Artefacts tell castaway’ s tale

The real-life Robinson Crusoe’s desert island objects have gone on show in Dunfermline. A knife handle and powder horn, thought to have belonged to Fife-born seaman Alexander Selkirk, form part of a familyfriendly exhibition.

Selkirk is widely recognised as the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.

And the objects were in the hands of Selkirk’s family before being handed over to Fife’s museums service in 1970.

The exhibition originally launched last year but had to close its doors during lockdown.

Fife’s famous castaway was born in Lower Largo in 1676 and spent most of his life as a privateer – a sailor authorised to raid enemy ships in times of war.

Following a spat with his captain in 1704, Selkirk asked to be put ashore on Juan Fernandez Island, 420 miles west of Chile, where he lived for four years.

The island has since been renamed Robinson Crusoe Island.

Among his possessions was a pistol, gunpowder, a knife, a hatchet, navigation instruments, a bible, a flask of rum and enough food for a few days.

The powder pouch, less than one foot long, came home with Selkirk.

However, the knife’s blade snapped from its handle and is still lost on the island.

Selkirk was eventually rescued by another privateer in 1709.

He joined the crew and returned to Britain a wealthy man thanks to his share of the ship’s loot.

His memoirs are widely thought to have inspired Defoe.

The chairman of Fife Cultural Trust, Dr David Caldwell, led an archaeology dig on Robinson Crusoe Island in 2005.

He said the objects can transport the viewer to a far-off place.

“Many of us sitting in an office or, these days, at home have looked out the window and thought ‘I wish I wasn’t here, but on a Pacific island leading a different life’,” he said.

“This idea of being stranded on a desert island, free from everyday constraints, is something that is quite deep in our psyche and we owe it all to Selkirk and Defoe.”

The objects are part of Explore! Travellers and Trailblazers at Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries.

HISTORY: The statue of Robinson Crusoe – or is it Alexander Selkirk? – which resides in Lower Largo; Selkirk’s powder horn and his knife handle.