Clan Sinclair Australia

Clan Sinclair Australia hosted the annual Victorian Scottish Union (VSU) conference in Maryborough , Victoria from the 11^th to the 13^th September 2009 . The weekend commenced with a Ceilidh on the Friday night. The Ceilidh was well attended and offered the opportunity for members of various clans to get acquainted. There was also the opportunity for all in attendance to practice their Scottish Country dancing. Some mastered the steps a lot better than others however all enjoyed the experience.

The VSU annual meeting was held on the Saturday morning. This was followed by a luncheon which in turn was followed by a moving service at the Maryborough War Memorial. Many of the visitors to Maryborough were taken on a walking tour of the historical area of Maryborough which for those of you who don’t know are largely centred around the towns gold mining heritage.

The annual VSU dinner dance was held at the Maryborough Highland Society on the Saturday night. We were entertained by the fabulous Glen Brae dancers, the Maryborough Pipes and Drums, and Monique and Chantelle Plover who are the VSU Medal winning dancers for 2009. Our official piper was the forever young Bruce Hocking. Music for the night was supplied by Dillgaff from Ballarat. . They were wonderful, so wonderful that the VSU have booked them again for next years annual conference. Our MC for the night was Lionel Williams. Although we really threw him in at the deep end he did a fantastic job. Our opening page has photos of the Clan Sinclair members who were in attendance enjoying the night.

On Sunday the Reverend Lorene Day conducted a special Kirkin’ of the Tartan service at St Andrew’s Uniting Church Maryborough. The Sinclair tartan was presented by our valued CSA member, Rhonda Underwood.

The service was followed by a luncheon before we all headed our separate ways until we meet again next year in Kilmore. The weekend will start on Friday 12^th September, 2010 so put it in your diaries and come along and join in the festivities. Further details will follow. We are very keen to give the people of Kilmore as much support as possible in helping to rebuild their community after the devastating bush fires and the Conference will bring them a welcome boost.

The 2008 Sinclair Gathering – Wick Caithness - 22 to 29 May 2008 .

The 2008 Sinclair gathering commenced on the 22 May 2008 with a function at the House of Lords in London . This was also a celebration of the thirtieth birthday of Iona Sinclair , daughter of our Chief, Malcolm.

The following day we travelled to Caithness , the home of the Sinclairs where we were guests of Murray and his staff at MacKays Hotel in Wick. Attendees at the gathering came from Australia , Canada , the USA , and the UK . We also enjoyed the company of local residents who hosted and participated in many of the events. The theme of the gathering was homes and castles that had current and/or historic Sinclair connections. Over the week of the gathering we visited Dunbeath Castle , the ruins of Knockinnon, the home of Nicky and Patrick Sinclair at Strathmore, Freswick Castle , Ackergill Tower , Mary Ann’s cottage, and the Castle of Mey .

Attendees at Freswick Castle

All events were wonderful however the highlight for many of us was the opening of the new bridge at Sinclair/ Girnigoe castle. Rory Sinclair piped in our Chief, Malcolm and Andrew Sinclair who officially opened the bridge by cutting a Sinclair Tartan ribbon. Standing above them with the Sinclair flag flying behind were images of our Viking ancestors. It was a truly stirring experience for all of us.

The opening of the bridge was followed by a BBQ, hosted by Ian and Joan at Noss Head. During the night the Wick Pipe Band entertained us. The setting was perfect and everyone enjoyed the experience.

Other events on the itinerary included a church service which was led by the wonderful Reverend Malcolm Sinclair from Canada , a lecture on Heraldry by Elizabeth Roads, a lecture on Sinclair/Ginigoe by archaeologist Jonathan Clark, a Ceilidh and a Dinner Dance on our final night.

The Dinner dance was a perfect way to wind up the gathering. We all had great fun doing Scottish dancing that we had been practicing earlier in the week. The night finished with “Auld Lang Syne” fond farewells and a promise to gather again in 2010.

Wayne Sinclair

The 2008 Highland Gatherings

The first gathering for the year was in Maryborough on New Years Day. As usual Maryborough’s program of events included band competitions, dancing competitions, and full schedule of athletic and field events, the highlight of which is the Maryborough gift. It was an extremely hot day peeking at about 45 degrees. As a result crowds were down slightly on previous years.

The next event on the calendar was The Berwick Highland gathering on the 10th February. Again it was a very hot, however all who attended including several of our members enjoyed the day. Clan Sinclair Australia are now setting up their display and reception area with the those of the Victorian Scottish Union (VSU), Clan MacDonald, and Clan Grant. This arrangement has proved very successful as it creates a more welcoming environment than single tents. It also allows all of us to assist with the VSU tent which welcomes enquiries on all things Scottish. Above : Clan representatives at the Berwick gathering.

Our most recent event was the Geelong Highland gathering. Temperatures were again in the mid 40s and again the crowd was down on previous years We however had a good role up of Clan Sinclair members and others with a Clan Sinclair interest. Left: Scott McLeod, Cliff and Shelley (nee Sinclair) Still, Kate McLeod (nee Sinclair), Liane Sinclair, Ronald and Alison Sinclair, Wayne Sinclair. at Geelong .

Congratulations to Jack Still (left) one of our youngest members, who came to see us at Geelong wearing the shirt that a was given to him after he and his fellow members of the Watsonia Pipes and Drums Highland Band won their division of competition at the recent championships in New Zealand.

The Victorian Scottish Union Annual Conference – Maryborough September 2007.

The busiest weekend for CSA members in 2007 was the first weekend in September. Many members of CSA attended the Victorian Scottish Union’s (VSU) annual conference at the in Maryborough Highland Society in central Victoria

The weekend kicked off with a ceilidh on the Friday night to welcome all visitors to the town. The following morning was the official conference meeting where our own Liane Sinclair was installed as VSU Chief by Bonnie Williamson from Warrnambool Caledonian Society.

Right: Bonnie and Liane

On Saturday night, the main social event, a dinner dance, was held at the Highland Society. Among the large crowd were at least 50 people with a Sinclair connection. Needless to say everyone enjoyed the night. The conference ended with a church service and a lunch on the Sunday which was also Father’s day.

The weekend finished with the celebration of CSA member Val (Sinclair) Mark’s eightieth birthday at the Goldfields Restaurant in Maryborough.

Right: Val surrounded by her nieces and nephews, many of whom are CSA members.

I am pleased to say that over the weekend many people showed an interest in CSA and that we were able to welcome new members.

The 2006 Christmas Get-Together

The last Clan Sinclair get together for 2006 was our Christmas function. Special guests at this function were Toni, Sandy and Alex Sinclair from Clan Sinclair Canada. Those of us who attended the Sinclair gathering in Scotland an 2005 had the pleasure of meeting Toni and Sandy then. Their daughter Alex is currently studying in Melbourne . It was wonderful to catch up with all of them.

Back Row: Malcolm Sinclair (our own Clan Sinclair piper) , Kim Underwood, Ross and Carol Sinclair, Noreen Connell, Coral Bartlett, Jim Deane, Camille Brooker, Neil Sinclair, Joan Sinclair, Alex, Toni and Sandy Sinclair, Liane Sinclair, Lloyd Bradshaw. Front Row: Wayne Sinclair, Rhonda Underwood, Val Marks, Noelene Deane, Nerrellie, Paige and Jude Rankin.

Reunion of the Descendent of Duncan and Maria Sinclair nee Benfield

On 9 April 2006 many Clan Sinclair Australia members were among the ninety attendees at a reunion in Maryborough Victoria of the descendants of Duncan and Maria Sinclair. Maryborough is 130 kilometres from Melbourne . Duncan and Maria were born in Emerald Hill (now South Melbourne ) in the 1850’s. Duncan ’s parents David and Jane (nee Roger) Sinclair emigrated to Australia in the early 1850s. Maria parents Miles and Caroline (nee Toomey) Benfield were married in London before they emigrated to Australia also in the early 1850’s.

Duncan and Maria were married at Emerald Hill in 1881. In the early 1890s, as a result of a movement with Duncan ’s job with the Victorian Railways, Duncan and Maria moved to Maryborough in central Victoria . With them were there childre n, David, Duncan and Walter. Two other children Charlotte and Arthur had died in their infancies.

Duncan and Maria lived in Argyll Road , Maryborough where the remainder of their childre n, William, Lillian, Maggie, Stanley and Violet were born. Maria died in this home in 912. Duncan passed away in 1930. The attendees descend from these children

The descendants of Maria and Duncan Sinclair at the reunion.

The reunion was held at the Lions club Hall in Maryborough. This hall was for many years the East Maryborough Presbyterian Sunday School. Many of the attendees at the reunion had involvement in the Sunday School as participants in lessons, in concerts and anniversary celebrations.

At age 89 the oldest family member in attendance at the reunion was Ray Connell of Maryborough. The oldest direct descendant of Duncan and Maria in attendance was Harold Scholten of Castlemaine who celebrated his 87^th birthday at the occasion.

The oldest living descent of Duncan and Maria, Fred Sinclair of Maryborough, was ill on the day so he and his wife, Marj who have been married for 66 years were unable to attend. The youngest descendant of Duncan and Maria was Jarrah who attended the event with his mum Aneika Bright.

The grandchildren and the spouses of the grandchildren of Duncan and Maria who attended the gathering were Gordon and Margaret Sinclair of Geelong, Duncan Sinclair of Heidelberg, Ray Connell of Maryborough, Dot Sinclair of Maryborough, Val Marks of Maryborough, Bill and Joan Sinclair of Maryborough, Harold and Dorothy Scholten of Castlemaine, Mavis and Ken Cranston of Glenroy and Bob and Val Ballantyne of Doncaster. Bob did a great job of emceeing the gathering. Joan Ballantyne of Doncaster was disappointed not to attend as she became ill a few days before the event.

Left : Dorothy and Harold Scholten, Aneika Bright with her son Jarrah, and Ray Connell

Pictured are Liane with her parents Bill and Joan Sinclair at the family home in Maryborough.

As well as opening the games Liane presented prizes to event winners and participants. The Maryborough games, which are believed to be the longest consecutively running highland games in the world, remain one of the best gatherings in Australia. Events in the games include athletics featuring the Maryborough Gift, heavy games, dancing events and pipe band competitions. The bands commence the day with a great street march. The gathering concludes in the evening with a concert in the park and a fantastic fireworks display.

On 22 July together with clans people from the United Kingdom (48), New Zealand (3), Norway(3), Canada (26), the United States (95) and our contingent from Australia (8) I attended the Clan Sinclair International Gathering. Our host was our Chief, Malcolm. He was ably supported by his son Berrie. As well as organizing the itinerary both Malcolm and Berrie participated in every event.

The first three days of the gathering were held on Orkney where we visited many historical sights including Skara Brae, Maes Howe, the Ring of Bognar, the Standing Stones of Stennes and the Italian Chapel. There was also an opportunity to visit Kirkwall Lodge to view the “Secret Scroll”. Other highlights included a visit to Highland Park Distillery for an especially arranged tasting which was appreciated even more than expected as the weather had become very cold. The highlight for many of the Orkney stay was the church service at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall where the Church organist and Rory Sinclair, the president of Clan Sinclair Canada and our Clan Piper, treated us to a very moving rendition of “Highland Cathedral”.

From Orkney we travelled back to main land Scotland via John O’Groats to Thurso where the majority of the attendees at the gathering based themselves for the next 7 days. The seven days were jam packed with events which included a wildlife cruise around Duncaster Head, lunch and a wonderful tour at Castle Mey, visits to Wick, the Spittal Quarry, the Grey Cairns of Camster, the standing stones at Archavanich, the Lady Croft Museum ,Dunbeath and its Heritage Centre and Lybster Harbour,

On the 29 July all attendees at the gathering were guest of Viscount Thurso and his family at a reception at their home Thurso East.. It was a great night that allowed us all to mingle and get to know each other better.

On Saturday the 30 July the attendees at Sinclair gathering were special guests at the Halkirk Highland Games. We were led onto the main arena by our chieftain, The Earl of Caithness and the Games Chieftain, Viscountess Margaret Thurso. We all attended a buffet lunch and the Chief’s reception in the Sinclair Clan Tent.

Our final day commenced with a church service at the West Street Church of Scotland in Thurso. The very moving service was conducted by the Rev. Ronnie Johnstone of Thurso and the Rev. Malcolm Sinclair from Canada. Six flag bearers carrying flags that represented Clan Sinclair Internationally participated in the ceremony that all also included a dedication to the late Viscount Robin Thurso.

There were many social occasions during the gathering. Some were planned in advance, some were spontaneous, all were great. We were entertained at many of these events by our own Sinclair pipe band and by the wonderful and very popular Isla St. Clair. The final social occasion was a farewell banquet on the 31 July, the final night of the gathering. The wonderful dinner was followed by dancing to the music of the Addie Harper Scottish Band. Emotions were mixed as we were having a great time but knew that we would soon be heading back to our own parts of the world.

The whole event was a wonderful experience highlighted by meeting representatives of the Sinclair Clan from all over the world.