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Perim Harbour 1888
This is part of a watercolour of Perim harbour which was
found in 1965 in a bookshop (that also had some prints
and maps, etc) in Guildford. The date is quite possibly
as early as 1886 or 1887, but unlikely to be after 1890.
It was almost certainly painted by a member of the crew
of the steamer in the harbour.
A number of landmarks are visible.
Five on ‘Government Side’: the mosque on the south side
of William Bay; the pier, water condenser and water
storage tanks, also in William Bay; on the promontory
leading to Lang Point the Dispensary; with the ruins of
the Old Fort on the point beyond. Half way up the slope
are the quarters of the engineer responsible for the
condenser and the lighthouse, and for a time also the
quarters of the Commissariat representative.
Unfortunately the artist has got the perspective wrong
as regards the water condenser etc by the pier. Also the
Dispensary is not on that much higher ground than the
Old Fort.
On ‘Company Side’ the white navigation cairns on Murray
Point are an important landmark (for the artist). Note
than the coal stocks are not yet in sheds; the hulk Ben
Nevis is anchored in a fixed position (so much so that
her position was marked on the chart of 1884, and that
she showed two lights at night). The pilots’ bungalow
can be seen on the spit, above the steamer’s funnel.
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