The Clan MacLeod Society of Australia (NSW) Inc.Newsletter September 2011

Chief: Hugh MacLeod of MacLeodChief of Lewes: Torquil Donald Macleod of Lewes

Chief of Raasay: Roderick John Macleod of RaasayPresident: Peter Macleod, 19 Viewpoint Drive, Toukley 2263. Phone (02) 4397 3161

Email: peter.macleod@exemail.com.auSecretary: Mrs Wendy Macleod, 19 Viewpoint Drive, Toukley 2263. Phone (02) 4397 3161

Treasurer: Mr Rod McLeod, 62 Menzies Rd, Eastwood 2122. Ph (02) 9869 2659 email: roderickmcleod@optusnet.com.auAnnual Subscription $28 ($10 for each additional person in the one home receiving one Clan Magazine & Newsletter, i.e. One person $28, Two people $38, Three people $48, etc.). Subscriptions are due on 30th June each year.

Important DatesSat. 26th Nov. - Christmas Lunch - see inside.Sat. 3rd March 2012 - Gundy BBQ - see next Newsletter.4 - 6th May - Glen Innes Festival - see future Newsletters.

Dear Clansfolk, At last there is the scent of Spring. It has been a cold, wet, windy Winter and we will all be glad to see the end of it. But cheer up! Spring is the season of renewal soon to be followed by our warm, bright and happy Summer. PeterToukley BBQ - 4th June A small but keen bunch en-joyed a break in our dreadful weather for a pleasant Saturday BBQ. The weather was mild enough for us to dine outside although what sun we saw was pretty weak. Just after noon all were present and we held our Council Meeting. Then into the eats and fine wine. Wendy had prepared a Webber BBQ which went down well with a drop of red and sweets to fol-low. Very pleased to meet Murray and Aileen McLeod who live at nearby Mardi. Murray is brother of Council Member Colin McLeod and has recently joined our Society.Aberdeen Highland Games - Saturday 2nd July

Massed Bands - Aberdeen Highland Games 2011

MacLeod Stand

Under the judge’s eye

Scone Pipe Band

Caber Toss

Despite pretty ordinary weath-er on Friday 1st, Saturday morning came up with quite a mist, a fairly good indicator of a fine day. Sure enough by mid morning the mist had cleared and the weather got better and better. Wendy & I arrived late afternoon Friday to stay two nights with Charles and Kerry Cooke. Saturdaymorning is always a rush, we have a half hour drive to Ab-erdeen then need 40 minutes to erect our MacLeod stand. Neil McLeod came up from Berowra to help us with staff-ing. Chieftain of the Day was His Excellency Mr. Michael Bryce AM AE KStJ, Patron of the Scottish AustralianHeritage Council. The other honoured guest was Alexander Tristan Duff Brodie of Brodie - Chief of the Clan Brodie.The day started with a Parade of Bands and Clan Society Representatives forming up for the start of the Massed Band display. Quite a spectacle with 13 bands and enough sound for the most ardent Scotophile. The opening ceremony in-cluded an address by the Chieftain of the Day and Inspec-tion of the Bands. Formalities concluded by 11am and then full on entertainment.For the third year we were impressed by the drill precision of the Defence Force Federation Guard made up of young service personel from the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The Australian Tug of War Titles lead to much excitment and crowd cheering as big men gave their best. Highland and Country Dancers showed their prowess. Fiddler Chris Duncan accompanied by Catherine Strutt on keyboard en-tertained with Celtic Fiddle Music.Kiddies were not forgotten with a kilted dash, egg toss and three legged race. Later there were prizes for the best dressed Laddie, Lassie, Bairn and Pet competition.Pipe Band displays went all day with the judges settling on Lithgow Pipe Band as winners on the day. This band is al-ways popular because of their innovative routines and wide repertoire of tunes. Most bands had travelled long distances

to be there, Dubbo, Ar-midale, Tamworth, Coffs Harbour, Gunnedah and Newcastle.Afternoon saw the Tar-tan Warriors demonstrate their skills in the tradition-al heavy events. The five Bundanoon Stones were lifted in amazingly fast

time considering the heaviest comes in at 165kg. Wheat sheaf over the bar made nearly 30ft with the crowd cheers encouraging contest-ants to strive ever higher.But the highlight of the heavy contests is always the caber toss. Today’s caber was 6 metres and weighed 75kg, a

really big fellow. There were about six attempts before a contestant managed a proper end over end toss showing what an art it really is. After a successful toss the winner is decided by who makes the caber lie closest to 12 o’clock. In the picture the judge is seen behind the contestant.The day concludes with march on by the bands, massed band display and closing ceremony.At night we attended the Ceilidh with a very fine address to the Haggis, a further display by the Federation Guard, danc-ing to a celtic band, entertainment by Lithgow Pipe Band and excellent dinner. A Sunday morning Kirkin of the Tartan was followed by morning tea at St. Marks Church, Aberdeen.

AberdeenHighlandGames

Pay by Internet You can pay membership fees or any other payment to our Society by Internet Banking. This can save you time and postage, and sometimes bank fees.● Send funds to The Clan MacLeod Society of Australia (NSW) Inc. BSB 012 256, Account 008610081.● Email Treasurer Rod McLeod advising you have made payment & what for: roderickmcleod@optusnet.com.au

Skye Hospital Allowed to Run Down A recent arti-cle in West Highland Free Press expressed the opinion that authorities had deliberately let Gesto Hospital at Edinbane deteriorate to the point where it is almost beyond repair. The hospital was gifted to Edinbane community by Kenneth Mac-Leod of Greshornish in 1869 and many years later taken over by the National Health Service. Locals contend the hos-pital was never sold to the NHS but just ‘taken’ and now they want it back! The building may be unusable but the site and adjacent woodlands could be used to generate income for the community rather than continue to rot under the NHS.

Gesto Hospital in 2007

Edinbane is a crofting village at the southern end of the Wa-ternish Peninsula, about 24km from Portree and 14 from Dun-vegan. It has a small primary school, pottery and two hotels. The Hospital is called Gesto but it is not in the Gesto area which is 20km south of Dunvegan.

Kenneth MacLeod of Greshornish (1809-1869) left Skye at age 15 for India. His fare was paid and he had one golden guinea in his pocket. After a year’s work he took the river boat down to Calcutta. On the way he went ashore and visited a place where an auction of contents of a sugar factory was in progress. With his guinea he bought a copper boiler which he sold in Calcutta for £30. He now returned to the derelict sugar factory and bought it for very little. This set him on the ladder to making a fortune in India planting indigo.Returning to Skye he tried to buy the tack of Gesto where his family had farmed for 500 years. MacLeod of MacLeod would not sell it to him. Kenneth then bought Orbost, Edin-bane, Skirinish, Greshornish, Tote, Skeabost and much of Portree. He ensured Edinbane had a tradesman from each of the important crafts and set up the hospital, the first in Skye, and named it Gesto. For those who have read the marvellous book by Alexander Smith, ‘A Summer in Skye’, Kenneth MacLeod has been identified as ‘The Landlord’.

Clan MacLeod Pipe Banner Presentation From CMS Scotland Newsletter. Our Clansfolk of the CMS Scot-land have presented a pipe banner to The Black Watch, now known as the 3rd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Black Watch). In 1779 Major General Norman MacLeod of

MacLeod of MacLeod

Regimental Badge

MacLeod, 23rd Chief, raised the 2nd Battalion The Black Watch. The Bat-talion’s original colours are still in Dunvegan Castle. Since then the clan has had a close association with the Regiment. The late Chief John, 29th Chief, served with The Black Watch. The banner, commissioned by the CMS Scotland, is presented in mem-ory of John MacLeod of MacLeod, 29th Chief. It bears on one side the personal crest and motto of Hugh MacLeod of MacLeod, 30th Chief, (with his permission). The reverse side carries the new badge of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Since the 1700s Colonels and Officers of Highland Regiments have commis-sioned pipe banners for Regimental pipers. These banners are fixed with ribbons to the long base drone of the pipes. One side bears the crest of the person represented, the other the Regimental badge.

Electricity on Skye From Clan MacLeod Canada News-letter A story from an electricity meter reader of when elec-tricity came to the Dunvegan area in the 1930s. ‘Many peo-ple in the area only spoke Gaelic and there being no word for electricity, it was called “the new light”. One woman had a very low usage and reported to the meter reader that she only used the electric light long enough to light her lamp.’Tidal Electricity on Skye From West Highland Free Press A plan to deploy four tidal electrical generation tur-bines at Kylerhea in South East Skye could see benefits for the local community. The project proposer, Marine Current Turbines (MCT) have signed a seabed lease with the Crown Estate but are exploring ways to involve the community, per-haps through a special share issue. In early July MCT held an open meeting at Glenelg which saw 60 locals attend.The project, which would see the turbines deployed in 2014, should generate 8 megawatts at maximum power. This is sufficient to supply up to 8,000 homes with power. Kylerhea, the traditional crossing point for the cattle droves of old, has very strong tidal currents.

Passing of Estelle MacLeod Estelle and husband Donald Alister MacLeod visited Clan MacLeod in Australia in the late 1980s. She and Donald were regulars at Parliament when Donald was Business Manager for the ACMS and af-ter. Estelle was born on the Isle of Jersey and trained there as a nurse. In 1936 she moved to Edinburgh. During the War she was based in Wales where she met and married Don-ald. After the War they lived in Birmingham then back to Ed-inburgh in 1966. Estelle passed away on 30th May, aged 94.

Christmas Luncheon - Saturday 26th November Vice President, Neil McLeod & wife Margaret have offered to host our MacLeod Christmas Lunch at their home at 2 Neerim Close, Berowra. Plans are for a BYO barbeque start-ing about 11.30am. We will need to know numbers so if you can come please phone Neil on (02) 9456 1446, or Peter or Wendy on (02) 4397 3161.

Memorial to Chief John At right is the memorial stoneto our late Chief John. Much loved 29th Chief of the Mac-Leods of Harris and Dunvegan. The memorial sits inside the Old Kilmuir Church, shown below,on the edge of the Dunvegan Village.

Kilmuir also houses memorials to our 25th Chief, Norman; 26th Chief, Norman Magnus; 27th Chief, Sir Reginald and 28th Chief, Dame Flora MacLeod of MacLeod.

The Desperate Battle of the Birds by Rod MacLeod as in Clan MacLeod Canada Newsletter, Leod Voice. A story links the piobaireachd (pibroch in English) “The Desperate Battle of the Birds” to an incident in Assynt.In early days Assynt was well populated with inhabitants who had flocks and herds, and the MacLeods were often able to give a good demonstration of Highland hospitality.The old lady of the castle was living the life of the nobil-ity, and was much given to wining, dining, and dancing, and would keep the dancing going as long as possible.In those days of candles, cruisies, lanterns but no alarm-clocks, people snug in their beds depended on the crowing of the cock to tell them when it was daybreak.This occasion the mistress of Ardvreck Castle ordered the piper, shepherd, smith, and one of the maids to fasten the beaks of all the roosters, so the dancers would not be able to tell time by the crowing of the cock. In this way she could realise her wish to continue dancing well beyond daybreak.The servants went in the evening to the henhouse where flocks of fowl were perched high up on roosts. There was a terrific battle with cocks and hens before they succeeded in getting the bills of all the males securely fastened. The piper, like those of his kind - always foremost in battle - got the worst of it. - The piper’s hair collected dust,

His clothes held more than mud,His head was clawed, his face was scratched,

His precious hands dripped blood,He blessed the birds in Canntaireachd,

Those Breabach Beats that go,Ho-drin-in-ti, Ha-drin-in-te,

Ha-drin-in-ti, Ho-dro.Rejoicing the battle is over, and happy because madam is pleased with the work achieved, the piper, now with the pipes on his shoulder, defiantly sends a “MacLeod” tune echoing through the halls as he leads the “Grand March” into the ballroom. There is dancing of Flings and Reels during the long weary hours of the night. Tapestry covered windows let in no light and muzzled roosters are unable to announce the daybreak. So the dancing went on till noon next day.Rod MacLeod’s story is one of three possible sources of the tune we know today as “The Desperate Battle of the Birds”. One story goes back to a time when King Robert III in the late 1300s arranged a clan duel that left all but a handful of par-ticipants dead. After the battle, flocks of birds swooped down to feast on the corpses of dead Clan Chattan and MacKay warriors. A third version, based on a popular Gaelic poem of the time, is an Argyll story from the late 1700s about a flock of birds that killed the wife of their keeper. Many piobaire-achd are based on oral history carried down the generations by Bards. At some point in time a piper would compose a piobaireachd based on the theme of a Bard’s creation. Rod MacLeod’s Ardvreck tale falls into this category.

McLeod Gathering at Pokolbin From Stuart McLeod of Tea Gardens. Thought you may be interested in the at-tached photo. It involves the gathering of most descendants of two brothers, Roy Alexander McLeod and my father, Don-ald Gordon McLeod at Pokolbin for a weekend on July 16th. The two brothers (and four more sisters) were children of Angus and Catherine McLeod (nee Pitkin). Attendees came from the UK, Queensland, Victoria, ACT and NSW, and had a wonderful time, as most of the ‘cousins’ had not met previ-ously. Interestingly, there were three generations present of both the brothers. It also was an opportunity to celebrate Roy’s son Ian’s 80th birthday. Needless to say, the vine-yards and eating facilities in the area got a hammering.It was so enjoyed that the participants want to do it again next year and plan to try to track down descendants of the four sisters and see if they would like to be included.

Big Crowd for Sun Drenched Skye Games - West Highland Free Press Warm weather, and a crowd well up on last year’s event, made for a highly successful 134th Skye Highland Games in Portree on Wednesday 10th August.The picturesque setting on the Lump, which unlike last year was bathed in sunshine, was packed with over 3,000 specta-tors, who again were not disap-pointed by the programme of traditional track and field, heavy events, piping and Highland dancing. Piping & dancing com-petitions started several days before official Games day due to the number of contestants.

Viking Shipyard on Skye From Clan MacLeod WA Newsletter. Colin Martin, a marine archaeolo-gist and one of Ian MacLeod’s col-leagues (Ian is CMS WA President), has discovered a 12th century Viking shipbuilding site at Loch na h-Airde on Rubh an Dun-ain, Isle of Skye. The peninsula of Rubh an Dunain is the historical home of the MacAskills, famed coastwatchers and galley commanders of the Chiefs of the Clan MacLeod. The find includes boat building timbers from the 1100s, a stone built quay and man made canal with blockage system de-signed to keep the water level in the Loch constant.Aerial surveys are being carried out over Skye to help archae-ologists investigate other sites. They are using a six bladed remote controlled model helicopter to carry the cameras to the correct height for photographic recording of the sites in three dimensions. Very exciting to find evidence demonstrat-ing the Loch was the focus for activity from the time of the Vikings to that of the MacAskills and MacLeods. The Loch and canal would have been used to protect boats in winter and for their construction & maintenance. No other site like this has thus far been found in Scotland.

What an exciting history we Mac-Leods have. Some of our ancestors could well have been involved in this Newsletter’s Viking stories. Peter

From Rod & Pat McLeod. Cairns in far north Queensland is blessed with spacious, elegant streets. Driving and parking is a pleasure. One of the finest is McLeod Street, a main street in the city centre, named after a Norman McLeod. On 6 October 1876, a party of customs officials including Nor-man arrived in Trinity Bay on the S.S. Porpoise. Norman quickly set up the settlement’s first post office, on the street bearing his name. His tenure was brief: in February, 1877 he relinquished his post to a Robert Jackson Craig. Craig’s tenure was also short: William Smith shot and killed him at Smithfield on Boxing Day 1877. Norman McLeod died at Roper River in the Northern Territory . In Weipa there is a McLeod Drive, named for Peter McLeod, who was Comalco’s first General Manager at Weipa.Mareeba has a McLeod Street, named for Donald McLeod, Postmaster there from 1898.William (Billy) McLeod has a river in the Palmer River dis-trict, a street in Thornborough, and hills on the Hodgkinson Goldfield named after him. Billy was a prospector in the area between 1874 and 1876.Perhaps more exciting is the story of Captain Lewis (Lewis is a MacLeod sept). The story begins on 15 August 1834 when Charles Eaton was wrecked on the Barrier Reef. Some of the crew sailed a boat to Timor. The rest built rafts and drifted to Boydong Island, where they encountered a fishing party of natives, who killed and beheaded them. The heads were later taken north to Aureed Island. Captain Lewis in the schooner Isabella found the heads there and took them to Sydney, where they are buried in the Pioneer Section of Botany Bay Cemetery. Two boys, William D’Oyley and John Island escaped massacre; they were sold for a bunch of ba-nanas each to Murray Island natives and were eventually rescued by Captain Lewis. (Information gathered on a recent visit to Cairns. Captain Lewis story as described in Points North by S.W. Mort).

VALE: Janice StibbardJanice passed away in June after a long, slow decline in health. A very gracious lady who we enjoyed seeing each year at the Glen Innes Celtic Festival. To husband Lance and daughters Del Roberts and Rosemary Moore who are all members of our Society and also to the rest of Janice’s family, we extend our condolences.

VALE: Wilf HilderWilf passed away on 29th June. He had been a member many years and had joined our Society through his interest in Scottish Country Dancing. Condolences to his long time friend Gretel Woodward. Wilf lived at Carlton, Sydney.

McLeod Snippets from Far North Queensland

Pat & Rod in Cairns, ship behind is

Endeavour Replica

VALE: Helen CharltonHelen passed away on 21st July after an extended illness. She served on our Council for a number of years although ill health prevented her attendance at meetings for some time. Helen, whose mother was born MacLeod, joined the Clan MacLeod Society after a visit to Scotland with her sister.

Viking Anchor Found on Skye - BBC website In December 2009, crofter Graeme MacKenzie was using a hired excavator to clear a drain on his croft at Sleat when he came upon a 4” (10cm) iron spike

protruding from bottom of the ditch. He levered it out and was stunned to see the ancient an-chor emerge. It measures 4ft x 4ft (1.2 x 1.2m)

and was sent away for dating and metallurgical testing.Graeme MacKenzie found the anchor about 100m from the high water mark but as this is a raised beach it could have been underwater 1000 years ago. It was different to modern metalwork and appeared to be made by a blacksmith. The ground was being prepared to grow potatoes the next year.Tests subsequently proved the anchor was of Viking origin and it has been claimed by the Crown on behalf of the Na-tional Museum of Scotland. Under UK Treasure Trove Rules the finder will be paid a small amount of compensation.

Clan MacLeod Woodland Initial planting of the Clan MacLeod Wood-land at Orbost on the Isle of Skye was completed in early May 2011 with 5200 Rowan, Birch and Elderberry trees. So far 400 trees have been sponsored, in-cluding 100 by the Clan MacLeod Socie-ty of NSW. Despite a wet and windy May on Skye the trees are growing beautifully and will make a stunning woodland over the coming years.

Our Society has received a Certificate of Appreciation for our donation to the Clan MacLeod Woodland and on it, is this charming tribute to the Rowan Tree:

Oh! Rowan Tree!How fair wert thou in simmer time, Wi’ a’ thy clusters white.How rich and gay thy autumn dress, Wi’ berries red and bright.On thy fair stem were many names which nownae mair I see.But they’re engraved on my heart. Forgot they ne’er can be!

Oh! Rowan tree!Orbost House Although the Clan MacLeod Woodland is on the historic lands of the MacLeods of Orbost there is no connection with the nearby Orbost House. However, it gives me an excuse to let everyone know something about this his-toric house. It was built from about 1760. The first MacLeod of Orbost, Isabella, was descended from the MacLeods of Berneray. She acquired Orbost House around 1807 after be-ing dispossessed of her Berneray property. The male line of the MacLeods of Orbost became extinct in 1940.

Orbost House, Gardens & ViewThe house is in beautiful condi-tion. Two apartments are let on a self catering basis.