A giant of the RiverTyne setting sail
THEY were the giants of the River Tyne. The so-called ‘supertankers’ were improbably large oil-carrying vessels that dominated the river’s skyline during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Thousands of men worked on the likes of the Esso Northumbria (1969), the Esso Hibernia (1970), and the Tyne Pride (1976).
Another titan built on the Tyne was the World Unicorn. We see it under construction, and finally setting sail 45 years ago.
Our main image shows a crowd of local people watching the 257,000tonne ship on the Tyne in January, 1974.
The World Unicorn had been launched by Princess Anne six months earlier at Swan Hunter’s Wallsend yard on May 3, 1973.
The princess arrived by aircraft at Newcastle Airport and, before the launch, a grand reception was held at Newcastle’s Royal Station Hotel.
The Chronicle reported: “A small crowd had braved the cold wind at Newcastle Airport and they were given a smile and a wave as the princess swept by.
“Apparently she had told her host, the Duke of Northumberland, she was looking forward to an exciting day.
“As the convoy of 10 cars sped on towards Newcastle, small groups of people lined the roads waving.
“These grew much thicker as she entered Newcastle, with hundreds of shoppers, three and four deep, lining the pavement to catch a glimpse of her.
“About 200 gave her a big cheer as she arrived at the Royal Station Hotel, where she was received by the city’s lord mayor.
“The launch went ahead without a hitch and the World Unicorn slipped into the Tyne at the start of her career.”
In a decade when everyone could make a fashion faux pas, including members of the Royal family, the Chronicle also made reference to the distinctive headwear adorning the princess.
“The princess wore a fitted hyacinth blue kneelength coat with a blue and white spotted scarf at her neck. But the big talking point of the day was her turban and matching navy-blue accessories.”
One notable Chronicle archive photograph shows the World Unicorn under construction in early 1973 as a group of young girls play in the foreground.
Years later one of the
pals contacted us and recalled growing up in Wallsend’s Hunter Street where the image was captured.
The 53-year-old woman remembered: “We got used to ships being built at the end of our street. It was just a way of life.
“The noise of the men working on the ships, the buzzers, and the workers piling out after their shifts were just part of day-to-day life.
“We used to watch the ships being launched from an attic in my friend’s house at the bottom of the street.”
The streets of houses backing on to the shipyard would be bulldozed a few years later.
The houses stood where the Roman museum, Segedunum, stands today.
The World Unicorn sailed for 10 years before being broken up in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1984.