Dundee shipping agent Barrie Kinnes, part of a family business which began in the late 1800s, has died at the age of 85.
Born in Crieff in 1935, he moved to Broughty Ferry in 1937 so his father would be nearer to the family business, Robert Kinnes & Sons, which like many was gearing up for a possible war ahead.
The company was founded by his grandfather in the late 1800s and work included supplies for the Dundee whaling industry through the Tay Whale Fishing Company, as well as other shipping and forwarding work.
Mr Kinnes joined the family business from school and worked in it for 43 years.
Early in his career, he trained and qualified as a chartered shipbroker with the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, doing part of his training in Liverpool.
At that time in the 1950s and 60s, Dundee was a busy port with regular imports of jute for the textile industry, timber for processing and paper for publishing.
It also handled exports of grain, local fruit and textiles, as well as imports and exports of farm animals.
The business became Kinnes Shipping and was involved in shipping and forwarding goods in and out of Dundee and other local ports, adapting to meet many changes including development of North Sea oil and gas supply services.
For a number of years, Mr Kinnes served on the Dundee Harbour Board, was joint chairman of the Dundee Armitstead Trust (Lord Armitstead’s Trust for the Benefit of the Citizens of Dundee) and chairman of the Dundee Sailors’ Home & Hostel.
The Armitstead Trust’s main activities are the support of local charities, the Armistead Lecture series and the Dundee Educational Prize Fund.
The former Sailors’ Home, part of the Dundee Maritime Trail, was a lodging house which sailors could use whilst waiting for their next passage.
Mr Kinnes was involved in securing permission from the Court of Session to sell the Sailors’ Home, its purpose having been served.
The charity then used the money to support charitable work with a nautical, maritime or seafaring connection.
He built up a vast knowledge of Dundee’s whaling history, Arctic and Antarctic exploration, and local shipping.
Mr Kinnes enthusiastically shared that broad knowledge with local people as well as historians and academics researching the city’s social history.
An active sportsman, he was an accomplished tennis and squash player.
He was also a very keen golfer and a member of Panmure at Barry, the R & A and Brora Golf Club in the Highlands, where he enjoyed holidaying.
Mr Kinnes gained considerable enjoyment from the company of family and friends, as well as the many interesting characters he met during his long business life.
