Scottish Australian Heritage Council
Would you like information on the following subjects and more?
The Australia Tartan
The Scottish Australian Flag
The Legend of the Saltire
Wearing a Tartan Sash
The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section of the Scottish Australian Heritage Council website can provide all the answers.
www.scottishaustralianheritagecouncil.com.au
Scottish Country Dancing in Australia
Scottish country dancing is a great way to get fit, make new friends and have some fun!
Scottish country dancing is very social, with groups of couples facing each other in lines or squares. Some dances are more energetic than others. Quick-time jigs and reels involve a light skipping step, where the dancers move through a series of figures or patterns, whilst the Strathspey is a slow reel which uses an elegant style of step.
In Australia, Scottish country dance groups often perform at Highland gatherings or other Scottish events. Classes are usually held in school or church halls, but smaller groups might just get together at private homes to practice. Visitors are welcome to all classes.
The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society can put you in touch with groups around Australia that hold Scottish country dance classes. For more information on the origins of Scottish country dancing as well as details of each group, its activities and how to make contact, visit their website www.rscds.org.au
To quote the words of John McCready, Secretary of the City of Casey Pipe Band:
This is one outing that you may not have heard of, but it has been happening for about the last five years or so. It mainly came about to raise funds for the Koo Wee Rup Regional Health Service (which it still does) but it is now an annual event which the local Scots look forward to.
The Harewood Open Day at Koo Wee Rup will be held from 10am to 3pm on 16th February. There will be a Shetland Pony Exhibition and Show, Scottish music and dancing, traditional heritage craft and highland cattle.
And of course, the City of Casey Pipe Band will be putting in several short appearances from 12pm to 3pm.
Full details can be found by clicking on the link below.
If you want to contact the City of Casey Pipe Band here is the link: caseyconnect.net.au/caseypipeband-contact/
An initiative of the Golden City Pipe Band, the Scots Day Out 2014 (a free event) kicks off at 10.30am on Saturday, 8th February with a parade of bands, dancers and Clans down View Street from Capital Theatre to Rosalind Park.
From 11am at Rosalind Park there will be Scottish folk music, highland dancing, pipe band competitions, Scottish country dancing, Scottish storytelling, Scottish food and beverage competitions, Braveheart facepainting, Scottish stalls, Clan displays, Swordcraft and The Glen Lachlann Estate College of Arms displays and shows.
The Tastes: Haggis, Venison, Whisky, IRN-BRU, Shortbread
The Crafts: Traditional Scottish pottery, kilts and tartans, hand-knitted Scottish berets, Celtic jewellery and more
The finale at 4.30pm includes massed bands and highland dancers, followed by solo drumming competitions in the Rotunda at 5.15pm
For further information visit: www.scotsdayout.com
The oval at the Mount Barker Showgrounds will be a continuous hub of activity from 10am as the 53rd Mount Barker Highland Gathering gets underway on 16th February, 2014. There’ll be Pipe Bands, Scottish Highland and Country Dancers, Strongman displays, stalls, Clan tents, community activities and a whole lot of fun for all the family!
Less than half an hour’s drive from Adelaide this community event encompasses the best of Celtic dance, music and sport with a magnificent display of massed pipes and drums leading the grand Parade at the opening and closing ceremonies.
For further information please visit: http://gathering.mtbarkerscots.org
Please note the site has a weather warning, no doubt due to the very hot weather conditions experienced recently: “If the forecast for the Gathering, from radio ABC 891 at 6:55 on the Wednesday before, is for 38 degrees or more, then the Gathering will be cancelled, to ensure we meet our duty of care to all concerned. Please contact us for details if you are unsure.”
The Geelong Highland Gathering will be held this year at Deakin University, Waurn Ponds Campus on Sunday, 2nd March.
This event is a free-to-public day. For further information please visit:
http://www.geelonghighlandgathering.org.au
The Ringwood Highland Games will be held this year at the East Ringwood Reserve, corner Mount Dandenong and Dublin Roads, East Ringwood on 30th March from 9am to 4.45pm.
Various activities and displays are on during the day and these include: Highland Dancing Competitions, Dog’s Flyball Competition, Fencing display, “Light” Heavy Games, Haggis Hurling and Welly Boot Throwing fun events, Massed Pipe Bands, Grand March of the Clans, Scottish Martial Arts/Sword Play, Farmyard Animals. Scottish Clans and Societies will also have display tents, and there will also be tents selling Scottish goods such as food, music, clothing, books and gifts.
For further information please visit:
http://www.ringwoodhighlandgames.com.au
After the mists have risen at dawn, the town of Bundanoon becomes Brigadoon for a day (even the name on the station changes to Brigadoon!)
The main street is closed and there is a bustle of activity as people prepare for the big parade which begins at 9.30am. Visitors from all over Australia are making their way to Brigadoon (over 10,000 of them). Thousands line the streets as hundreds of pipes and drums (over 20 bands in all), colourful floats and displays, marchers, vintage cars, and service and community vehicles make their way to the grounds for the games. After the bands have arrived, the first of the massed band displays for the day takes place. With carefully manouevred patterns of marchers, the flourishes of the drum majors, and the heavenly sound of the pipes receding, advancing, and reverberating around the glen, you don’t need to be Scottish to feel the thrill of the occasion.
The gathering is officially opened at 10.30 a.m. and is followed by a massed demonstration of Scottish Country Dancing. If you’ve never attempted Scottish Country Dancing before, this is your chance as the display ends in the “Dashing White Sergeant” and the audience is invited to join in! There are other displays of Country Dancing during the day, and also of Highland Dancing.
Part of the fun of the day comes from watching, or preferably participating in, the various Highland Games and other activities, such as the Bonnie Bairns Highland Dress Competition, the Hay Toss, and the Kilted Dash. Throughout the day in the main arena there are pipe band displays. Up to 600 pipers and drummers typically attend Brigadoon, and although bands do not compete against each other, the pipe band display offers them the opportunity to engage in some virtuoso performances of their favourite marches, lilts and airs.
The sun has lowered in the western sky, the clock moves towards 4.00 p.m., and our day at Brigadoon is drawing to a close. In the final ceremonies the pipes and drums reappear for the Final Massed Bands Display and inspection by the Chieftain of the Day. After the official Closing Ceremony the crowd falls silent for the Lone Piper. Another year – another day at Brigadoon – has come to an end, and the crowd leaves in the gloaming with full hearts and their ears still ringing with the haunting sounds of the bagpipe. In the evening visitors to Brigadoon and participants gather at the local hall for the Ceilidh – a traditional Highlands knees-up where the haggis holds pride of place.
And then the mist descends, and the mythical village of Brigadoon falls under a spell, to sleep again until next year.
Information extracted from the following website – please click through for further details:
Maclean is a rural township nestled along the banks and hills of the beautiful Clarence river, on the North Coast of New South Wales. It is a very friendly town, proud of its Scottish Heritage.
On the Easter weekend, 18th-19th April this year, Maclean’s population of 3,254 will once again swell to around 6,500 as people flock to the town to attend the annual Highland Games held at the Maclean Showgrounds.
For further information please visit:
http://www.macleanhighlandgathering.com.au
The Australian Celtic Festival is held on the first weekend in May at the Australian Standing Stones, overlooking the rural township of Glen Innes, in the beautiful New England Tablelands of New South Wales.
Spread over 4 days, highlights include music and dance at multiple stages and venues, displays and workshops, storytelling and poetry, clan gatherings, a huge parade through Glen Innes’ heritage main street, Highland Games, living history displays, massed bands, traditional kirking of the tartans, Celtic yard dog trials, fun run and walk, Celtic stalls, food and more.
For further information please visit:
http://www.australiancelticfestival.com
