The STICK Network
Do you have an interest in transport, technology and industrial archives and collections? The Scottish Transport & Industry Collections & Knowledge Network (or STICK for short), launched in October 2007, is a new forum that could help you.

View across the River Thames to a Carron Company ship (probably the 'Forth' built in 1927) at the wharf. The stern is obscured behind a second wharf and its cranes. Barges are tied up alongside. On the shore stand three and five storey warehouses emblazoned 'Carron Company Carron Wharf c1934.

STICK believes transport and industry collections provide a vital insight into Scotland’s social, industrial and economic history. The network aims to promote the care and enjoyment of these collections. Through research, stewardship and advocacy, STICK will encourage wider engagement with transport and industrial collections across Scotland. As an independent subject specialist network, membership is open to any individuals and organisations with an interest in this field.

Why should you join?
Membership to this network is free. To find out about forthcoming events please contact Maureen Kerr, Departmental Administrator, Science & Technology Department, National Museums Scotland Tel: 0131 247 4274
For further information e-mail: m.kerr@nms.ac.uk or check the website: http://www.STICKssn.org.

Access to Burns Project
In the summer 2008 the National Trust of Scotland will assume responsibility for the running of Burns Cottage and Museum, the Burns Monument in Alloway and the Tam O'Shanter Experience (formerly known as the Land of Burns Centre).

This will mark the end of the involvement of the Burns Monument Trustees. They were originally established in 1814 to collect subscriptions for a monument to Burns in his native Alloway. At that time Burns Cottage was the property of the Incorporation of Shoemakers of Ayr who had leased it to one of their members who turned it into a tavern. In 1881 the Burns Monument Trustees acquired the cottage from the Incorporation and set about restoring it to its original state (an extension had been added to accommodate the tavern). They intended to establish a museum for the relics, paintings and manuscripts relating to Burns which they had acquired.

The museum opened in 1901 and extension and additions were made in the 1920s and 1950s. Many prominent people visited the cottage including members of the Royal Family, Cassius Clay and descendants of Burns himself.

Future plans for the sites include a multi-million pound museum which will provide proper storage for the considerable collection of manuscripts, books, paintings and artefacts acquired by the Trustees over the years. Additionally the plans incorporate a reading room and research library for consultation of the manuscripts and documents in the collection. To this end, an archivist has been appointed on a temporary contract to list the materials and to identify those suitable for digitisation and display online - thereby promoting Burns to a wider audience. The many letters and documents include the forgeries by Antique Smith (which actually look more authentic than some of the original documents!), family papers of the Burness family in Kintore (Robert and his brother Gilbert changed the spelling to Burns) and correspondence relating to the provenance of various items in the collection. There are also papers relating to the Suffragettes attempt to blow-up the cottage in 1914.

Whales ahoy!
The papers of the late David Henderson, a whaling authority from Dundee, have now been catalogued and made available through the searchable online facility on the Dundee University Archives website. The collection includes photographs, ship log books and many articles and publications on the subject of whaling and arctic exploration. These papers provide an excellent resource on an important aspect of Dundee’s history.
Dundee flourished as a whaling port in the nineteenth century, and a large fleet of whalers was based in the city. Part of the reason for the growth of the industry in Dundee was that whale oil was used in jute production to soften the jute fibres before weaving. Many whalers were also built in Dundee, which earned a reputation for building vessels able to withstand harsh polar conditions. The famous Dundee whaler Terra Nova was refitted and used by Captain Scott on his second and final Antarctic expedition.

For more information please visit www.dundee.ac.uk/archives click on ‘online catalogue’ and search for reference MS 254 in the main catalogue, or contact archives@dundee.ac.uk.

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