5/11/2009 Scottish tea set returned after 104 year exile in Australia, read on...

A Victorian coffee pot and cream jug salvaged from the steamer City of Aberdeen, which foundered near Portlethen in January 1871, have been donated to Aberdeen Maritime Museum.

Lord Provost Peter Stephen and John Edwards (Curator of the Maritime Museum)Australian pensioner Margo Rutherford, who is in her 90s, has donated the items to the museum because she wants to see them returned to their home city.

The silver jug and coffee pot, which are in excellent condition, have been prized Rutherford family heirlooms since they were acquired by Mrs Rutherford's husband's grandfather in 1871. The items were taken to Australia when his son emigrated there about 1905.

Mrs Rutherford said: "For well over a century this beautiful coffee pot and lovely cream jug have been cared for by my family here in Australia, and they've brought us a great deal of pleasure over these years. Indeed, after so long, they've become a part of my family, and it's been very hard to part with them.

"However, my daughter Debbie and I feel that the time now has come for them to return home to Aberdeen. By donating them to the Maritime Museum, we know that they will continue bringing pleasure to many more people across the years ahead, and a pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled."

Mrs Rutherford explained in a letter to Lord Provost Peter Stephen that her late husband's grandfather, James Rutherford, who lived in Newcastle upon Tyne, bought the coffee pot and jug as salvage from the ship.

They were taken to Australia by Mrs Rutherford's father-in-law John Rutherford. Her husband, James, inherited the items when his father died, and Mrs Rutherford has looked after them since her marriage in 1945.

The jug and pot are in excellent condition, aside from a small bruise on the cream jug, probably caused when the ship ran aground on the morning of January 20, 1871.

The crew survived, but the 682-tonne iron screw steamer City of Aberdeen, which was owned and operated by the Aberdeen Steam Navigation Company, did not.

The vessel had been traveling from London to Aberdeen when she ran aground. Part of the cargo, materials and cabin stores were saved. The hull and machinery were sold at auction for £200, 10 days after the ship was wrecked.

The Lord Provost said: "This is an extremely generous donation, for which we are very grateful. I am sure that the people of Aberdeen, and visitors to the city, will appreciate the opportunity to see these lovely items and learn of their history.

"In Scotland, the year 2009 is the year of Homecoming, whereby Scots who have traveled far and wide return home to re-visit their roots. Now we can say that these wonderful objects have also come home.

"There is something quite charming about the coffee pot and cream jug coming back to their rightful place."

The letters "C" and "A" surrounded by a strap – thought to be the City of Aberdeen's crest – is engraved on either side of each of the ornate silver containers, which were packaged for international transit by the Maritime Museum in Perth [Australia].

Both items were made for traveling at sea and have wide bases, presumably for stability during rough weather.

The City of Aberdeen was an iron screw steamer, built in 1865 at Port Glasgow by Duncan. The 682-tonne vessel was owned by the Aberdeen Steam Navigation Co. She was 227.5feet long, 29.4ft wide and 16ft deep.