Unique Titanic footage to go on show in the USA

Local & National

Lost newsreel offers rare look at the liner in Belfast's shipyard

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

By Linda McKee

Lost newsreel footage of the Titanic being manoeuvred into the Thompson Dock in Belfast is to go on show at a major Washington DC exhibition highlighting the liner's Ulster links.

The unique footage, found in a Glasgow attic in 2005 and bought by the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, is believed to be the longest, most complete version of the Titanic newsreel unearthed, with a running time of more than 12 minutes.

The 95-year-old nitrate film is still in excellent condition.

It offers a clear portrait of the liner in its place of birth at Harland & Wolff shipyard.

It includes a never-before-seen still photograph featuring a bird's eye view of Titanic with one funnel fitted and her sister ship Olympic in the background.

The film also includes some of the rare footage of Titanic as well as images of the aftermath of her sinking, including footage and stills of Captain Rostron of the Carpathia bringing survivors to shore.

Other scenes show a reporter interviewing Titanic survivors, society women bringing clothes for those rescued and crowds gathering outside the White Star Line offices in New York as news of the disaster spreads.

Wireless telegraphy pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, whose radio system helped spread the news quickly and is credited with saving many of the survivors, is seen getting into a carriage with his wife.

And the final chilling images show the cable ship Mackay Bennett leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia, carrying wooden boxes on deck to recover the bodies of victims.

An edited version of the film is to be shown as part of the Titanic - Made In Belfast, Northern Ireland exhibition at Union Station in Washington, while the full version goes on display at the neighbouring Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

The exhibition is being staged from June 26 to July 15 as part of the four-month Rediscover Northern Ireland programme, the biggest-ever international showcase of the Province's culture, business and tourism.

Among the exhibits are images from Ulster Folk and Transport Museum's world-class archive of 75,000 photographs from Harland & Wolff, depicting shipbuilding in Belfast from the late 1800s onwards.

There will also be images from the Courtney Collection showing Titanic's departure from Southampton, 1908 colour design drawings of the liner, a 1911 Workers Launch Ticket and Marconigrams giving an insight into the vessel's tragic final hours.

It will also outline ambitious plans to revitalise Belfast's waterfront area.

Tim Cooke, chief executive of National Museums Northern Ireland, said: " The Titanic archive at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum is just one example of the unique collections held by National Museums Northern Ireland.

"This project is an excellent illustration of how museum collections can be used to showcase Northern Ireland to a wider international audience.

"While in Washington we will also be promoting our award-winning Titanic website www.titanicinbelfast.com which allows virtual visitors around the globe to learn more of the social and industrial history of Belfast in the early 20th century."