an image taken from the harbour in 1906 looking back to land, my research question started from the obvious question – “Where has the sea gone?”

Newhaven from the Harbour c1900

Lobster Fishing, on the May Queen

“ INDUSTRIALISATION”, A BIG WORD FOR A SCHOOL CLASSROOM WITH P4 PUPILS, BUT ONE THAT WAS HANDILY EXPLAINED BY THE PHRASE,

“ THE BOATS GOT BIGGER”

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of land reclamation. The map showed exactly how the land was systematically reclaimed and extended, stage-by-stage over the course of some 200 years, since 1804.

What was driving that change? Essentially industrialisation. A big word for a school classroom with P4 pupils, but one that was handily explained by the phrase, “the boats got bigger”.

What started off as a small cottage fishing industry gradually grew. In the late 19th century, the Newhaven fishermen fished using lines trailed from boats, with the wives in the streets baiting the thousands of hooks on each line, skilfully looping it into a basket to prevent entanglement on deck. The increasing mechanisation of the early 20th century meant that soon they had winches, which allowed for bigger nets, which in turn meant bigger hauls.

And as the process grew, becoming more and more industrialised, the boats got bigger. The depth of the Newhaven Harbour was no longer sufficient for the size of new trawlers, hence they moved to the deeper berths of neighbouring Granton and Leith.

Each phase of building and land reclamation was to provide deeper water to accommodate these larger boats. And as the boats got still bigger, so the industry changed. The deeper berth afforded by the breakwater meant that it was viable for very large boats to ship in grain in the quantity that allowed for the establishment of Chancelot Mill in the 1960s. What was once the primary source of employment for the young men of the village – fishing – was gradually replaced by opportunities of work through the wholesale industrial development of the Docks area.

The first thing I found was a home movie, available on the local history society’s website, shot on cine-film in the early 1960s. From high in the rooftops, the film captures the street-life of Newhaven, folk chatting on street corners, men waiting by the Fishmarket, a Lothian bus dropping off passengers, and in the back greens a woman hanging up the washing as her small children play next to her. The camera then pans over the village, out to sea, and follows the dark weight of an extraordinary structure, the Newhaven breakwater.

The following week, I visited the Edinburgh Libraries to find out more about the breakwater. The physical act of building such an immense structure out to sea intrigued me, and was the very sort of dynamism I was looking for. I learnt of its construction in the late 1930s by a group of Dutch engineers, who on the outbreak of the Second World War were interred, so the story goes, as spies, delaying the breakwater’s completion. Soon I was uncovering and piecing together various images with glimpses of harbours, beaches, sea fronts and piers.

The breakthrough for my research was being passed a map of the docks undertaken by the Forth Ports Authority in the 1980s, prior to privatisation, which mapped out the entire Leith Docks, and dated the various phases

Map of Newhaven

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“ TOO OFTEN WE THINK OF HISTORY AS UNREACHABLE. A TECHNICOLOUR TIME LOST IN BLACK AND WHITE, AND THERE’S US AT ONE REMOVE, STANDING ON THE EDGE OF THE HARBOUR, WAVING A WHITE HANDKERCHIEF TO OUR PAST, A COMMUNITY DISAPPEARING.”

The project was collected in a large stitched folio, borrowed according to it’s label from the Fine Art library at some stage in its past. The folio was a mixture of handwritten investigations, first-hand research and drawings from site visits to the Fishmarket and the City Museum – a research process, much like our own but pre-dating computers in the classroom.

I flicked through the folio, charmed by its drawings and imaginative creative writing. But one sheet stood out – a diagram of an oil rig. The next sheet contained a report of a class visit they made to the manufacturer, the Motherwell Bridge Company. The report detailed how there, on the very land next to the breakwater, oil rigs were constructed in modules. The structures were huge, 100 feet high lying on their sides, before being righted and erected in the firth to a total height of some 400 feet. And there, in one small square Polaroid image, was a vast structure looking like something from a New Jersey fairground, way beyond the wooden Fishmarket in the picture’s foreground. How do you account for a 400-foot structure that no one remembers? We asked around but nothing but vague memories of the site sign, visible to a regular swimmer off the foreshore.

The Wee Museum on Tour to Leith Police Box.

Together with the pupils from Victoria, we undertook a process of creative research. We visited the breakwater, taking rubbings of the iron markers inlaid along the length of the structure, which indicated the distance to shore. From these we learned that the Harbourmaster could then relay to big ships the depth of berth depending on the tide.

We undertook various activities, using the docks map – printing dates, and tracing shapes that we would eventually use in the making of a jigsaw of the docks. I had realised that what I’d originally presented to the pupils as an animation, a series of drawings that highlighted how the sea receded over time, could just become one more thing in the Wee Museum for the pupils to run past. So instead we made a space for active learning in the Museum and created a jigsaw, hoping that the physical act of working out the shapes, and how they fitted together would help the children work through the process of the gradual land reclamation.

At the same time, I got a call from Leith Library. They had heard that we were doing a project on Newhaven, and would I be interested in coming to see a class project on Newhaven undertaken by pupils from Trinity Academy primary in 1975?

Brass rubbing on the breakwater wall.

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Making a Jigsaw of the land reclamation around Newhaven Interactive display in Wee Museum

I wanted to investigate further. How had something so large been so forgotten? We created an outpost of the Wee Museum in a police box on Leith Walk, asking passers-by for information on the building of the rigs at Newhaven. Over the course of a week, whilst the pupils were tasked with constructing their own oil rig in the classroom, we met three workers who had been employed on the Docks at the time, and remembered it like yesterday.

» A shunter, whose job it was to move the modules onto barges at sea.

» An engineer, who suggested that the barges took the modules to Rosyth to be assembled, and floated north.

» And an industrial historian who relayed that there were there were only a few rigs constructed at Newhaven, as engineering yards across Scotland sought to diversify and secure more work as the oil boom took hold in Scotland during the early 1970s.

The Trinity Academy Primary School project had been undertaken the year after my birth. Pupils undergoing very simple research processes, much like the one we have been employing, had produced a document, which over the intervening 40 years has acquired historical value, an important record of a forgotten chapter of Newhaven’s past.

For me, the Trinity Academy Primary folio highlights the need to capture the present, as a way of leaving a trace for tomorrow’s history. I humbly hope that the jigsaw we produced presenting the docks expansion as it is to date, is re-found in the future and proves similarly inspiring to those interested in today’s history, in 2050.

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acknowledgements

published by Citizen Curator, 2014

with thanks to: Laura Thomson, her pupils and her team at Victoria Primary School. The Newhaven Heritage group formerly NAG. Edinburgh Museums and Galleries including Denise Brace and Diana Morton. Edinburgh Libraries including Clare Padgett and staff at Leith Library. All the ladies and gentlemen at the Haven, and others living and working in Newhaven, to many to list…

photography Project photographs © Citizen Curator and the Artists Photographs p16/18 by kind permission of Margaret Summers (nee Stevenson)

All other photographs © City of Edinburgh Council – Edinburgh Museums and Galleries, Edinburgh Libraries, Victoria Primary School Collection and the citizen photographers of Victoria Primary School.

Above left: Johnny Gailey, above right: Jed Milroy, 2014Opposite: Fishwives Annual Picnic, 1930s

Citizen Curator is a contemporary arts organisation working with the history and identity of Leith and North Edinburgh.

Citizen Curator 21 Hawthornvale Edinburgh EH6 5AP

44+ (0) 7812 167130

info@citizencurator.com www.citizencurator.com

This book can be made available in other formats on request.