The 1st of July is regarded by Scots in Australia as Tartan Day as this was the day in 1782 when the British Government lifted the ban on the wearing of Scottish Highland dress that had been put in place after the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
For many years the Scottish fraternity in Victoria has commemorated this event by holding their annual Kirkin’ O’ The Tartan service on the first Sunday in July at the Scots Church in Collins Street, Melbourne. Representatives of various Scottish Clans are piped in to the kirk (church) to present their tartans and some members also participate in the service using the Scottish Gaelic language.
Wear some tartan and join in the commemorations this year at 11am on Sunday 5th July.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will march into Melbourne for the first time ever in February 2016 when more than 1200 performers will gather at Etihad Stadium.
This will be the fourth time that the Military Tattoo will leave Edinburgh in its 65 year history, but they will bring a full size replica of Edinburgh Castle with them!
Tickets on Sale Monday 25 May 2015
For further information please visit:
Shortly after I published the post “Monumental Inscriptions – Australia and Beyond” about McFarlane graves in the Wodonga Cemetery in Victoria, I received notification from billiongraves.com that another McFarlane grave inscription had been transcribed at that cemetery. This email was sent automatically as I had registered on the website to receive such updates. On visiting the website I found the entry in the index:
McFarlane, Benjamin – 1943
Clicking through on this name I found a photo of a brass plaque and the inscription which gave Benjamin’s actual date of death (21 June 1943) and age (73). As luck would have it, for someone trying to find out more information, it also revealed the names and relationships of other family members:
“Husband of Sarah. Father of Frances, Lucy, Amy, George, Charles and Clifford”.
Obviously there are going to be a lot more grave inscriptions transcribed so I won’t be able to do a post on each new entry found.
May I suggest that you also visit www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info for more genealogical records relating to our Clan, including some headstone photographs. Andrew Macfarlane, Genealogical Advisor to our Society, is the Administrator of this website.
In the Members Area of our own website there is also a document which identifies MacFarlane Graves in Dunbatonshire, Scotland, compiled by our Historical Researcher and Editor, Malcolm Lobban.
A search today on billiongraves.com showed up 9 graves with the surname McFarlane in the Wodonga Cemetery in Victoria. This represents the monumental inscriptions in this cemetery that have so far been photographed and transcribed by volunteers. In this particular cemetery there are currently 147 graves awaiting transcription. Anyone can volunteer to transcribe the data via their computer at home.
If any of the following names ring a bell in your family history, visit the website to view further details, including a photograph of the inscription, map showing the cemetery and GPS co-ordinates.
Note that the following list includes two females with the maiden name McFarlane, who are actually buried under the surname in brackets.
Mcfarlane, Alice – 1938
Mcfarlane, Frederick Malcolm – 1922
McFARLANE, Erskine William – 1970
McFARLANE, George 1895 – 1977
McFarlane, Charles – 1916
McFarlane, Emily Charlotte (Ellis) 1860 – 1953
McFarlane, Eskine William Charles 1884 – 1927
McFarlane, Mary Urquhart (Chauncey) 1898-1992
As the website name suggests, this online respository is aiming to transcribe more than a billion graves, worldwide.
Visit billiongraves.com and have a look for yourself.
On Sunday, 29th March, 2015 the Ringwood Highland Games will be held at the East Ringwood Sports Ground, Corner Mt Dandenong Road and Dublin Road, East Ringwood, Victoria.
Gates open at 9am, the Grand Parade of the Clans will be at 1.20pm followed by the Official Opening at 1.30pm.
Activities include:
- Scottish Country Dancing
- Pipe Band Performances
- Highland Dancing Premiership
- Dog Flyball Competitions
- Light/Heavy Games
- Haggis Hurling / Welly Boot Throwing
- Historical Scottish Martial Arts
- Scottish Clan Tents
- Children Animal Farm
The games will end on a high note with a gathering of massed pipe bands at 4.30pm.
For further information please visit the website: www.ringwoodhighlandgames.org
The 38th Annual Highland Gathering at Bundanoon, New South Wales will be held on 11th April 2015 – Rain, Hail or Shine!
For further information please visit the website:
Join us at the CLAN MACFARLANE tent this Sunday (15th February)
Mount Barker Highland Gathering
Keith Stephenson Park
MOUNT BARKER, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
http://www.gathering.mtbarkerscots.org/
https://www.facebook.com/MountBarkerHighlandGathering
The Scots Day Out in Bendigo commences with a street parade at 10am. There will be Scottish stalls, clan tents, celtic performances, highland dancing competitions and activities for the children. The finale at 4.30pm is the Dash’n’Kilts run over 200 metres.
Check out this great video clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1SE3-1jkRI
and/or visit www.scotsdayout.com for further information.