HIGHLAND SHORTBREAD HEADS FOR HYDE PARK
One of the Highlands' signature products is about to grace central Sydney, and seduce a whole new following of devotees.
Nerida Barnsley has been invited to offer tastes and sales of her famous Highland Shortbread in Hyde Park for Sydney Scottish Heritage Week, held around St Andrews Day (30th November) annually.
Sutton Forest’s A Little Piece of Scotland will be represented at the Gathering in Hyde Park – this year’s flagship event for Sydney’s Scottish community. Thousands of visitors are expected to converge on the Sydney oasis for a day of celebration of the nation’s Scottish heritage.
“The Gathering will resemble our own Brigadoon in many respects” says Nerida.
“The day’s activities include pipe bands, Highland dancing, the Highland Cavaliers, Scottish fiddle music, Scottish songs and poetry, and a Celtic Market Place.
“Just as at Bundanoon, every April, the highlight of the day will be a display of strength and endurance by the Tartan Warriors. They’ll race against the clock to lift the Bundanoon Stones – which have become rolling ambassadors for the Southern Highlands. We always feel very proud when we see these giant spheres of sandstone, knowing that they were quarried in Bundanoon and carry the Bundanoon name.”
Nerida described as very positive the move to Hyde Park from Sydney’s Domain (where the gathering has been held previously).
“We’ll have more space and shade, and the park is right beside the central business district of Australia’s largest city, and just opposite the Sheraton Hotel. This will allow us better to tell the story of the pivotal role that Scots have played in founding a new nation.
“For example, it’s good for a new generation of Australians to know that three of the first six colonial governors were Scots (Macquarie, Hunter and Brisbane). That says much about their flair for high office, national service, and sound public administration.
“The Scots also excelled in engineering, law, medicine, education, science and the humanities.
“They had an eye for practical methods and results – a quality of vital importance in a precarious penal settlement at the extreme edge of the British Empire.
“Lachlan Macquarie took over administration of New South Wales in 1810 in the wake of a mutiny against of his predecessor, Bligh. He left it 12 years later with a host of enduring public works, a new sense of identity (a colony instead of a gaol), and the foundations of a new and independent nation.
“I am proud to say that he is a kinsman of mine, and equally proud to be representing the Southern Highlands in Sydney for Sydney Scottish Heritage Week.
“This is a wonderful occasion to ‘wave the tartan’ among potential visitors to the Highlands, and to introduce them to just one of the many attractions we have to offer here” Nerida concluded.
Speaking for the Scottish Australian Heritage Council, its President Dr Frank Sutherland Davidson explained the objectives of the celebrations:
“Australians of Scottish descent have inherited their ancestors' traditions of learning, sound management, scientific know-how, cultural enlightenment – and plain hard work. But they continue to find time for a wee dram, a slab of shortbread, and the music of the pipes and the fiddle.
“Australians who are interested to know more about their Scottish heritage can visit the Scottish Clans Village where genealogical information is freely available – or they can take part in any of the fun events, including the Kilted Dash.
“This year's celebrations start with the Grand Scottish Ball at Sydney’s Four Seasons Hotel. The next day (Sunday) clan representatives and visitors will gather at the Scots Kirk in Mosman for the ‘Kirkin' o’ the Tartan’.
“I extend a most cordial invitation to all Scots Australians to rejoice in remembering their pioneering kinfolk who did so much to shape this magnificent country that we know as Australia” Dr Davidson concluded.