Caithness.org News Bulletins

Eigg History Secured for the Future

A fascinating new collection of photographs depicting the social history of the Island of Eigg can now be viewed at Inverness City Museum thanks to the work of the Eigg Historical Society.

Over 2,000 images have been collected, arranged and labelled into collections named after the donors. They include a rich diversity of material on the social history of the island. The pictures have been copied, with collections housed both on Eigg in the Day Care Centre in Cleadale, and also in Inverness, as part of Inverness Museums permanent collections. Project Organiser, Peter Wade-Martins explains: "Changes on Eigg have been so rapid it is easy to forget what life was like such a short time ago. Almost the only sources we have are oral accounts and old photographs for both of these we are now looking at a closing door. Recording this disappearing evidence is important for the island if it is to maintain its sense of tradition and understanding of the past."

In light of this, The Eigg Historical Society set up a project to search out, copy and study photographs and oral history of island life, after obtaining funding from the Scottish Millennium Festival Awards for All fund. Both on and off the island of Eigg, families have been turning out their cupboards and sideboards looking for old images of the island and its people.  Jane Petrie, Highland Councils Social Historian said: "This project has been a successful model of how a community can work together to safeguard evidence of its heritage and it demonstrates how important it is to deposit duplicate sets of images in a recognised museum archive to ensure its longevity."

The images are available for public viewing at Inverness Museum by appointment with Jane Petrie, Social Historian, tel: 01463 237114.

A selection of the images may also be viewed on the islands new web site www.isleofeigg.org  This is an on-going project, with copies of new material being added as it is found. Should anyone have images of Eigg they would like to submit, please contact Dr. Peter Wade-Martins, (01362) 668435, or hand them
in to Inverness Museum who will gladly forward them.