Looking Back – news from the John O'Groat Journal of yesteryear
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Labourers' wages at Wick
From the Groat of March 9, 1923
A special meeting of Wick Town Council had been held to set the rate of payment for the labourers working on the mill water conduit project.
The council had previously agreed to pay 10d an hour to the men under a scheme for the unemployed, with a grant covering 8¼d and the "difference to be found out of the rates".
Councillor Henderson pointed out that experienced coopers were being paid £2 a week, and "if the labourers worked 56 hours in future they could, even at 9d an hour, make £2 2s a week".
Paying the men 9d an hour instead of 10d would save the council £10 a week, the meeting heard. The councillors agreed to decrease the wage to 9d an hour for 56 hours' work a week.
Meanwhile, a plea was made to the monthly meeting of the council for the lighting to be improved in Newton Road. A resident there had suggested that the paraffin street lamp be replaced with a gas one by running a gas pipe from the wireless station.
The writer also bemoaned the state of the water pump on the street. It was used to provide water for domestic purposes but was also used by a nearby farmer who allowed his animals to drink at the trough there.
As a result the "ground round the trough was in a deplorable condition and was unapproachable".
The matter was remitted to the Cleansing, Lighting and Watching Committee.
Barrock House charity boost
From the Groat of March 9, 1973
To aid the funds of Save the Children, Barrock House and grounds opened to visitors on the previous Sunday afternoon.
A display of old costumes belonging to the owners, Colonel and Mrs Hildreth, included ladies' dresses dating from 1790, military uniforms and "exquisite examples of embroidery".
A museum of antiquities was displayed, showing war weapons, farm equipment and household goods. Visitors also got to enjoy the "profusion of snowdrops" in the grounds.
Thanks to the owners, the helpers and the many interested visitors, the event raised £78.
Elsewhere, Caithness Education Committee agreed to give a grant of £40 to a Thurso pupil who had been chosen as one of a team of four to represent Scotland at winter sports for the disabled in Norway.
The money given to Audrey Simpson, of Miller Terrace, was to go towards her expenses, which totalled £85.
Meanwhile, Lena and Betty Davidson had been presented with a number of gifts to mark their retirement after 20 years in the restaurant business.
The women ran the Dolphin Restaurant in Bridge Street. The original Dolphin Restaurant had started in High Street in 1953 but in 1962 the pair had to relocate because of the "erection of a bank".
£6m plan for council offices
From the Groat of March 13, 1998
A proposed multimillion-pound development could change the face of Wick if plans to relocate the Highland Council offices to a town centre site outwith Market Place were to go ahead.
The £6 million scheme was revealed at a meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council when Brian Hemming, area property and architectural services manager, announced that the local authority was looking to move from its existing site.
Finance for the scheme was to come from a private developer who would lease an area of ground stretching from Market Place to Victoria Place and redevelop the sites which housed the police station and council offices to provide new accommodation for both. This would then be leased back to the occupiers, leaving the contractor free to develop the area around Market Place.
Mr Hemming explained that the police station had been declared "inadequate" by Northern Constabulary, while a structural survey of the council buildings had revealed "serious problems".
Among the additional issues were falling masonry, wet and dry rot, an old electrical system and an inefficient heating system, along with floors that were no longer level.
He added that relocating to a greenfield site had been ruled out as it would not provide the best service to the public and would take "away the heart of the town".
