Mermaids Ashore: Norwegian seamen’s wives and the transformation of Norwegian shipping 1960-1990
Norway was one of the leading maritime nations in the 20th century, with around ten per cent of the world fleet and more than 60,000 seafarers in the middle of the 1960s. This presentation looks at a sometimes-forgotten dimension of maritime labour and enterprise, viz, those staying at home.
In 1964 the wives of Norwegian seafarers established the Norwegian Mermaids Association. The NMA combined two purposes: a meeting place for seafarers’ wives playing an important social role and helping them structure their daily lives; and giving them a public voice and recognition as a lobbying and interest association in questions of seafaring policy.
Entry is free and no ticket is needed. Places are on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, so latecomers may not be admitted when the lecture room is full.
Doors open for tea and coffee at 5.30pm; seminar commences 6pm.
The seminar series is supported by the Maritime History Trust
Venue Details
BLAYDES HOUSE,
Maritime Studies Centre,
6 High Street,
Hull,
HU1 1HA
Blaydes House was built around 1740 as the home and business premises of the Blaydes family. The family included shipbuilders, shipowners, merchants and local political figures who played a leading part in the commercial and civic life of eighteenth-century Hull. The house, with its elegant panelled rooms and sweeping carved staircase, demonstrates the prosperity and self-confidence of the town’s mercantile elite. It is a typical Georgian merchant’s house, among the most impressive of several such buildings that have survived on the High Street. The house has been sympathetically restored, with period colour schemes. Since 2001 Blaydes House has been the home of the University of Hull’s Maritime Historical Studies Centre.
