Part 9
Of men who have risen to distinction in the Government service, the best known is Sir Robert G. C. Hamilton (1836-1895), a son of Dr Hamilton of Bressay. He was at various times Accountant-General of the Navy, Under-Secretary for Ireland, Governor of Tasmania, and Chairman of the Board of Customs.
19. The Chief Towns and Villages of Shetland
(The figures in brackets after each name give the population in 1911, and those at the end of each section are references to pages in the text.)
=Balta Sound= is a fishing port on the east of Unst. It was formerly a prosperous centre for herrings. (pp. 123, 142.)
=Hillswick= is a seaport in Northmavine parish in the north-west of Mainland. Hillswick Voe affords sheltered anchorage for vessels. (pp. 125, 156, 157.)
=Lerwick= (4664), the capital and the only burgh of the county, and the most northerly town in Britain, lies on the west side of Bressay Sound, which forms a safe and commodious harbour. During the Dutch War, Cromwell built and garrisoned the fort. This may be taken as the beginning of the town. In 1781 the fort was put into a state of defence, and named Fort Charlotte in honour of George III’s Queen. It is now a Coast Guard Station and Royal Naval Reserve Headquarters. The Old Town, built on the side of a hill facing the harbour, has one narrow and irregular street running parallel to the shore, with numerous lanes branching off at right angles. Some of the houses at the south end of the town are built right into the sea; but elsewhere, the shore has been reclaimed, and an esplanade and wharves take the place of the “Lodberries” of former times. Victoria Pier (erected in 1888), Alexandra Wharf with the Fish Market, and the Boat Harbour, are among the latest harbour improvements. The New Town, which lies on the landward side of the hill, has wide streets and modern houses, the Central School being the principal building; while near by is the Gilbert Bain Hospital. The Docks are situated at the north end of the town, and here also are boat-building sheds, saw-mills and barrel factories. Adjoining the Anderson Institute is a Hostel for country girl-bursars attending the Institute. This handsome building, the gift of Robert H. Bruce, Esq., of Sumburgh, is the first building of its kind in Scotland. Lerwick has two weekly newspapers—_The Shetland Times_ and _The Shetland News_. At Sound, in the vicinity, is a Government wireless station. (pp. 103, 118, 120, 139, 140, 155.)
=Scalloway= (824), an ancient village, was at one time the capital. It is the chief port of call for steamers on the west, and is a centre for herring and white fishing. The Castle is the chief object of interest. (pp. 108, 110, 126, 139, 140, 153, 156.)
=Sandwick=, in Dunrossness, is a busy fishing centre. (pp. 117, 142.)
Parishes in Shetland:
1 _Unst_ 2 _Fetlar_ 3 _Yell_ 4 _Northmavine_ 5 _Delting_ 6 _Walls_ 7 _Sandsting_ 8 _Nesting_ 9 _Tingwall_ 10 _Lerwick_ 11 _Bressay_ 12 _Dunrossness_
Parishes in Orkney:
1 _Papa Westray_ 1b. _Westray & Papa Westray_ 2 _Cross & Burness_ 3 _Lady_ 4 _Stronsay_ 5 _Rowsay & Egilshay_ 6 _Evie & Rendall_ 7 _Harray & Birsay_ 8 _Sandwick_ 9 _Stromness_ 10 _Firth_ 11 _Orphir_ 12 _Kirkwall & St. Ola_ 13 _Shapinshay_ 14 _Deerness & St. Andrews_ 15 _Holm_ 16 _Hoy & Graemsay_ 17 _Walls & Flotta_ 18 _South Ronaldshay_ 19 _Stenness_ 20 _Eday & Pharay_
_The Cambridge University Press_ _Copyright. George Philip & Son L{td.}_
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Transcriber’s note:
There are a number of variant spellings of place names which have been left unchanged, for example: Rowsay - Rousay; Shapinsay - Shapinshay; Egilsay - Egilshay.
Some illustrations have been moved to the nearest paragraph break therefore they are not exactly linking with the Lists of Illustrations page numbers. The page numbers in the Lists of Illustrations refer to the original positions.
In the Latin plant list starting page 24, the ” in the original book have been replaced with the actual words.
On page 159 the name Gilbertston Park has been left as spelt. It appears that today the spelling is Gilbertson but as this book was written around 100 years ago, Gilbertston could have been the spelling at that time.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained.
Minor changes have been made to punctuation; other changes that have been made are listed below.
Page 15: changed ‘seaboard’ to ‘sea-board’.
Page 42: changed ‘does’ to ‘do’- do follow with.
Page 42: changed ‘crofter fishermen’ to ‘crofter-fishermen’.
Page 100: changed ‘acssss’ to ‘assess’- to assess the village of Stromness.
Page 107: added the word ‘the’- opposite direction for the other six hours.
Page 116: changed ‘coast-line’ to ‘coastline’.
Page 119: changed ‘coast-line’ to ‘coastline’.
Page 138: changed ‘may’ to ‘way’- wending their way homeward.
Page 161: changed ‘northwest’ to ‘north-west’.