Bygone News - 25 to 50 years ago
March 1989
Blaze Rages on "Jinxed" Oil Rig
Fifty firemen were hoisted 100 feet on to the blazing oil rig Ocean Odyssey at Dundee's Harbour yesterday and battled for several hours through acrid black smoke to put out the flames - pumping thousands of gallons of water from the Tay.
Tayside Firemaster Mr Alex Winton, who personally took control of operations on the "jinxed" rig - brought to Dundee to be scrapped after a fierce North Sea blaze which claimed the life of radio operator - said he men faced "very difficult conditions" on the structure already weakened by the earlier fire.
February 1989
Discovering Dundee's 'Quay' to the Future
Dundee's long-awaited Ł45,000,000 Waterfront Development was launched yesterday with champagne and the promise of 1000 permanent jobs.
The official launch was performed by Scottish Industry Minister Ian Lang, who broke a bottle of champagne on the anchor of the Discovery.
The development is predicted to provide 1000 permanent jobs for Dundee as well as a further 500 in the building and offsite supplies industries during the construction phase which is scheduled to last 26 months.
January 1989
Making Up For Lost Time
There was a surprise in store for many Dundonians yesterday when they were awakened by the unfamiliar sound of bins being emptied in their street.
For while for most people yesterday was the last opportunity for relaxation before a return to work in the wake of the excesses of the festive season break, it was being used by the city's cleansing department to catch up on refuse collections.
December 1988
Bargain Hunters Are Out In Force
Even after the pre-Christmas spending spree, Dundee folk still had enough money in their pockets to descend on the sales in stores across the city yesterday looking for bargains.
Some sales were launched the previous day, although others began only yesterday when, after a quiet start, the city centre was soon thronged with thousands of bargain hunters.
Two things were hard to find without queuing – a parking space and someplace to enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack. Most central on-street spaces were taken by lunchtime and the off-street parks had tailbacks from the entrances or motorist driving round in circles seeking a space.
November 1988
“Duke’s Bar” Under Threat After Blaze
One of the oldest buildings in Dundee was gutted in a dramatic fire last night which also threatened the future of the adjoining Windmill Bar on the Hilltown – the “friendly pub on the hill” immortalised in verse by the Duke of Edinburgh.
Firemen were called to the scene just after five o’clock as the blaze ripped through the empty Ann Street building.
The alarm was raised by customers of the neighbouring Highwayman Bar who noticed flames at the window of the unoccupied ground floor shop opposite.
October 1988
Ocean Odyssey’s Arrival Watched by Thousands
The giant North Sea drilling rig Ocean Odyssey finally took up temporary residence in the River Tay off Dundee yesterday. For several hours, while being manoeuvred into position, the 400-foot-high structure captured the interest of thousands of spectators who lined the shores in Tayside and Fife.
Once moored off the Davy GVA deep water wharf, the rig dwarfed all in its midst in the harbour and Craigiebank areas of the city.
Crippled by a fire two weeks ago which claimed the life f its radio operator, the Ocean Odyssey commenced her slow journey from her previous berthing between Arbroath and Montrose at first light.
September 1988
Dazzling Display on River
For the second year running, Dundee was treated to a spectacular display of fire works which lit up the Saturday night sky in a cascade of shimmering colours for more than 20 minutes.
A celebration – and the centrepiece – of Dundee’s first city festival, it was jointly managed by Dundee District Council, Tayside Region and the Scottish Development Agency.
Though the turn-out was less that the estimated 200,000 who attended last year’s centenary celebration for the Tay Bridge, many did make the effort and brave the biting wind to line the Tay, others heading for one of the city’s favourite vantage points, the Law.
August 1988
Fruit Farmers to Ask for ÂŁ2.5 Million Storm Compensation
As Tayside fruit farmers count the cost of last week’s gales which wreaked havoc on their crops, a Dundee-based farmer is determined to win millions of pounds in compensation from the Government. Mr Douglas McIntyre, a former National Farmers’ Union official, will ask Mrs Thatcher on behalf of Scottish fruit growers for £2.5 million – a similar figure to that which hop growers in England received following damage caused by their October storm.
July 1988
Rail Bridge Fund Will Aid Oil Rig Families
The money remaining in the Tay Bridge disaster fund set up 109 years ago after the first rail bridge across the estuary collapsed, is to be used to assist the dependants of the men who died in the Piper Alpha disaster.
The decision to release the £4000 was made by Lord Provost Tom Mitchell, Dundee District Finance Convener Peter Court, and Finance Director Alexander Stephen yesterday under the council’s emergency procedure while it is in recess.
The council also decided to add a further £6000 taken from grant allocation money to boost the city’s donation towards the trust fund recently set up by the Lord Provost of Aberdeen to £10,000.
June 1988
No Jobs Lost, but Part of Dundee’s Heritage Goes
There was a mixed reception in the city to yesterday’s news that production of jam and marmalade in Dundee, one of the cornerstones of the city’s reputation for almost two centuries, is to cease and move to Manchester as a result of a takeover.
In a brief statement, Barker & Dobson Group announce it is to sell its “Keiller Preserves” subsidiary in Mains Loan to the Rank Hovis McDougall Group in a £4 million plus deal. Read more......