The historic links between Anstruther and an exotic princess have been immortalised.
Almost 150 years ago, a Polynesian princess left her homeland forever after falling in love with a Fifer. Born in the lush tropics of the South Seas, Princess Titaua fell head over heels in love with George Darsie and moved 10,000 miles to be by his side in Anstruther.
Princess Titaua was the eldest child of the marriage between an English father and the sister of Queen Pomare IV. Queen Pomare adopted Titaua in accordance with an ancient Tahitian custom and gave her the royal name of Tetuanui-reia-ite-raiatea meaning The Great God whose Power extends to the Heavens.
At the age of 14, Titaua was married to John Brander from Elgin, who was 24 years older than her and owned the biggest trading house in the South Pacific. As the foremost hostess in Tahiti, Princess Titaua played an important part in the life of the island, sometimes to the dismay of the French colonial authorities.
She left an abiding impression on many international visitors to Tahiti and nearby Haapiti, including Robert Louis Stevenson and the Scottish painter Constance Gordon Cumming.
None was more enthusiastic than Queen Victoria’s second son, Prince Alfred, who presented Titaua with a turquoise and diamond pendant and ring as a token of his admiration.
After Brander’s death, she married the firm’s manager, George Darsie, who was from a prominent Anstruther family. She and five of her 12 children came with him to Scotland to live at his family home, Johnston Lodge, for the last years of her life.
On Thursday, an Anstruther Improvements Association blue plaque to Princess Titaua was unveiled at the lodge, on Hadfoot Wynd. The ceremony coincided with the launch of a book about Anstruther’s Polynesian Princess.
Penned by American-based expat Fiona Mackintosh, the tome presents a vivid picture of a woman who lived a life full of incident and drama in two countries half a world away from each other. It is published by charitable organisation the Kilrenny and Anstruther Burgh Collection.
“Fiona’s book casts a fascinating new light on part of the history of Anstruther,” said Glenn Jones. “We were delighted to have been chosen to publish this new book in Fiona’s home town.
“We are a charity, and all the proceeds of the book will go to help preserve our resource of local history.”
There has already been considerable global interest in the book particularly from Tahiti and the US.