New exhibition at Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre explores 100 years of North Talisker history
The new exhibition at the Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre, which aims to mark and celebrate the centenary of the repeopling of North Talisker is now open.
Drawing on various archive collections, the exhibition looks at early history of North Talisker up to the arrival of the settlers and development of the community over a 100 year period.
This exhibition is set to be an incredible in-depth exploration of North Talisker history. Families from Harris, Lewis, and some areas of Skye began arriving as part of the planned repopulation, taking possession of crofting tenancies on 68 new holdings created through the Land Resettlement Act Scotland 1919. This was the largest single repopulation undertaken in Scotland because of the ‘land for heroes’ initiative after the First World War. Hence, the name of the exhibition – ‘A land fit for heroes’ – is very much inspired by this fact. The families began arriving on the 20th of May 1923, with the last being placed on the newly created crofts by November 1924. The exhibition features audio, visual, and photographic contributions from the Minginish Centenary Project.
This year, 100 years after the first families arrived, many of the first settlers’ descendants gathered at Minginish Hall to reminisce about their remarkable legacy. This exhibition will be an homage to all of these families: their descendants and their origins, but most of all, it will be a celebration of what life looked like for these families 100 years ago, and of how much change has occurred since the clearances.
For further information call the Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre on 01478 614078, email at [email protected], or visit the centre in-person during its opening hours on Dunvegan Road, Portree.
