“There is at present a unique and altogether marvellous exhibition in the untenanted shop of Mr Anderson, at East Terrace, High Street. It is a talking machine, or, in other words, an Edison’s Phonograph. By certain arrangements of tubes and dual conductors, seventeen persons can hear at one time, the buried treasured-up talents of various kinds, and of many persons they never saw.
There are over a score of selections to choose from, all done by the manipulators turn of the wrist, equal to “Pull the string and the figure will work”. These consist of songs, recitations, bagpipe selections, artistic whistling, addresses and Gladstone’s reply to Edison & co. In other words it sings, laughs, and makes one feel inclined to dance as if it were alive. To be sure, the great feature about this comparatively new innovation is that it is of comparative recent origin and moreover enjoyable and cheap. I myself have tested it and heard the Airdronian by proxy, singing “The Fellow That Played the Drum”.
16.10.1897- Fire at Hawes Inn
“Between seven and eight o’ clock on Tuesday night, fire broke out in the Hawes Inn, South Queensferry, and for a brief space threatened to assume serious proportions. Fortunately however the promptness and energy with which the flames were attacked by the employees succeeded in keeping the fire in check and what first promised to develop into a serious conflagration was confined to the immediate vicinity of the outbreak. So threatening was the fire at the outset however that intimation was telegraphed to the Edinburgh Fire Brigade with a request that a detachment should be dispatched to the scene.
A steamer and a party of six men under Lieutenant Alan, was sent off, a with a team of four horses, taking the heavy engine out to South Queensferry in about fifty minutes. On their arrival the fire was virtually conquered and the application of a hand pump was all that was found necessary to complete the work. An examination showed that the fire had broken out in the store room, a one story building at the back of the hotel where among other things, several gallons of paraffin oil were stored. The flames soon communicated with the kitchen adjoining, but although the store was completely destroyed, only the contents of the kitchen were consumed. The bedrooms above were also affected by smoke and heat but it is not expected that the damage will exceed more than three or four hundred pounds, roughly speaking.
The Edinburgh Brigade returned to the city at half past eleven.”

11.6.1898-Bicycle Accident
“ On Wednesday evening while Robert Anderson, Baker, Grangemouth, was riding down the Loan, he lost control of his machine and dashed into Hill Square. He was rendered unconscious, sustained a nasty bruise on the right side of his head and was greatly shaken”
11.6.1898- HMS Rodney
“HMS Redwing, tender to the Guardship HMS Rodney, arrived off Queensferry on Wednesday evening.
On Wednesday diving operations were carried on off Beimer Rock in search of the torpedo which has been lost from HMS Rodney. It is valued at £250.”
11.6.1898 Dalmeny - Throwing of Dirty Water
“Jessie McDonald or Ronaldson, wife of a Retortman residing at Dalmeny Rows, was at the Linlithgow Sheriff Court charged with having, at a house there, assaulted Margaret Whitney by throwing a quantity of dirty water about her. The sheriff bound her over in 5s to keep the peace for six months.”
21.12.1900-Drunkeness in Queensferry and Linlithgow -(extract from article)
“Since the publication of the report on the judicial statistics of Scotland for 1899, a good deal of comment has been made at the unfavourable position occupied by the county of west Lothian. The Burgh of Queensferry comes first on the list of towns which has the highest record for convictions for drunkenness per 1000 of the population, while the burgh of Linlithgow occupies third place. These Burghs have therefore gained an unenviable notoriety which perhaps they do not altogether deserve……………………………………..
Anyone acquainted with Queensferry knows that during the summer months the town is visited by hundreds of people from Edinburgh and Leith, who come to see the Forth Bridge and others, and by far, the greater number for a day’s outing, and there can be no doubt that many of the cases of drunkeness recorded in the Burgh of Queensferry are chargeable to those excursionists who chiefly avail themselves of the facilities afforded by coach and steamer visits to the town.”
27.9.1901- Mortuary at South Queensferry
“At present the only mortuary accommodation at South Queensferry for the Burgh and County is the washing house at the Police Station there. This building is most unsuitable for such a purpose. It adjoins the men’s kitchen and so to gain admitance to the back garden, WC and coal-cellar, this washing house must be passed through. As many as three dead bodies have been lying there at one time while post mortem examinations are also conducted there.
There is however at the new cemetery, a building originally intended for a mortuary, which the Parish Council are willing to allow the District Committee and Burgh Councillors to use. It is well adapted for the purpose, having water and drainage inside but requires to be fitted up with shelves and ventilation provided in the roof, which could be done at a cost of £10. A plan is submitted showing this building and the position of a post mortem house if required.
It was agreed to erect a mortuary at Queensferry and to ask the Local Authority of Queensferry to bear half of the cost.”
23.3.1917-St Patricks Day
“On Saturday, a sale of flags on behalf of Irish soldiers wounded, and prisoners of war, was held in the town.”
“It was probably more with amusement than with any serious thought on the incident that passers-by witnessed the first food queue at Mid Terrace on Saturday forenoon. The importation of a quantity of fine potatoes by a local merchant led to a rush by the housewives for supplies of the reputedly scarce tubers and a roaring business was consequently done in record time. There is much talk of the holding up of potatoes but the sale as carried out on Saturday and the placing of his stock for disposal was the right thing to do, and it was business. Other supplies have since been forthcoming.”