Home   News   Article

Dunbar described as ‘glorified poorhouse’ and Wick runway work





LOOKING BACK: News from the John O’Groat Journal of yesteryear

Postcard view of Ben Morven distillery, near the riverbank in Halkirk, published by D Y Forbes, bookseller and printer, and postmarked 1906. Henrietta Munro Collection
Postcard view of Ben Morven distillery, near the riverbank in Halkirk, published by D Y Forbes, bookseller and printer, and postmarked 1906. Henrietta Munro Collection

Hospital inadequacies highlighted

From the Groat of January 23, 1925

A Caithness doctor giving evidence to a committee meeting at the Board of Health in Edinburgh had described “Dunbar’s Hospital” in Thurso as “just a glorified poorhouse”.

Dr A Asher was one of three far north physicians to attend the meeting of the Housing Services (Scotland) Committee to talk about the services available in their practices.

Dr Asher said that in the west of the county “the lack of adequate hospital accommodation was very much felt and was accentuated by the limited accommodations in the houses occupied by the working classes”.

He added that the “existing provision could in no sense be considered to meet the present demand” but that “the available buildings, if properly equipped and fully staffed, would do so”.

It was his view that there was a need for “provision being made for the treatment of surgical cases and it was also desirable to make provision for maternity cases”.

Elsewhere, a fire had occurred at a sawmill at the Poles, Dornoch. It was thought that the blaze had been started by a spark from an engine and it was with great difficulty that the workers had prevented the spread of the flames to the stacks of sawn timber nearby.

Golspie Fire Brigade had attended but “owing to the scarcity of water, were not able to quell the outbreak”.

Tough line on rent defaulters

From the Groat of January 24, 1975

A warning had been given that the new Caithness District Council might not be so prepared to accept county council tenants who regularly had large rent and rates arrears.

District council chairman John Young, speaking at a meeting of the county council’s housing and landward services committee, said that tenants should be “sternly warned that the district council was likely to take a tough line with the defaulters”.

Committee members had before them a list of defaulters with arrears ranging from £20 to £120, “adding up to a staggering total of around £1500”.

And the mood of members was expressed by committee chairman Charles Alexander, who said: “We have been quite unable to make an impression after repeated attempts. There is nothing left for it but eviction.”

It was noted that many tenants were under the impression “that they had the right to pay rents months in arrears” when in fact they should be paying a month in advance.

The committee agreed to serve three of the 40 tenants on the list with notices to quit and a further three were to receive eviction notices. The remainder, including those who were now up to date but had a record of “dilatoriness”, were to receive warning notices.

More from the John O’Groat Journal:

Today’s news on Highland Council

Community news latest

Sign up to our free newsletters

Wick runway restoration work

From the Groat of January 28, 2000

Around £2 million was to be spent on resurfacing the runway at Wick Airport and restoring it to its previous condition.

A weight restriction had been imposed on the size of aircraft that could use the main runway after an engineering survey found that it had been weakened by water penetration.

A spokesman for Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) said that this would not affect scheduled or charter flights to and from Caithness.

However, it had emerged that the project had been due to be carried out three years previously but had been postponed so that the runway in Inverness could be refurbished.

HIAL said that projects had to be prioritised, and Wick had lost out at that time because the work in Inverness had been urgent.

Meanwhile, an upgrade of a different kind was being planned at Wick Golf Club. Irish golfing star Ronan Rafferty had given his support to changes proposed for the facility at Reiss which were designed to bring the 18-hole course into the 21st century.

Club captain John Hunter said the changes would be “a big step forward for Wick Golf Club” and would “improve the course for members and visitors alike”.

The scheme, if approved by members, was expected to take two years to complete.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More