Tobermory was
built as a fishing port in the late 18th century and is now the main village
on Mull. It is a picture-postcard of a place with the brightly painted
buildings along the pier and the high wooded hills surrounding the bay.
The village has a good variety of shops, hotels, and other accommodation
as well as being the administrative centre for the island. The harbour
is always busy with fishing boats, yachts and the ferry to and from Kilchoan
during the summer months.
About 400 yards out from the New (MacBrayne's) Pier at Tobermory, under
60ft of water and deeply embedded in the silt lies the Spanish galleon
blown up in 1588,or what is left after the subsequent attentions of nearly
fourty expeditions vainly seeking the great treasure said to have been
on board, including the pay chests of the Spanish army that failed to invade
England. Independent Scotland was of course a neutral country. The
great ship was in fact the San Juan de Sicilia, a large merchant
ship hired as an armed unit of the great Armada fleet. But what I
wish to describe are the circumstances in which she was blown up by an
internal explosion when she was on the point of setting sail and resuming
her voyage to Spain after a lengthy refit.
The first theory is that an undercover agent from the English government
contrived to have her blown up, secondly that an emissary of MacLean of
Duart, who had been sent on board to demand a final settlement of the costs
of re-fitting, was seized and confined near the magazine. Desperate
to discipline the greedy Spanish by any means in his power, he managed
to lay a train of gunpowder into the magazine and blew himself up along
with the ship.
Tobermory harbour is full of history, particularly during the Second
World War. In time to come this history will be allocated a separate
page, particularly the stories of Admiral Stevenson (The Terror of Tobermory)
Tobermory has always been a most convenient harbour for yachtsmen: a
place to wait for a fair wind for Ardnamurchan, within easy reach of stores
and hostelries and a very welcome haven for the southbound yacht that has
just rounded that intimidating headland.
Today Tobermory harbour fulfils that role admirably with its new rows
of visitors
moorings, good restaurants, shops,
pubs like the Mishnish, Magochans,
MacDonald Arms and not forgetting its famous
Distillery
To find out more about the Harbour facilities and the Harbour
Association click
here
Quick links to:
Yacht Club information
Tobermory Lifeboat
The extracts above are taken from a booklet called " A walk round Tobermory"
and "Traditional tales of Mull"
by Olive Brown and Jean
Whittaker. Get the booklets from Tackle and Books on the waterfront
and do the walk. A really good activity for visitors, and learn
more about the town.
