Missing papers charting the construction of Roker Pier return to Wearside

The great-granddaughter of Henry Hay Wake, the engineer who built Roker Pier in the late 19th century, has visited from Australia with an album documenting the pier's construction.

The leather bound album records key milestones in the construction of the pier. It was put together by the family of Henry Hay Wake, the engineer who built the pier in the late 1890s.

At some point during the last century, half of the pages were cut out of the album and travelled to Australia with Henry Hay Wake's granddaughter Verna via Trinidad, Zimbabwe to South Africa and ultimately to Australia with her daughter Carol Spencer, Henry’s great granddaughter.

The other half stayed behind with another of Henry's granddaughters and are now in the archives of the River Wear Commissioners.

Now the two are to be reunited when Carmen Higgs, the Zimbabwe-born great-great-granddaughter of Henry Hay Wake, who now lives in Australia, visits the city next week.

Carmen is in Sunderland for the dedication of a plaque to mark the restoration of the iconic lighthouse following the pier's £2.15m restoration.