Maritime heritage

As a whaling port, Dundee developed a prosperous maritime industry. In 1857 the whaling ship Tay was fitted with steam engines, the first in the world. By 1872 Dundee had become the premier whaling port of the British Isles. Over 2,000 ships were built in the city between 1871 and 1881. The last whaling ship to be built at Dundee was the Terra Nova, in 1884. Shipbuilding came to a halt altogether in 1961. The Dundee Perth and London Shipping Company (DPLC) ran steamships down the Tay from Perth and on to Hull and London. The firm still exists, but is essentially now a travel agency.

RRS Discovery, the ship taken to the Antarctic by Robert Falcon Scott, was built in Dundee in 1901. It returned to its birthplace in the 1980s and is moored next to a purpose-built visitors’ centre. An older ship, the frigate HMS Unicorn, is moored in the docks. It was not actually built at Dundee, but as the oldest wooden British warship still afloat it is a prestigious addition to a city with a rich maritime heritage.