Heritage Hits The Highway
Following on from the very successful Open Days in Portree earlier this year, Highland Council’s Dualchas Heritage Service is now taking a selection of items from its collections to communities throughout Skye and Lochalsh.
The first road show scheduled for Kyle of Lochalsh on Thursday 8th December will be opened by Councillor Drew Millar, Ceannaire, Skye and Lochalsh Area at 5.30pm and will run that evening until 9pm and on Friday 9th December from 10 – 5pm, in Kyle Public Hall.
One of the highlights at this particular event will be the photographs and archives from the Duncan Macpherson Collection.
Many will be familiar with the hundreds of wonderful photographs taken in the Kyle area from 1912 by the Kyle pharmacist Mr Duncan Macpherson. Most of these now feature on the Am Baile website (www.ambaile.org.uk) - a unique record of the development and social activities of a West Highland village -.
However, letters, orders and prescriptions, as well as Mr Macpherson’s three very popular books ‘Gateway to Skye’, ‘Lure of the West’, and ‘Where I Belong’, and his renowned Vest Pocket Guide, will also be on display, giving an insight into the central role his shop had in the community.
The Roadshow will inform the public of the latest exciting findings from the archaeological excavation at ‘Uamh An Ard Achaidh (High Pasture Cave) in South Skye. Experienced archaeologists will be on hand to describe the project, with images direct from the site and artefacts from the Dualchas Collection.
Also on display will be copies of the 1950s Skye based paper ‘The Clarion’, ‘Teachd an Tir’, early copies of the ‘West Highland Free Press’, the Roll of Honour for Skye and Lochalsh, and historical maps of the Kyle area.
Photos and papers from the David Banks Salmon Fishing Archive, the Donald Gillies diaries and papers, Waternish Tenantry records, and papers from the Procurator Fiscal office 1790s – 1930s will also be included.
Councillor Drew Millar said, "The Dualchas Heritage Service is dedicated to promoting and preserving the history, culture and artefacts of Skye and Lochalsh, and we are therefore very pleased and proud to be organising and hosting the first road show in the Lochalsh area. I’m sure residents, and visitors to the area, will really enjoy viewing the photographs and artefacts of past times. The Dualchas collections comprise a wide range of material, including photographs, archaeology, postcards, paper archives, antiquarian books, artefacts, textiles, maps, paintings and prints, which will be of interest to all people in the area. It is an event not to be missed".
Dualchas also welcomes visits from the public, to view the collections and resources available at Tigh na Sgire.
For further information on the Dualchas Road Shows, please contact: Dualchas Heritage Service, Highland Council, Tigh na Sgire, Park Lane, Portree on 01478 613857.
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