Cardiff in making iron and later steel, brought to the sea by packhorse from Merthyr Tydfil. This was first achieved by the construction of a long canal from Merthyr (510 feet above sea-level) to the Taff Estuary at Cardiff. Eventually the Taff Vale Railway replaced the canal barges and massive marshalling yards sprang up as new docks were developed in Cardiff – all prompted by the soaring worldwide demand for coal from the South Wales valleys. At its peak, Cardiff's port area, known as Tiger Bay, became the busiest port in the world and – for some time – the world's
Cardiff Bay Barrage Penarth who had always supported the scheme. However, as Cardiff Council would not accommodate the installation of a commemorative plaque on their land, the ceremony had to be performed and the plaque unveiled on land owned by the adjacent local authority, the Vale of Glamorgan Council at the Penarth end of the barrage. That was also the site chosen for the installation of a 7-foot tall bronze figure of a mermaid – which was the logo of Cardiff Bay Development Corporation. (The logo had been designed by Cardiff graphics artist Roger Fickling.) The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was wound up