A BLEAK ISLAND

Hokitika Guardian, 9 August 1930, Page 6

A BLEAK ISLAND

ISOLATION OF ST. KILDA. \ PEOPLE TO BE EVACUATED. LONDON August 19 1 . It has been definitely decided that the St. Kildans shall not be exposed tor another winter to the privations and almost penal isolation of last winter. ;: Last winter, they were four months without a mail, and from August "IP t 6 the third.; week in. April' '■ they had no, imported, foodstuffs.’ -. The- salt ’spume destroyed their efforts at'vegetable'cultivation, and the lack of man" power on the island .had • now ifia-de proper care and attention to the sheep impossible, so that now. the sheep run wild. The. islanders' are a ioVeable, simple, uncorfuptt-d, and healthy ptxP pie preserving old customs’. There ,y; is no crime among them, although'*'the settlement originated’as a •penal- colony for misdemeanants under the hereditary jurisdiction of the MacLeods of MacLeod. The villagers in that bleak, barren, rocky outpost in the Atlantic are unanimous in their desire to remove. A colony migration to the mainland is not possible. For one reason, there, is no crofting knowledge or experience to warrant any group migration similar to that from Lewis and Harris to the Port-nan-Long settlement is Skye, and there is a further difficulty about housing accommodation. It is believed that the islands of Borer ay and Linga,. in the Sound of, Harris, in the same latitude, would form an ideal settlement for the St. Kildans. At one time a number of monks occupied Boreray. Both these, islands are the property .of the Department of Health for Scotland, and there should be no difficulty in arranging for the transfer of the St. Kildans, assuming that they are willing to move. Boreray is a. fertile island, and, altogether, with Linga, is capable of carrying a stock of probably 500 sheep and many ca.ttle. It is situated in fine fishing grounds, while the lobster fishing alone would prove a profitable source of income to the settlers.

The settlement on Boreray would not necessitate a complete severance from St. Kilda. as, after, all St KiUla is only 35 miles distant, and the inhabitants could still utilise that island as a common grazing ground for their sheep and stock, and visit It as the weather permitted.