Perim Island

PERIM HARBOUR

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This is a watercolour of Perim harbour which was found in 1965 in a bookshop (that also had some prints and maps, etc) in Guildford, England. 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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.