Tag Archives: Belfast Telegraph

Titanic

MONDAY TITANIC NEWS

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March 6, 1912: Titanic (right) had to be moved out of the drydock so her sister Olympic (left), which had lost a propeller, could have it replaced.
Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff
Public domain

The Peterborough Family Who Left For A New Life But Died On The Titanic (Rugby Advertiser, 13 Sep 2020)

In April 1912 they left the UK on board the Titanic, to start a new life in Jacksonville, Florida, as pecan farmers. They had intended to sail to the USA on the Philadelphia, but were forced to change their plans due to a coal strike. After bidding their farewells to many well-wishers,the family travelled by train to Southampton and boarded the Titanic on 10 April 1912 as third-class passengers (ticket number 2343 which cost £69 and 11 shillings).

Public Domain

History Revisted: Father Byles, A Hero Of The Titanic From Ongar (Epping Forest Guardian, 12 Sept 2020)

The priest was praying on the upper deck when the ship struck an iceberg at 11.40pm. He assisted the women and children on their way to lifeboats, consoling them and twice refusing a place himself. When passengers got excited or anxious he would say: “Be calm, my good people.” Miss Helen Mary Mocklare, a third class passenger, gave an account of what she witnessed. She said: “A few around us became very excited and then it was that the priest again raised his hand and instantly they were calm once more.

Knocking off time at Harland & Wolff, Belfast. The Titanic is in the background.
Public Domain

Shipyard Worker’s Son Tells The Fond Stories He Heard From His Proud Dad (News Letter, 11 Sept 2020)

Dan shared some of his family’s remarkable links with shipbuilding on this page last Friday – his grandfather, father and five uncles all worked in the yard and his two aunts wedded shipyard men. Dan’s play about the H&W shipyard – The Boat Factory – has received substantial local, national and international acclaim. It was hailed as “a unique story” in Brussels, “the epitome of great storytelling” in New York and in Belfast it had “many in the audience reaching for a hanky.”

The Titanic Sinking’: The Story Behind The Telegram With Which The Belfast Telegraph Landed One Of History’s Greatest Scoops (Belfast Telegraph, 11 Sept 2020 -Payment required)

It’s one of the most famous ‘scoops’ but also perhaps the saddest in the 150-year history of the Belfast Telegraph… the story the newspaper would never have wanted to cover. For the exclusive that broke the news of the Titanic disaster in April 1912 was too painfully close to home for a city that had proudly built the doomed ocean liner and where virtually everyone knew someone with a link to the construction of the luxury White Star heavyweight.

Titanic

MONDAY TITANIC NEWS

Titanic lost: Belfast Telegraph front page 16 April 1912
Source: Belfast Telegraph

Titanic: One of History’s Greatest Scoops Landed by Belfast Telegraph (Belfast Telegraph 28 Aug 2020)

Even over a hundred years ago, the Belfast Telegraph was first with the news. In 1912 the newspaper reported the sinking of the Titanic on the same day that the liner went down in the north Atlantic — an amazing feat for the time. The Tele was the first newspaper in Europe to report the collision with an iceberg, after a telegram was sent to the newsroom alerting it of the disaster in what remains the earliest documented notification of the disaster.

Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Belfast Titanic Had Drop In Profits In 2015 Despite Rising Revenues

Titanic Belfast (side view) Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)
Titanic Belfast (side view)
Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)

It is usually the case that when you have an increase in revenues and people attending your tourist attraction, you make money. Not so for Titanic Belfast in 2015 reports Belfast Telegraph. The Telegraph reports this is despite the fact that revenues went up by 7% during that year and that it attracted 625,000 visitors. So what caused the drop in revenue? The newspaper reports:

The drop in profit arose chiefly from the firm’s administrative expenses increasing from £6.27m to £7.42m. And the average number of staff employed last year increased from 134 to 153 with staff costs increasing from £2.17m to £2.45m.

So hiring nineteen people cut into expenses pretty seriously. That tells a lot about the cost of labor these days in NI. And probably why visiting the attraction will soon cost more.

Source: Titanic Belfast sees profits drop by a third to £800,000 (Belfast Telegraph, 24 Mar 2016)

Titanic II

Keeping Titanic II Alive (Part II)

Titanic at Cobh Harbor, 11 April 1912 Public Domain (Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh, Ireland)
Titanic at Cobh Harbor, 11 April 1912
Public Domain (Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh, Ireland)

It is interesting what has happened since my original post on the subject. The reprinted stale news The Independent ran spread through the media. Newspapers, the major news networks, and a lot of blogs ran the story as if it were big news. It proves a theory about mass media today: they pretty much feed off each other and few bother to check the facts. It was amusing to read some of the write-ups. You could see that the editors/writers tried to find something different for their take on the story. At the end it was the same stale news from 2015.

This blog got a lot of hits thanks to jalopnik.com whose more skeptical approach to the story puts the more experienced mass media to shame. MoneyTalksNews has a similar skepticism about the Titanic II project. Krystal Steinmetz zeroes in on the key points and notes that the pictures zapping around the Internet are not the real ship but renderings from several years ago. She also adds (in addition to no construction going on at present) the following:

Plans for the ship could also be capsized by an investigation of Palmer. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission is investigating Palmer and the collapse of his company, Queensland Nickel. Palmer could face criminal charges over alleged use of aliases in company dealings and moving money from his failed business into his self-titled political party. The company owes creditors roughly $100 million.

As it stands now the only viable Titanic replica being built is the one being built by the Chinese themselves-for a theme park far away from the coast. This full replica will be permanently docked there (on water), have rooms for people to stay in, and is the infamous one since it will include a sinking simulator as well. So if you desiring to see a full Titanic replica, that is the only one that is actually being built.

Titanic II

Keeping Titanic II Alive

Newsroom of the New York Times,September 1942 Public Domain(U.S.Library of Congress, digital id#cph.3c12969)
Newsroom of the New York Times,September 1942
Public Domain(U.S.Library of Congress, digital id#cph.3c12969)

Sometimes newspapers that need to fill space look to an old story. Back on 1 Sep 2015 the Belfast Telegraph ran the following story:

Titanic II set to sail in 2018, says Aussie billionaire

The news report by Claire McNeilly indicated the new revised launch date was 2018 and that its maiden voyage had changed. Originally that was to be from Southampton to New York but now would be from China to Dubai. Blue Star Line said it was working with Dubai investors not to invest in the ship but in opportunities that will arise from Titanic II. Since that news report there has no news about the project. As far as anyone can tell, no contract to build has been signed and nor has any shipyard begun construction.

So imagine my surprise when going through the various Titanic related news stories to find this one from The Independent:

Titanic II: Fully functioning replica of original ship to set sail in 2018(Independent,9 Feb 2016)

Except for the name of the writer, Matt Payton, the article is virtually identical to Belfast Telegraph one in September 2015, which is linked to in the story. One might think though this was a new story when in fact this is stale news. At least it filled up an empty space in the newspaper. And Blue Star is no doubt happy with the free publicity. People in the cruise ship trade though are doubtful it will ever be built. And it is matched by the quietness of the shipping yard in China where it is supposed to be built.

Titanic, Titanic 2012

Belfast Hotels Have Best Year Ever Thanks To “Titanic Effect”

The people running the Titanic Quarter are in the red but the Belfast hotels did quite well thanks to Titanic. According to Belfast Telegraph, the recently released PriceWaterhouseCoopers report noted the highest jump in occupancy rates since 2006.

Occupancy for April – the month of the centenary of Titanic’s sinking – was up 25% in the city’s top 38 hotels, and overall revenue and revenue per available room was 45% ahead of the year before. Stephen Curragh, PwC partner and hospitality expert, said: “While last year’s MTV Music Awards accounted for around 8,000 room nights, with the event delivering delivering an estimated £22m to the Belfast economy, it was March and the launch of the Titanic Belfast Festival that really saw a substantial jump in Belfast hotel occupancy and revenues.

Source: Belfast Telegraph,City Hotels Experience Titanic Rise In Rates Of Occupancy, 5 Nov 2012


Titanic, Titanic 2012

Belfast Telegraph Editorial:Revisit Titanic With Pride – And Dignity

The Belfast Telegraph recently had a nice editorial calling on people to remember what it is all about:

Photo courtesy George Behe
Photo courtesy George Behe

“Of course in all the excitement of the Titanic centenary and the rush to capitalise on it, everyone needs to remember that it was first and foremost a terrible human tragedy with 1,517 passengers and crew members dying. That death toll on a single night was the equivalent to half the number of people killed during the 30 years of the Troubles, a quite stunning perspective on the scale of the disaster. Nothing that is done or produced during the coming centenary year should defile the memory of those who died.”

Well said indeed.

Source: Belfast Telegraph, Revisit Titanic With Pride – And Dignity (editorial), 29 Dec 2011