John A Macdonald accused of abuse of First Nation peoples.
A FAMOUS expatriate Scot with links to Rogart is the latest Empire figure to undergo a questioning of reputation. John A Macdonald, who was born in Glasgow, served as the first prime minister of Canada (18671873, 1878-1891). However, his treatment of the First Nations, particularly through education programmes rife with abuse, has led to calls for John A to be stripped of official recognition.
John A Macdonald’s grandfather came from Dalmore in the parish of Rogart and a memorial to John A was erected at the site of his grandfather’s home in 1968. It was opened by John Diefenbaker then Prime Minister of Canada. Every year in May, the Canadian flag is hoisted at the site and brought down again in a simple ceremony during October. Rogart Heritage Society chairperson Penny Calvert confirmed that the autumn ceremony would happen as usual this year. In her view, over-apologising for the past is not always constructive. “Different days are different ways and we have to look at how we are now”, she said.
Similar questions have been debated in Australia, where the Scottish pioneer Angus Macmillan — whose name was revered and memorialised for more than a century — has more recently been vilified for his treatment of indigenous peoples. Award-winning journalist Cal Flyn, who claims kin to Macmillan, covered the subject in a thought-provoking memoir, Thicker than Water, published in 2016. In the final chapter, Flyn writes of Macmillan:
This story is from the No 312, October 2017 edition of Am Bratach.
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This story is from the No 312, October 2017 edition of Am Bratach.
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Bookends
“She Said He Said I Said: New Writing Scotland 35”, edited by Diana Hendry and Susie Maguire, Association for Scottish Literary Studies, 2017. £9.95.
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Fraser Darling's View Of Highland Medical Care
The “West Highland Survey: an essay in human ecology”, edited by Frank Fraser Darling, was published by the Oxford University Press in 1955. Fraser Darling (1903-79) was an English ecologist, ornithologist, farmer, conservationist and author who between 1939 and 1943 brought derelict land into agricultural production on Tanera Mòr in the Summer Isles. In January 1944 he met Tom Johnson MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, who was aware of Fraser Darling’s published works which included a popular weekly column on agricultural science syndicated in several Highland newspapers. They agreed his plan for a social and biological investigation into the problems of the West Highlands and for establishing an agricultural advisory and demonstration centre in the crofting areas. In Fraser Darling’s own words, the West Highland Survey was established “in order to examine in a spirit of scientific inquiry, to gather a solid body of facts for analysis and synthesis, which would serve as a foundation for a future policy for the region”. He continued: “The argument was maintained that if the problem were understood in its wholeness, solution would be possible”. In June 1944, a team which included Frank Fraser Darling as director and four young Gaelic-speaking field officers, began work. The resulting 438-page book includes the following account of the Highlands and Islands Medical Service, launched in 1913 and forerunner of the Scottish National Health Service. After thirty years, the surveyors regarded the service as an unqualified success, an enviable situation underlined by the number of able medics seeking work in the post-war Highlands.
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The Postie's Post
IF YOU are a regular reader of my postie’s posts you will probably sigh when you realise that I am talking about roads again this month. But I do have an excuse and that is because the Highland Council aren’t really that good at managing them at times.
Bookends
George Gunn, “The Great Edge”, Grace Note Publications, 2017. £12.99.
The Postie's Post
WHEN YOU consider that we really don’t have that many roads in the Highlands, the ones we do have seem to get a story from most people you talk to.
