Captain Alexander Rodger
(1804 – 1877) Ship owner
Alexander Rodger was born in Cellardyke in 1804. At the age of ten his father drowned at the Burntisland herring fishery. Singlehandedly his mother supported the family and four of her sons became master mariners.
Alexander went to the Parish School, “a grim ben end of Dominie Orphit’s dwelling-house”. Later he crewed his brother David’s fishing boat and by eighteen he had signed up with the Dundee brig, “Ocean.” At twenty-two he was sailing master of a square rigger trading to the Mediterranean.
His brig “Hind” was captured by Pirates, the pirate leader saw Alexander’s flute and made a gesture to play. Unable to refuse, Alexander played old Scottish melodies. “I believed it was last time I would ever do so, and played accordingly”, he recalled, and after hearing the music the pirates “quitted the ship without molestation to crew or cargo”.
Capt. Rodger sailed the first commercial ship from Glasgow to Australia and made an important discovery after his ship the “Helen,” hit a reef briefly in the Indian Ocean. He surveyed this, and “Rodger’s Rock.” is now on all charts.
Ill-health forced him to retire from the sea. About this time news of the Australian gold fields reached Britain. He led an expedition with a group of 16 young fishermen from Cellardyke. After spending six months he returned home in profit.
He was a pioneer in the China tea trade and by 1855-part owner of the clipper Kate Carnie. In 1863 he launched the Taeping, ‘among the most beautiful and yacht-like merchantmen that ever sailed the seas’ which in 1866 won the most exciting tea race of them all. From Foochow to London, 14 000 miles and 99 days, Taeping entered the dock 28 minutes before her rival, Ariel.
Ariel was captained by Captain Keay, with Anstruther crewmen while Taeping crew included Dykers. Taeping divided her winnings with the crew of the Ariel.
Captain Rodger never forgot his hometown, he gifted a field at the east end of Cellardyke (the Toon’s Green) for community use and had rocks cleared from Cellardyke harbour entrance. Each winter he gave to the poor of the burgh.
He died on June 6th, 1877 in Glasgow.
Rodger Street, is named after him and Taeping Close is named after his most famous boat.
Research by Richard Wemyss
