Thàinig mòran ainmean sgìrean-pàrlamaid Pàrlamaid na h-Alba bhon Ghàidhlig o thùs. Tha eachdraidh air leth inntinneach aig aon ainm sgìre-pàrlamaid ann an Glaschu agus tha e ag innse tòrr dhuinn mun bhaile. Bhruidhinn an sgioba Gàidhlig againn ris an eòlaiche ainmean-àite, an t-Oll Alasdair MacIlleBhàin, Òraidiche ann an Onamastaig Cheilteach aig Oilthigh Ghlaschu agus ùghdar … Leugh an corr de Cò bh’ ann an Nighean Sheadna? An t-ainm-àite neo-àbhaisteach aig Sgìre Phàrlamaideach.
Comataidh a’ rannsachadh taic Riaghaltas na h-Alba agus bhuidhnean poblach airson Cànan Soidhnidh Bhreatainn Deich bliadhna às dèidh Achd Cànan Soidhnidh Bhreatainn (Alba) tighinn gu bith, thèid sgrùdadh a dhèanamh le comataidh aig Taigh an Ròid air na rinn Riaghaltas na h-Alba agus buidhnean poblach gus dèiligeadh ris na cnapan-starra a tha mu choinneamh luchd-cleachdaidh … Leugh an corr de Fios naidheachd: Beachdan gan sireadh air Cànan Soidhnidh Bhreatainn
Tha Pàrlamaid na h-Alba a’ sireadh beachdan an t-sluaigh air mar a tha iad a’ gabhail pàirt san obair againn. Ma tha thu thu air a bhith an sàs ann an obair na Pàrlamaid roimhe, cò ris a bha e coltach? Mur eil thu air a bhith an sàs ann roimhe, dè tha gad chumail … Leugh an corr de Suirbhidh com-pàirteachais
Ann am Pàirt 1 ar sgeulachd, dh’fhàg sinn an t-Urr. Tormod MacLeòid a’ meòrachadh mu eilthireachd a-rithist, a-mach à Ceap Breatainn, is a’ bheatha an sin air fàs ro dhoirbh dhan tuineachadh aige leis a’ ghort air fàire is cùisean a’ dol am miosad san fharsaingeachd. Ach càit’ an rachadh iad?
Dìreach aig an àm sin, 1848, thàinig litir à Astràilia, far an robh Dòmhnall, am mac a bu shine aige, air tuineachadh, a’ moladh beatha, fearann is aimsir thall an sin, agus a’ brosnachadh an teaghlaich a thighinn ann cuideachd. Bha sin mar chomharra do Thormod is dhan treud dìleas aige, agus cha b’ fhada gus an robh iad a’ togail long a bhiodh freagarrach dhan t-siubhal fhada – a’ Margaret, ainm nighean Thormoid, dèanta à fiodh à fearann Thormoid fhèin. Lean iad orra le togail longan eile cuideachd. Anns an Dàmhair 1851 dh’fhàg Tormod is a’ chiad 135 tuinichean Baile Anna, agus ràinig iad Adelaide anns a’ Ghiblean 1852. Lean an Highland Lass orra sìa mìosan às dèidh sin. ‘S e neach-ghnìomhachais math a bh’ ann an Tormod – reic e am fearann aige airson prìs maith gus an t-siubhal a phàigheadh is an uair sin fhuair e prìs mhath eile airson a’ Margaret ann an Sydney, gus fearann is teachd an tìr thall an sin a mhaoineachadh dhan teaghlach ‘s dhan luchd-leantainn an toiseach.
Canvas Town, Melbourne
Ach bha briseadh-dùil cruaidh a’ feitheamh orra – bha Dòmhnall air imrich a Melbourne, agus cha robh fearann gu leòr dha na h-eilthirich à Ceap Breatainn gus tuineachadh a stèidheachadh ann an sgìre Adelaide. Lean iad Dòmhnall is chaidh iad a Melbourne cuideachd. Ach san eadar-àm bha Astràilia air a glacadh le fiabhras an òir, agus cha robh fearann math ri fhaighinn ach airson phrìsean ana-mhòr. B’ fheudar dhaibh fuireach ann an teantaichean còmhla ris na mìltean eile a bha air tòir an òir. Chaidh cuid de na fir a lorg obair aig na “diggings”, oir bha airgead a dhìth orra. Chunnaic Tormod gun robh a threud a’ fàs sgapte am measg mì-mhoraltachd, misg is sainnt, fada nas miosa na bha ann am Pictou às dèidh a’ chiad eilthireachd. Agus an uair sin thàinig rud fiù ‘s na bu mhiosa – am fiabhras breac. Chaochail trì de na mic aige fhèin an ceann sìa mìosan. Co-dhùin e agus a’ mhòr-chuid den treud Astràilia fhàgail.
Chuala iad gun robh fearann ri fhaighinn ann an Eilean a Tuath, Sealainn Nuadh – agus leis nach robh òr an sin, bhiodh cùisean na bu shàmhaiche, is na bu shaoire. Sgrìobh Tormod litir dhan Riaghladair agus fhuair iad cead tuineachadh an sin, agus fiù ‘s leis a h-uile duine ann an aon sgìre, gus am biodh an treud còmhla agus Gàidhlig ga bruidhinn. Reic iad an Highland Lass agus cheannaich iad an Gazelle. Ràinig iad Auckland an an 1853 agus às dèidh iomadh dàil is duilgheadas fhuair iad cead tuineachadh ann an sgìre Waipu, fearann air a cheannachd bho na Maoiri leis an Riaghaltas, an ceann a tuath Eilein a Tuath. Dh’fhuirich cuid à Alba Nuadh ann an Adelaide is Melbourne, cuid eile ann an Auckland, far an robh iomadh Gàidheal eile, ach bha deagh bhuidheann air fhàgail airson an tuineachaidh ùir ann an Waipu bho 1854 a-mach.
Leig iad fios gu Baile Anna dè cho freagarrach ‘s a bha an t-àite, agus thàinig ceithir longan eile à Ceap Breatainn a Waipu, is mu 900 daoine a’ fuireach an sin an ceann ùine ghoirid. Seo na longan mu dheireadh ar sgeulachd: Gertrude (1856), Spray (1857), Breadalbane (1858), agus Ellen Lewis (1860)
A’ chiad eaglais / the first church
Shoirbhich le muinntir na h-Alba Nuaidh an sin le tuathanas, iasgach, togail bhàtaichean is malairt, fiù ‘s na b’ fheàrr na ann am Baile Anna an toiseach; b‘ ann mar gun do ràinig Tormod agus a threud am Fearann a’ Gheallaidh mu dheireadh thall. Chaochail Tormod ann an 1866, aig aois 85, fhathast athair a pharaiste. Agus ‘s e baile gu math “Albannach” a th’ ann an Waipu gus an latha an-diugh, le cuimhneachain is soidhnichean Gàidhealach is Gàidhlig air feadh an àite, is na Geamaichean Gàidhealach as motha ann an Sealainn Nuadh air an cumail an sin gach Latha na Bliadhn’ Ùire. Tha iad uabhasach moiteil às na tùsan aca, agus tha taigh-tasgaidh anabarrach math ann le sgeul Thormoid agus an sinnsearan, na h-eilthirich fhad-bheatha ghaisgeil seo.
In Part 1 of our story, we left the Rev Norman McLeod pondering emigration again, away from Cape Breton, where life had become increasingly difficult for the settlement with famine on the horizon and the situation in general worsening. But where would they go?
Just at that time, in 1848, a letter arrived from Australia, where Norman’s eldest son Donald had settled, praising the life, land and climate there, and encouraging the family to come over too. That was like a sign to Norman and his faithful flock, and it wasn’t long before they were building a ship which would be suitable for the long voyage – the Margaret, called after Norman’s daughter, and made from timber from his own land. They carried on building further ships too. In October 1851 Norman and the first 135 settlers left St Ann’s, reaching Adelaide in April 1852. The Highland Lassfollowed them 6 months later. Norman was a good businessman – he sold his land for a good price to finance the voyage, and then got another good price for the Margaret in Sydney, to pay for land and initial subsistence for his family and followers.
Rudan air an toirt à Alba Nuadh / items brought from Nova Scotia
But another bitter disappointment was awaiting them – Donald had meanwhile moved to Melbourne, and there wasn’t enough available land for the Cape Breton immigrants to found a settlement in the Adelaide region. So they followed Donald to Melbourne. But in the meantime Australia had been gripped by gold fever, and good land was only to be had for exorbitant prices. They had to live in tent towns along with the thousands who had come in search of gold. Some of the men set off to find work at the “diggings”, as they were short of money. Norman saw that his flock was beginning to break up in an environment of immorality, drunkenness and greed, far worse than in Pictou after their first emigration. And then came something even worse – typhoid. Three of his own sons died within 6 months. He and the majority of the flock decided to leave Australia.
An Australian Gold Diggings, Edwin Stockqueler (1829-1900) (Wikipedia)
They heard that there was land to be had in New Zealand’s North Island, and since there was no gold there, things would be calmer, and cheaper. Norman wrote to the Governor and they received permission to settle there – and even (unusually) all in one area, so that the community would remain together and be able to speak Gaelic. They sold the Highland Lass and bought theGazelle. They reached Auckland in 1853, and after various delays and difficulties were permitted to settle in the Waipu area, on land bought by the government from the Maoris, in the north of North Island. Some of the Nova Scotians had stayed in Adelaide or Melbourne, and some in Auckland, where there were many other Gaels, but a sizeable group remained for the new settlement in Waipu from 1854 on.
A’ chiad taigh aig teaghlach MhicLeòid ann an Waipu / the Mcleods’ first house in Waipu
They sent word to St Ann’s of how suitable this place was, and four other ships came to Waipu from Cape Breton, bringing the numbers up to 900 settlers within a fairly short time. These were the last ships in our story: Gertrude (1856), Spray (1857), Breadalbane (1858) and Ellen Lewis (1860).
The Nova Scotians prospered there with farming, fishing, boat-building and trade, even more so than they initially did in St Ann’s; it seemed as if Norman and his flock had finally reached their Promised Land. Norman died in 1866, aged 85, still the father of his parish. And Waipu has remained a very “Scottish” town to this day, with Highland and Gaelic memorials and signs, and the biggest Highland Gathering in New Zealand held there every New Year. They’re extremely proud of their roots and there’s an exceptionally good museum there with the story of Norman and their ancestors, those heroic lifelong emigrants.
Dealbhan eachdraidheil Taigh-tasgaidh Waipu, le taing. Historic photos Waipu Museum, with thanks.
Uaigh Thormoid / Norman’s graveClub Rugbaidh / Rugby Club
Following Island Voices’ recent trip to England, including a visit to the national base for NATECLA (National Association for the Teaching of English and Other Community Languages to Adults) in South and City College Birmingham, it seems only appropriate to highlight the Winter 2025 issue of its journal “Language Issues”. This includes a re-print abridgement of our own report on the history of Island Voices from 2005 to 2013, alongside a suite of other articles from a practitioner perspective with an emphasis on multilingualism and diversity.
Declan Flanagan’s introductory editorial reinforces this point: “Practitioners offer unique insights and innovative strategies and address real-world challenges. Their contributions ensure that research is grounded in practical realities, informs policies, and guides professional development.” We’re grateful to Declan for releasing the PDF to share on the Island Voices site.
Readers can read more about Language Issues and access this and previous issues of the journal through the NATECLA website.
Dè a’ Ghàidhlig a chuireamaid air ‘exploitation’ anns an t-seagh shònraichte a’ ciallachadh a bhith a’ cleachdadh cuideigin no rudeigin ann an dòigh mhì-chothromach no neo-bheusach, mar a mhìnich an OED:
“The action or fact of taking advantage of something or someone in an unfair or unethical manner.”
Tha e coltach gu bheil a’ chiall àicheil dhen fhacal seo reusanta ùr agus gun deach a chleachdadh anns an t-seagh seo sa Bheurla a’ chiad uair anns na 1830an ann an iomradh air an sgrìobhadh aig an t-sòisealach thràth Saint-Simon.
’S e bun-bheachd ro chudromach a th’ ann, ach cha chreid mi gu bheil deagh fhacal Gàidhlig againn fhathast a tha ga riochdachadh gu ceart.
Dh’fhaodamaid a dhol le ‘dubh-shaothrachadh’ gur dòcha, bonntaichte air an fhacal aig na h-Èireannaich ‘dúshaothrú’, ach chan eil fios agam an cleachdar ‘saothair’ ann an dòigh aisigeach ro thric air an taobh againne de Shruth na Maoile (.i. a’ ciallachadh rudeigin a tha a’ faighinn obair seach cuideigin a tha a’ dèanamh obair). Cuideachd, tha am buadhair ‘dubh’ caran farsaing. Bu toil leam rudeigin nas mionaidich.
Mar sin, tha mi a’ dol a dh’fheuchainn ‘daor-chleachdadh’. Tha mi a’ faireachdainn, ann an co-theagsa, gum bi ciall a’ bhriathair seo reusanta trìd-shoilleir. Tha mi a’ moladh ‘daor’ anns an t-seann seagh ‘unfree, servile, laborious’ (faicibh ‘doír’ ann an eDIL). Gheibhear an ro-leasaichean seo anns na faclan ‘daor-mhaighstir’ (oppressor), daor-ghille (slave), agus ‘daor-thaigh’ (prison).
Is toil leam e, ach dè ur beachdan-se?
Dealbh: Coalbrookdale by Night, Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1801
With a multilingual trip down Memory Lane, Island Voices visits Central England, in a new contribution to the CIALL-supported “Extensions” initiative. This collection comprises a short documentary introduction – available in various community languages now spoken in the UK – plus a range of recorded conversations and interviews about the 1980s Industrial Language Training (ILT) service, each recorded in a particular language, but made accessible for non-speakers or learners of that language through YouTube subtitling and/or a supporting Clilstore transcript.
Scripted Documentary
The documentary uses a scripted narrative to follow three Birmingham ILT workers as they meet together for the first time in 40 years in their old workplace. The film introduces various aspects of the ILT programme, from onsite teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) to training and advice in Equal Opportunities and Anti-Racism, as well as innovative support for Community Languages. Team members also visit other key locations and organisations, such as the office of NATECLA, the National Association for the Teaching of English and other Community Languages to Adults, and recall the BBC “Hindi Urdu Bol Chaal Club” in a Soho Road restaurant. Multiple versions of the film are available in English, Gaelic, Jamaican, Welsh, and nine of the South Asian languages spoken most widely in the UK by census results.
Here’s the English version:
And here’s the Clilstore English transcript, with the video embedded, incorporating one-click access to online dictionary support for any unfamiliar vocabulary: https://multidict.net/cs/12354
To see the video narrated in another language, click on the landscape poster (or phone-friendly portrait option) to choose your own preferred version of the documentary. Or choose from the table below for the equivalent Clilstore unit.
The interviews and conversations are accessible through the same landscape or portrait links, or directly through the bold blue titles below, and they comprise live and unscripted samples of authentic speech. YouTube subtitles are available through the Closed Caption (CC) button, and viewers on a laptop or desktop computer should also be able to get these auto-translated into the language of their choice through the Settings Wheel. Every film (except the first short introduction and the 3-way English discussion) is also accompanied by a Clilstore transcript. Links to rough written English translations are also available via the video description and reproduced below. In some cases where reference is made to related postgraduate study, links are also given to participants’ own papers from the time to give a sense of contemporary research and debate about then dominant issues from a practitioner perspective.
The opening conversational clip quickly introduces the three former members of Birmingham Industrial Language Training Services featured in the documentary, as they speak Punjabi or Hindi to briefly outline their ILT experience and say where it eventually led them. Subtitles in both these languages are available, including for auto-translation if necessary.
Speaking in Urdu at some length, Nazir ul Haq, last leader of the Birmingham ILT team of the mid-1980s before its absorption into the college, offers memories and reflections – judiciously supplemented with quotations from well-known Urdu poets – on the work of the local unit, as well as the national service, during that time. This clip is an amalgamation of a series of short recordings that Nazir made over a number of days, as detailed with links below, in which, alongside critical analysis, he also creates a humane picture of the team’s mission and working ethos, with poignant reminiscences and tributes to those no longer with us.
00:09Introduction 02:04ILT 1980s role 06:16Memory and reminiscence 09:53Personal journey 14:57Equal Opportunities: appreciation of colleagues and contributions 19:35Summary critique of ILT approach to racism awareness and anti-racism
Nazir also mentions his PhD-level postgraduate studies at Birmingham University during the same period, and his continuing association with the university after the closure of ILT. For an example of his work in the area of diaspora formation with specific reference to the Kashmiri community you can read his paper presented some years later at a conference in Budapest: Diaspora Formation and Ethnic National Mobilisation of Kashmiris in Britain: A Reflective Case Study.
Speaking Punjabi, Sardul Dhesi, retired Deputy Principal of South and City College Birmingham, gives a summary account of his 48-year Further Education career in the city, including his time with Birmingham ILT in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His time with ILT was a seminal period for him, including a one-year secondment to get a Master’s degree in Race and Education, from which he never looked back. Also important to him were his trade union links, with particular regard to equality initiatives. Over his long subsequent career, he occupied increasingly senior positions in what has become the biggest college in the West Midlands.
Speaking Hindi, Harmesh Manghra, retired Inspector of Education, recounts the various stages of his career in some detail, including his time with Birmingham ILT in the early 1980s. He starts with the multilingual education he received in India before arriving in the UK, when job opportunities were initially limited despite his qualifications. But his time with ILT provided a springboard into a varied and stimulating career across various educational sectors. Even in retirement he remains committed to easing newcomers’ passage through educational opportunities.
Speaking Gaelic, Gordon Wells, researcher with the CIALL project, outlines his career path, including his time with Birmingham ILT in the 1980s and what he learned from that experience for use in later years, including with Island Voices. It was the rising interest in “Mother Tongue” maintenance that inspired him to start learning Gaelic, and his experience working on the BBC’s “Hindi Urdu Bol Chaal” series that developed his interest in recording speech in particular. This was reinforced by the ILT emphasis on close community connection with the day-to-day concerns of working people.
Gordon’s research topic for his 1987 dissertation for the MSc in Applied Linguistics at Edinburgh University, while on secondment from ILT, was on Concepts of “Mother Tongue” and “Native Speaker” in Relation to the Teaching of Languages to Adults. This paper, later cited in Professor Alan Davies’ 1991 book “The Native Speaker in Applied Linguistics”, anticipated by some years a now longstanding debate on the question of “native” vis-à-vis “non-native” English speaking teachers.
Suman Watts came into ILT from a broadcasting background on local radio. She briefly explains in Hindi that she put these skills to good use in helping prepare audio-visual teaching materials. In her later career she helped not only English learners, but also learners of community languages like Hindi and Urdu, within the context of the issues and principles that informed the ILT ethos.
Speaking Bangla, Muhammad Idrish, who worked at the neighbouring Asian Resource Centre in the 1980s, offers succinct memories of friends and colleagues in the Birmingham Industrial Language Training team (as well as the Dudley team), and their contribution to the anti-racism movement in the community, including the NALGO-supported nationwide Muhammad Idrish Defence Campaign.
In this longer conversational extract Harmesh and Sardul, speaking Punjabi, recall shifts in focus of the ILT service at national and regional levels from language teaching, through cultural and racism awareness training, to structural analysis of social problems. Their career development paths took them on to West Midlands-wide initiatives with an emphasis on greater community engagement by colleges, opening local centres and providing appropriate facilities. Statistics now show far greater proportions of Black and Asian staff and students engaged in Further Education.
This is an extended three-way conversation in English between Sardul, Harmesh, and Gordon about the ILT legacy, with a particular focus on language support in relation to both ESOL and Community Languages:
00:06First reminiscences and appreciations
The three recall how ILT launched them into their professional careers under the guidance of Clarice Brierley, then leader of a dynamic team. 04:12Bilingualism, ESOL, and Community Languages
Harmesh and Sardul were among the first bilingual ESOL teachers whose skills in other languages were recognised and increasingly valued, when Mother Tongue maintenance was also beginning to be raised as an issue, and NATESLA changed its name to NATECLA and established a national base in the college. 10:05Materials development
The local authority’s supportive approach to staff development was instrumental in enabling team members to develop new skills and ideas, including Gordon’s role in the innovative BBC Hindi Urdu Bol Chaal project. 13:12Community context
The ILT approach to ESOL and Community Languages was strong on addressing language learning in the grounded reality of the learners’ own situation, so community linkage was essential. The team members discuss how this guiding principle can be equally applied in other language contexts, for example with Gaelic in Scotland or many endangered languages in India. 16:05Confidence issues
Team members share stories from personal or family experience of assimilative social pressures to suppress mother tongue use – whether Punjabi or Gaelic – and a Punjabi summer school initiative in the college is noted. 19:28Final reflections
Lastly, each member reinforces the learning and confidence-building benefits of their early involvement in ILT, whether in relation to language skills and use, subsequent career paths, or social justice concerns, noting also how some issues first tackled 40 years ago, for example around workplace learning, remain prevalent today.
Linguistic Diversity
In conclusion, we may note that the year 1984 is now further back in the past than it was then still in the future when the dying George Orwell was putting the final touches to his doom-laden “Nineteen Eighty-Four” novel in a writer’s hideaway on the Hebridean Isle of Jura. Central to the workings of the totalitarian society he was predicting was “Newspeak” – a reduced and distorted officially approved form of language with a simplified grammar and reduced vocabulary, intended to promote social conformism and inhibit critical thinking.
This project is a new contribution from those we might now literally call “Old Speakers”(!), which looks back at the linguistic reality of the actual 1984 of urban England through the eyes of ILT staff and associates who were there at the time, with the benefit of their now 40 years of hindsight. If Orwell could have come back to visit us in the 1984 of real history he might well have been first shocked, then perhaps relieved on reflection, to find ample evidence of significantly increased linguistic diversity compared to the England he knew, at least at grassroots community level. It’s a confounding contrast, rooted in lived community reality, to the uniform and restrictive Newspeak monolingualism against which he had imaginatively warned.
We are deeply indebted to all the contributors who have made this collection possible. In addition to those appearing onscreen, we must also note particularly the crucial assistance of Professor Udaya Narayana Singh, a longterm partner in Mediating Multilingualism, in co-ordinating the South Asian language translation and transcription work with his team of collaborators. In a previous “Talking Points with Norman Maclean” contribution he references the concept of “jugaaR” to illustrate a South Asian propensity for inclusive linguistic accommodation. And in a more recent lecture for Bhasha Mela he similarly contrasts the Orwellian vision of 1984 with the historical facts of interlingual coexistence in South Asia, thus providing an alternative optimistic vision and rationale for maintaining cultural diversity. With that in mind, we also thank and salute Audrey West, another of our Talking Points collaborators and Extensions pioneers, for her continuing determined local promotion of the Jamaican language. We are also delighted that Magaidh Smith consented to take part in true vernacular Gaelic style, and we welcome the fresh Welsh voice of long-settled Grimsay resident, Rhodri Evans. In the face of encroaching Anglophone monoculture, every similar contribution underlines the value of ongoing linguistic diversity.
Island Voices’ collection of Welsh recordings continues to grow as the Extensions “ripple effect” makes itself increasingly felt.
We already had Welsh versions as integral parts of the Audrey West and Martin MacIntyre packages – for obvious reasons! – with Ifor ap Glyn providing the voiceover on both occasions. We’re delighted to announce that Ifor has now gone on to provide us with the same service for both Christie Williamson and Donald S Murray as well.
Às dèidh an t-siubhail agam a dh’Astràilia san t-Samhain, chaidh mi a Shealainn Nuadh, agus an sin ‘s e baile beag Waipu, Eilean a Tuath, a bha am measg nan ceann-uidhe a bu chudromaiche dhomh. Carson? Uill, ‘s e ceann-uidhe sònraichte a bh’ ann do Ghàidheil eile, mu 175 bliadhna air ais. Ach cha do ghabh iad idir an t-slighe dhìreach… Agus mar sin, bidh mi a’ sgrìobhadh mun dèidhinn thairis air dà artaigil. Seo sgeulachd tarraingeach mu cheannardas cruaidh, dhaoine dàna agus na soithichean fiodha bunanta aca.
Feumaidh sinn a dhol air ais a dh’Ulapul aig toiseach den 19mh linn. Bha duine òg à Asainte ann, air an robh Tormod MacLeòid, a bha na thìdsear san sgòil-eaglais an sin mu 1815. Duine foghlaimte a bh’ ann, le MA à Obar Dheathain is Bonn Òr airson Feallsanachd Moralta, agus bha e air Diadhachd a thòiseachadh ann an Dùn Èideann cuideachd. Ach dh’fhàg e an cùrsa is e a’ creidsinn an dà chuid gun robh an eaglais cus fo bhuaidh nan uachdaranan, agus gun robh na ministeirean fhèin ro shaoghalta, chan ann diadhaidh gu leòr – bha esan airson tilleadh dha na prionnsapalan teann Calvin is Knox.
Agus san dreuchd mar thidsear ann an Ulapul cha robh e slaodach le càineadh den aon seòrsa, gu h-àraidh an aghaidh ministeir an àite. Aig an aon àm, bha MacLeòid a’ searmonachadh air a cheann fhèin, le a theachdaireachd làidir neo-strìochdail, agus coltas drùidteach air – bha e àrd, dèanta, le guth cumhachdach – agus a chliù a’ sìor fhàs am measg muinntir an àite, ged nach ann san eaglais stèidhichte. Às dèidh dha a bhith dà bhliadhna san sgòil, chaill e an obair, agus b’ fheudar dha obair mar iasgair a ghabhail ann an Inbhir Uige.
Thòisich e ri meòrachadh mu eilthireachd a Chanada, mar a rinn mòran eile sa Ghàidhealtachd aig an àm, san dòchas gum biodh cùisean na b’ fheàrr thall an sin. Bha an t-iasgach air a phàigheadh na b’ fheàrr na teagasg, agus ann an 1817 bha gu leòr de dh’airgead aige gus siubhal bho Ulapul gu Pictou, air costa tuath na h-Alba Nuaidh, air an long eilthireach Frances Ann, agus an teaghlach aige goirid às dèidh sin. Sin a chiad siubhal, is a’ chiad long nar sgeulachd.
Ann am Pictou cha robh am beatha thùsaireach gharbh cho furasda dhan teaghlach an toiseach, ach bha sgilean practaigeach gu leòr aca mar-thà agus bha Gàidheil eile ann cuideachd. Agus cha b’ fhada gus an robh MacLeòid ri searmonachadh a-rithist, mar as àbhaist an aghaidh mì-mhoraltachd sa bhaile ‘s san eaglais, mar a chunnaic e cùisean an sin cuideachd – fìor bhriseadh-dùil dha a bha sin. Ach bha mòran luchd-leantainn aige a-rithist, na “Normanites” mar a bha orra, agus nuair a phlanaig e a dh’fhalbh gus coimhearsnachd ùr a stèidheachadh, air a ruith air prionnsapalan a’ Bhìobaill, bha gu leòr de na Gàidheil deiseil is deònach a dhol leis an t-searmonaiche tarraingeach is ceannard comasach seo.
Tha coltas ann gun robh iad a’ smaoineachadh an toiseach mu Ohio, far an robh luchd-aithne aig MacLeòid, ach co-dhiù thog iad sgùinear, air ainmeachadh an Àirc le muinntir Phictou (an dàrna long is turas againn), agus dh’fhalbh a chiad bhuidheann ann an 1819, a’ seòladh timcheall air Ceap Breatainn, eilean mòr a tha na phàirt sear de Alba Nuadh, far an robh barrachd fearainn ri fhaighinn do thuinichean. Air sgàth stoirm, landaig iad ann am BàghSt Ann’s, acarsaid mhath ann an linne air costa an ear an eilein, agus bha coltas freagarrach air, le rùm gu leòr is èisg am pailteas. Le sin, thog na Normanites ann am Pictou sia soithichean eile agus thàinig iadsan cuideachd ann an 1820. Cha b’ fhada gus an tàinig eilthirich Ghàidhealach eile, cuid dìreach à Alba fhèin. A rèir coltais bha mu 700 tuinichean an sin aig a’ cheann thall.
‘S e tuineachadh gu math soirbheachail a bh’ ann am Baile Anna, is na Gàidheil dìcheallach is sgileil mar thuathanaich ‘s mar mharaichean, agus le bhith a’ togail bhàtaichean ‘s a’ malart. Bha fiodh gu leòr aca – craobhan am pailteas seach mar a bha air oir an iar na Gàidhealtachd is sna h-Eileanan. San eadar-àm dh’obair Tormod fhèin mar thidsear agus mar bhàillidh, agus nuair a chaidh aige air cead fhaighinn gu bhith na mhinistear oifigeil mu dheireadh thall (ann an Nuadh Eabhrac, fada air falbh bho bhuaidh Eaglais na h-Alba no Eaglais Cheap Bhreatainn), dh’fhaod e pòsaidhean is baistidhean a choileanadh na threud cuideachd.
Mar sin bha e na cheannard os cionn beatha shìobhalta is spioradail an tuineachaidh. Cha robh e airson tuarastal fhaighinn airson sin – san àite bha a h-uile dùil aige gum biodh na fir ag obair air an lot aige, fhad ‘s a rinn esan obair Dhè – foghlam is searmonachadh. Ruith a h-uile rud an sin tron Ghàidhlig cuideachd, is a’ chlann ag ionnsachadh leughadh tron Bhìoball Ghàidhlig agus ga leughadh aig an taigh dha na seann daoine aig nach robh comas leughaidh. Cha robh a h-uile duine toilichte leis an dòigh-bheatha cho riaghailte seo, ach mar às abhaist, dh’fhalbh iadsan a-rithist, agus tha coltas gun robh a’ mhòr-chuid riaraichte. A dh’aindeoin nan geamhraidhean cruaidh, leis an dèigh a’ glasadh nan slighean-mara gu tric, bha iad ann an àite sàbhailte, sìtheil, math eagraichte, agus gu ìre mhath soirbheachail, agus bha iad taingeil air a shon.
Ach às dèidh mu 25 bliadhna, thòisich cùisean ri atharrachadh. Bha na bliadhnaichean mòr-phailteis seachad, agus na bliadhnaichean gorta a’ tighinn. ‘S ann gun robh malairt an fhiodha a’ dol an lughad, cha robh an t-iasgach cho prothaideach às dèidh aonta-malairt ùir le Ameireaga, agus cha robh fearann gu leòr tuilleadh is àireamh an t-sluaigh a’ sìor dol an àird. Agus an uair sin, ann an 1847, thàinig galaran a’ bhuntàta agus na cruithneachd dhan sgìre cuideachd. Cha robh sìol ùr ri fhaighinn, agus muinntir an tuineachaidh fo eagal na gorta. Cha tug athchuinge èiginneach dhan Riaghaltas an cuideachadh a bha a dhith. Agus thòisich an t-Urramach Tormod MacLeòid, aig aois 67, ri meòrachadh mu eilthireachd a-rithist….
Agus càite, an turas seo? Faigh a-mach ann am Pàirt 2! (Agus chan e Sealainn Nuadh a bh’ ann…)
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Waipu’s amazing story (1)
After my trip to Australia in November I went on to New Zealand, and one of my most important destinations there was the wee town of Waipu, North island. Why? Well, it was also the very particular destination of some other Highlanders, around 175 years ago. But they didn’t exactly take the direct route… And that’s why I’m spreading their story over two articles. This is a fascinating story of iron leadership, intrepid people and their sturdy wooden vessels.
We have to go back first of all to Ullapool at the beginning of the 1800s. There was a young man from Assynt there, a Norman McLeod, who was the teacher in the church school around 1815. He was an educated man with am MA from Aberdeen and a Gold Medal in Moral Philosophy, and he’d also started a Diivinity degree in Edinburgh. But he left the course as he believed both that the church was too much under the influence of the heritors (the landowners who funded the parishes and got to pick the ministers) and that the ministers themseves were too worldly and not godly enough – he wanted to return to the strict principles of Calvin and Knox.
And in his job as teacher in Ullapool he also didn’t hold back with criticism of the same sort, particularly against the local minister. At the same time McLeod was lay-preaching, and with his strong, uncompromising message, and imposing appearance – he was tall and well-built with a carrying voice – he won quite a reputation with the people of the area, if not exactly with the established church. After serving two years in the school he lost that job and had to take work as a fisherman in Wick.
He began to consider emigrating to Canada, as so many in the Highlands did at that time, in the hope that things would be better there. Fishing actually paid better than teaching, and by 1817 he had enough money to sail from Ullapool to Pictou, in northern Nova Scotia, in the emigrant ship the Frances Ann, with his family following shortly after. And that’s only the first of the voyages, and the first of the ships in our story.
Fishing fleet, Nova Scotia 19thC
In Pictou the rough pioneer life was hard for the family at first, but they had plenty of practical skills and there were other Gaels there too. And it wasn’t long before McLeod was at the preaching again, as usual ranting against immorality in the township and the church, as he saw it there too – a bitter disappointment to him. But he again acquired plenty of devotees, the so-called “Normanites”, and when he started planning to go off and found a new community, run on Biblical principles, there were enough Gaels who were ready and willing to go along with this charismatic preacher and capable leader.
It seems they first considered Ohio, as McLeod had contacts there, but in any case they built a schooner, dubbed theArk by the Pictou folk (our second ship and voyage), and the first group set off in 1819 sailing round Cape Breton, the large island that forms the eastern part of Nova Scotia, where there was more land available for settlers. A storm drove them to shelter in St Ann’sBay, a good anchorage on an inlet in the east coast, and they decided it was a suitable place to settle, with plenty of space and abundant fishing. Hearing that, the Normanites in Pictou built 6 more boats and and they too arrived in 1820. It wasn’t long before other Highlanders followed, some straight from Scotland. Seemingly there were ultimately around 700 settlers over time.
St Ann’s(Baile Anna) became a very successful settlement, the Gaels being hard-working and skilled in farming and as seamen, and also in boat-building and trading. They had plenty of wood for that – trees in abundance, unlike on the west coast and the Western Isles back home. Meanwhile Norman McLeod was busy as the teacher and also the magistrate, and when he finally got his licence as a minister (in New York, far away from the influence of the church in Scotland and Cape Breton), he was also able to carry out marriages and baptisms in his flock.
He was therefore now in overall charge of the civil and spiritual life of the settlement. He didn’t want a salary for that – instead he expected the men to do the work on his piece of land, while he did the work of God – teaching and preaching. Everything operated in Gaelic, the children learning to read via the Scriptures, and then reading them to the old folk at home who couldn’t read. Not everyone was happy with this highly regulated way of life, but such people usually left, and the majority seemed content enough. Despite the hard winters and the sea-ways often getting ice-bound, they saw the benefits of a secure, peaceful, well-ordered and largely prosperous place to live.
After about 25 years, however, things began to change. The years of plenty were past, and the lean years about to come. The timber trade had begun to decline, fishing became less profitable after a new trade agreement with America, and there wasn’t enough land for the ever-growing population. And to top it all, in 1847 both potato blight and wheat rust hit the area. There was no new seed to be had, and the population lived in fear of imminent famine. Desperate petitions to the government didn’t bring the much-needed help. And the Reverend Norman McLeod began, at the age of 67, to think once again about emigration….
And where to this time? Find out in Part 2! (And it wasn’t New Zealand…)
The St Ann’s petition to the Nova Scotia government
Dealbhan bho Thaigh-tasgaidh Waipu, le taing/ Pictures from Waipu Museum, with thanks.
Following Island Voices’ 
