Mention the word coelacanth and the first name that springs to mind is that of Rhodes scientist Professor JLB Smith, who identified the fish as a living fossil and the most important zoological find of the century.

But one name that is as important to the rediscovery almost 70 years ago of the primitive fish is Marjorie Courtney Latimer, the woman who actually spotted the unique specimen in the catch of a fishing trawler.

Latimer, the then curator of the East London Museum was used to the regular calls from Hendrick Goosen, the captain of the trawler Nerine, to take a look at some of the catches he and his crew had made. "The Captain made a frequent practice of having a dock man call me to come and look over the Nerine's catch. I was welcome to take any unusual specimen for the museum," Latimer said.

So, when a dock man arrived on 23 December 1938 to tell her the Nerine had returned, it was nothing out of the ordinary and Latimer was hesitant to go down to the docks because she was so busy.

"I was mounting a reptile collection when the dock man arrived." The Nerine had just finished a stint off the mouth of the Chalumna River, 60km west of East London. "I was very busy but felt I should go and wish them a Merry Christmas," Latimer said.

She took a taxi to the dock, passed on her greetings and was about to leave when "I noticed an unusual blue fin protruding from beneath a pile of rays and sharks" lying on the deck.

"Of course I had to satisfy my curiosity." Moving the other fish out of the way, Latimer found "the most beautiful fish I had ever seen, five feet long, and a pale mauve blue with iridescent silver markings".

Although she had no idea what it was, Latimer knew she had to get it to the museum immediately, "much to the disgust of the taxi driver". After a heated discussion the driver finally drove Latimer and her discovery to the East London Museum.

Pouring over reference books, Latimer found a picture that led her to a seemingly impossible conclusion. The specimen bore similarities to a pre-historic fish, particularly in the structure of the head and the tri-lobed shape of the tail.

She sent a sketch to Professor Smith, a chemistry teacher at Rhodes University, who, according to one account, said: "I always knew somewhere or somehow, a primitive fish of this nature would appear." The professor immediately recognised the coelacanth - a fish that had been thought to be extinct for 400-million years.

When news of the discovery broke, East London became the centre of international attention, and 20 000 guests attended the official presentation of the research findings at the museum.

Although the recent discovery of a colony of 18 coelacanths living off the KwaZulu Natal coastline has revived interest in this living relic, East London still holds prime place in the saga of "the most important zoological find of the last century" and it is significant that the first international conference on coastal and ocean exploration will be held in East London in October 2003.

And as for Marjorie Courtney Latimer … at 85 years of age she is the lone survivor of the team connected to one of the greatest discoveries.

For more information on the coelacanth visit the East London Museum at 319 Oxford Street, Southernwood or telephone (043) 743-0686.

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