Lochaber Times From our Files - Thursday April 17
TEN YEARS AGO
Thursday April 16 2005
‘Breakthrough’ made in bid for Mallaig ferry
A Lochaber councillor has welcomed the news that the Mallaig to Lochboisdale ferry could become a permanent, all-year-round service.
The link between the west coast fishing port and South Uist is currently being operated as a three-year pilot service during the winter after many years of not operating at all.
Councillor Allan Henderson, Caol and Mallaig, explained that he had been pushing for a 12-month service for a long time. He said: "Finally, after three Scottish transport ministers and years of asking questions about the Mallaig to Lochboisdale ferry service, we have had a breakthrough and a clear, post-five answer.
"After years of being fobbed off and even appearing before the petitions committee with Angus MacMillan, of Storas Uibhist, I have been assured in writing that the three year pilot service, currently running winter only, will be closely scrutinised taking the weather conditions into account.
"The evaluation will also look at operating company CalMac’s operational requirement to have the ferry in the right place for the Wednesday and Sunday Oban sailings, which has resulted in cancelled sailings to Mallaig on the Tuesday and Saturday."
He added that the current transport minister, Derek Mackay, had also assured him for the first time that "depending on the outcome of the Mallaig to Lochboisdale pilot service evaluation, it will be possible to vary the new contract from October 2016 to include this route."
Councillor Henderson said: "This is a complete breakthrough, as the previous ministers stated the tender and current extended contract could not be altered.
"The contract included absolutely no incentives for the operating company CalMac to make any of the routes more profitable, thereby investing profits to deliver new services.
"This comes as welcome news to Storas Uibhist, Mallaig Harbour Authority and the Outer Isles Tourism group, as well as ferry users, who have been struggling to get on at least 100 fully booked ferries sailing from the Uists and Barra in 2014."
He explained that there had been good ferry links between Mallaig and Lochboisdale in the 1970s, the timetable was then changed to an evening only service and it stopped operating in the 1980s.
And he pointed out that a regular service would enable people to travel via the shortest possible route, meaning they would be on boats for less time.
Councillor Henderson said: "It is also about the extra business that is there to be won.
"It will take pressure off the routes that are fully booked, which must put tourists off coming to the area and result in them going elsewhere.
"This is the first chink of light we have had."
Meanwhile, Highland Council leader Drew Hendry is continuing to seek a further meeting of all interested parties with the transport minister to examine the possibility of including the Mallaig to Lochboisdale service in the current tender document.
TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO
Thursday April 20 2000
Private library to be preserved on Canna
The National Trust for Scotland and Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the Gaelic college on Skye, have reached agreement over the future of a private library on Canna.
It is believed to be the most extensive collection of its kind in Scotland. The books belonged to the late Dr John Lorne Campbell. He gathered them during a lifetime of research into the folklore, history and traditions of the Scottish Highlands.
In 1981 he gifted the Canna Estate, which he bought in 1938, to the National Trust. He lived in Canna House with his wife Margaret Fay Shaw at the time.
She was among 60 people who attended a seminar hosted by Sabhal Mor Ostaig to announce a partnership with The National Trust for Scotland to safeguard and preserve the library.
Professor Ian Cunningham, the trust’s Chairman, and Dr Farquhar MacIntosh, Chairman of the Sabhal Mor Trustees, signed a document in which they pledged to look after the books and make them accessible to scholars around the world. The library will continue to be housed in its Canna home.
The college will provide technological facilities to allow the library and its archives to be easily available to a wide audience.
There are plans to develop it and provide accommodation for personal, seminar or group study. This will make it possible for students and staff to use it for research.
Those attending the seminar were told the new partnership would make possible John Lorne Campbell’s lifelong vision of Canna as a centre for advanced study.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
Thursday April 17 1975
Glendale mourns wise counsellor
His many friends in Glendale, Skye, and elsewhere were extremely sorry to hear of the passing of Mr William MacKinnon.
He belonged to a family, some of whom lived to a very old age. His eldest sister, Marion died in Portree at the age of 102 years, while another, Kate, who was 10 years older than he, is at present a patient in Edinbane Hospital. He was 88 years of age himself.
Billy, as he was popularly known, was the last surviving member of the large number of young and middle aged men, who answered their country’s call in 1914 to join the "Dover Patrol" (Trawler Section), and served as such throughout the whole campaign.
On demobilisation he took over the family business, The Glen Stores. Some years later he was appointed sub-postmaster, converting part of the general stores for postal business. In the mid nineteen thirties, he sold the grocery stores to the SCWS, and erected a building across the main road as a post office.
About that time he married a school teacher from Ayrshire, who was afterwards a devoted and faithful helpmate to him.
She died several years ago, which was a great blow to him, particularly as they had no family.
Having known him since my school days, I found him to be a unique man, of a very sympathetic nature, sociable, a great conversationalist, ready to help people in need of advice or of his service if required.
He was possessed of a retentive memory and a great store of local folklore.
Fort Augustus win junior shinty cup
Fort Augustus junior six-a-side shinty team won the Fraser Challenge Cup last Saturday by defeating Drumnadrochit 3-1 in the final.
Teams from Invergarry, Balnain and Cannich also took part.
The cup was presented to the junior shinty league by the two sisters of the late Mr Hugh Fraser, of Drumnadrochit, who died recently in Canada.
On Saturday of this week a selected team of boys from Skye will play a combination of three boys from each of the above-named teams at Drumnadrochit.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
Saturday April 18 1925
Mr Mathew Robertson
By the death of Mr Mathew Robertson, who passed away on Wednesday. 15th inst., in his 91st year, Sleat, has lost one of its most outstanding and interesting inhabitants.
Though confined to his room for only a few days Mr Robertson had been laid aside from active work by a serious accident which befell him last November.
As recently as September of last year he was made the recipient of a substantial sum of money subscribed by the whole parish as a mark of esteem and in gratitude for his services. Fearless, upright and loyal, Mathew enjoyed in an extraordinary degree the confidence and love of all classes and of all churches.
While ever faithful in discharging all his duties, his heart was most in the invaluable services, which for over 60 years, he had rendered as beadle in the Parish Church.
His father and granduncle had been his immediate predecessors in the same office the last-named having been also a faithful catechist in his day.
Such a record is probably unique in the Church of Scotland.
The funeral was largely attended, several having travelled all the way from Portree to be present. Among the mourners were the two grandsons of Lord MacDonald. After a joint service the remains were reverently laid to rest in the kirkyard of Kilmore, which he himself had looked after for so long.
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