Editor—Last Saturday (April 18), Clyde steamer expert Ian Quinn and his associates staged an event on Dunoon Pier celebrating the pier itself and the vessels calling there during the 1960s and 1970s.
Stalls, model ships—including very large working models of Jeanie Deans, Waverley and Duchess of Hamilton—and talks by Ian with slide illustrations revived pleasant memories of the pier and the Clyde fleet during these years.
The event organisers had concerns regarding turnout and response. Would people turn up and what would their reactions be? On both counts, they need not have worried. Well over 800 people visited between 10am and 4pm, and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive, even emotional.
This wonderful response demonstrates not only a deep and enduring affection for the Clyde steamers, particularly the last survivor, Waverley, but a similar feeling towards our unique pier.
The pier may have suffered years of unnecessary neglect, but there is clearly a desire to see it restored to full use and made fit to enable Waverley to berth safely here once again. Helensburgh is now on track to have its pier reopened; the same can and must happen for Dunoon.
