The Clan MacLeod Society of Australia (NSW) Inc.Newsletter June 2011

Chief: Hugh MacLeod of MacLeodChief of Lewes: Torquil Donald Macleod of Lewes

Chief of Raasay: Roderick John Macleod of RaasayPresident: Peter Macleod, 19 Viewpoint Drive, Toukley 2263. Phone (02) 4397 3161

Email: peter.macleod@exemail.com.auSecretary: Mrs Wendy Macleod, 19 Viewpoint Drive, Toukley 2263. Phone (02) 4397 3161

Treasurer: Mr Rod McLeod, 62 Menzies Rd, Eastwood 2122. Ph (02) 9869 2659 email: roderickmcleod@optusnet.com.auAnnual Subscription $28 ($10 for each additional person in the one home receiving one Clan Magazine & Newsletter, i.e. One person $28, Two people $38, Three people $48, etc.). Subscriptions are due on 30th June each year.

Important DatesSat 2 July Aberdeen Highland Gathering see last Newsletter.Sat. 27 Aug. Toukley Gathering of the Clans - see inside.Sat. 3rd Sept. - Luncheon and AGM - see below.

Dear Clansfolk, It’s AGM and Membership renewal time. AGM details are below and a Membership Renewal enclosed. At the risk of being repetitious, in order to pass the Constitutional changes we need a good turnout at the AGM this year. Peter

MacLeods on Parade, Glen Innes

Glen Innes Celtic Festival 29th Apr to 1st MayAgain our Clan was well represented at this popular and well patronised Festival. Wendy and I made the big drive up from Toukley on Friday 29th arriving about 3.20pm. Book in and unloading are first then up to the Standing Stones to erect our stand. We are now doing this on the Friday instead of Saturday to save scarce Saturday time and experience has shown there is often a degree of official disorganisation on Saturday with so many things going on.Our stand is soon up and at 6pm we are off to the Services Club for tonight’s concert and meal. In comes the Haggis lead by a piper then the Address as written by Robbie Burns. Our meal is followed by entertainment featuring ‘The High-landers’, a really good, modern Celtic band.Saturday morning sees us assemble for the street parade. The MacLeods, with 10 or 12, are not the biggest clan marching but everyone had a banner or flag making us the most colourful and I’m sure we received the biggest cheers. As soon as the parade finishes we have a mad rush to the Standing Stone site to complete our stand and open for busi-ness. Initially, we are rushed off our feet and it takes until noon before the last of our decorations is in place. For us it was a successful event, we signed up a couple of new members, sold quite a few Clan books and handed out many information packs to interested people.Saturday evening we dine at our Hotel, and following our meal there is always excellent entertainment by one of the Festival bands. This year it’s a five piece group, ‘Wheelers and Dealers’ lead by Christine Wheeler and with a National Fiddle Champion, Mike Kerin, to the fore.Although the Festival is a two day event we only put up our stand on Saturday. Most enquiries come that day and Sun-day off gives us a chance to look around. Sunday is also the Kirkin’ of the Tartan Day and we make sure the MacLeod Banner is duly Kirked. The Kirkin’ takes place in the centre of the Standing Stone circle and attracts a huge audience.The weekend weather did not look promising. At home we had showery days for weeks before. The drive up saw show-ers and heavier rain all the way to Scone. But then it cleared and for the rest of Friday and Saturday it was mostly bright and sunny. Sunday was magnificent with clear blue skies.

Banner bearers for the Kirkin’

Charles Cooke & Peter Macleod

AGM Saturday 3rd Sept. Venue is Forestville RSL Club, Melwood Ave, Forestville. We will reserve tables in the Bistro for lunch from 12 noon. You can attend the lunch or the meeting, or both. Bistro prices are reasonable and afternoon timing means no night travelling. We would like to know approximate numbers, so if you are coming could you please phone one of the office bearers at the head of this page. This year we need to pass a special resolu-tion to bring our rules into line with current legislation. Please take this as a special appeal for attendance of as many members as possible to ensure acceptance.NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND NO-TICE OF SPECIAL RESOLUTION.The Annual General meeting of The Clan MacLeod Society of Australia (NSW) Incorporated is to be held at Forestville RSL Club at 1.30pm on Saturday 3rd September 2011.Ordinary Business:● To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting;● To receive from the committee reports of the activities of the association during the financial year ending 30th June 2011;● To elect office bearers of the association and ordinary committee members;● To appoint an honorary auditor; and● To receive and to consider the financial statement and report of the treasurer for the financial year ending 30th June 2011.Special Business:● To consider and if thought fit, pass the following resolution as a special resolution:“That the existing rules (constitution) of the association be rescinded and that the constitution as tabled at this meet-ing be adopted by the association.”

claimed his own wounds were healed by Olaf’s blood, but that is another story. Such things are said of saints. Harold was seri-ously wounded.Not everyone knows this, but in the known (to Eu-ropeans) world of 1,000 years ago, there was just as intricate and far reach-ing a set of relationships among the royalty, nobil-ity, and powerful of all countries, as existed in the early modern era. A con-tender for champion of ex-tended relationships was

Norse Origin of The Fairy Flag By Weedon Nichols of Clan MacLeod USA - Leod, our first chief, was (always arguably) grandson of Olaf the Black, last chief of the Norse Kingdom of Man and the Isles, a subordinate kingdom to the King of Norway. The Norse Kingdom of Man and the Isles included, the Isle of Man and the Hebrides. It was headquar-tered on the Isle of Man. There were periods when this king-dom was pretty much independent, and periods when it was brought closely under the control of the King of Norway. The end of the Norse Kingdom of Man and the Isles came when King Magnus of Norway ceded the Western Isles to Alexan-der III of Scotland in 1266 in the Treaty of Perth. We have mixed reports on the kingship of Black Olaf, but it cannot be denied that the end of the kingdom was on his watch. Olaf the Black was the son of Olaf the Red, in my opinion one of the shrewdest and most capable of our purported Mac-Leod forebears. Olaf the Red was known and respected everywhere as a king of good judgment and clear vision, who was a more than competent campaigner on land or sea, but who avoided unnecessary conflict. He maintained his authority, at the same time reinforcing the traditional Viking democracy and avoiding the taint of any hint of despotism. The great half-Celtic, half-Norse conqueror Somerled made peace with Olaf the Red, even marrying the daughter of Olaf the Red, waiting until the death of Olaf to enlarge his own sphere of influence. The “Banner of Red Olaf” mentioned in the poem of Duncan MacIain may have been another ban-ner we know well. We shall return to that. Olaf the Red was the son of Godred Crovan Haroldson, King of Man and the Isles (himself son of Harold the Black, King of Islay) and one Maria Haroldsdotter, daughter of the most successful Viking of all time. I’m speaking of Harald Sigurdson (also known as Harold Hardraade, Harold The Ruthless, King Harold III of Norway and The Thunderbolt of the North).In the year AD1030, Olaf the Stout (formerly King Olaf II of Norway, and later to be known as St. Olaf) went into battle against the forces of Canute, King of Denmark, who also controlled Norway at the time, in an effort to re-establish himself as king. In the history of Christianity, many have been named saints, not because of their holiness, but be-cause they “Christianised” the populations under their con-trol. Many mass Christianisations were superficial, to say the least. (One might say the same of most contemporary “Christian” populations.) At the side of Olaf the Stout was his fifteen-year-old half-brother Harold (later to be known as Harold Hardraade, Harold the Ruthless, The Thunderbolt of the North, King Harald III of Norway, and other names).Harald had insisted on being allowed to fight as a war-rior. Olaf was killed. One of the warriors who cut him down

Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Duke of Kiev & Prince of Russia. Olaf the Stout took refuge with Yaroslav in Kiev after Olaf was deposed and before he attempted his comeback. The wounded Harold made his way to Kiev, where he was given refuge in the court of Yaroslav. He recovered from his wounds and grew to full manhood. Harold served Yaroslav well as a leader in military campaign after military campaign.No doubt, Harold had reached manhood and military lead-ership status when he communicated to Yaroslav that he wished the hand of Princess Ellisef. There are no portraits, of which I know, of Ellisef (or of any of the principals of this story), but you may be sure she was a beauty. In addition, her pedigree through Yaroslav went back to Rurik and the original Swedish rulers of Russia, and to the Emperors of Byzantium. Ellisef’s mother was Princess Ingegard of the then royal family of Sweden (and sister-in-law of the now deceased St. Olaf). No one knows Yaroslav’s exact words to Harold, but probably they were something like, “Harold, my boy, I’m sure you would make a very fine son-in-law, but you don’t have enough (any) gold.”Harold obtained an appointment as an officer of the Verang-ian (Viking) Guard of the Byzantine Empire. It might surprise you to know that the Verangians, or Vikings, had frequented that part of the world for a very long time. Vikings were a bit of a pain-in-the-neck to the Byzantines. They were dirty, irreverent, and disrespectful, and they fought among them-selves when there was no one else to fight. However, the Verangians owned no property in the Byzantine Empire and had no political agenda. These factors, plus the Vikings’ skills as warriors, their fierceness, and their love of fighting made them much more valuable to the Emperors of Byzan-tium (in particular, Zoe, Empress of Byzantium, during Ha-rold’s tenure), than local troops. Between what Harold was paid, what he took in booty from the Seljuk Turks, and what he was able (probably) to embezzle, Harold is reputed to have accumulated more gold than any other Viking, before or since. Harold is said to have departed Byzantium without permission, but is said to have been successful in taking with him about half his gold (one of his two shiploads of gold having gotten through before the great chain was raised).However much gold Harold presented to Yaroslav, it was enough. Ellisef and Harold were married in AD1045. Harald is said, in later life, to have referred to Ellisef (in his own po-etry – not your usual Viking stereotype) as his “gold-ringed goddess.” Canute the Great of Denmark had died, and Mag-nus, son of Olaf, had become king of Norway, uncontested by Harthacanute, son of Canute. Harold, accompanied by Ellisef, returned to Norway, allied himself with Svein, neph-ew of Canute, to terrorize both Denmark and Norway. He brought sufficient pressure against his nephew Magnus to become co-king with Magnus, assuming the role of king when Magnus died. Besides Ellisef, perhaps the most im-portant thing brought by Harold from the Middle-East was “Landwaster” – a white battle flag that Harald flew from his masthead. Landwaster may have been a religious relic, per-haps the shirt of a saint. It may have been a gift to Harold. More likely, though, he simply took it.The uneasy alliance between Harold and Svein broke up when Svein attempted to have Harold assassinated. Harold, more or less successfully, conducted a protracted and very expensive war against Svein and Denmark, with a view to-ward ruling Denmark also (sort of like the disastrously ex-pensive arms race between the US and the USSR). Harold and Svein eventually called it a draw, and each left the other to his own country.In AD1066 (a year well known to all of us for another reason)

Viking Long Boat

inLong Boat Museum,

Oslo,Norway

Harold, in partnership with Tostig, ex-iled Earl of Northumbria, invaded Eng-land, where King Harold Godwinson was in the process of establishing him-self as a new ruler. (Tostig was God-winson’s brother or half-brother.) Go-dred Crovan, King of Man and the Isles and Harold Hardraade’s son-in-law, was a subordinate commander to Ha-rold. The invasion began at York, and it went well at first. What defeated Tostig and Harold, besides Harold Godwin-son and his forces, were the ancientThe Fairy Flag

Dame Flora MacLeod of MacLeod,28th Chief. From a painting in 1970

forms, which can be found in almost any Clan MacLeod ref-erence or brochure. I won’t tell them here). “The Fairy Flag of MacLeod” (or its fragile remnant) hangs in a glass case in the central room of Dunvegan Castle, still occupied by the Chiefs of MacLeod.Scientists have determined that the weave and substance of the flag are of Middle-Eastern origin of a thousand years or so ago. Historians surmise that it was once a religious relic, perhaps the shirt of a saint. When the scholar presented the findings to Dame Flora, 28th Chief of MacLeod, she re-sponded that she knew the fairies had presented the flag to Clan MacLeod. The scholar diplomatically answered, “Dame Flora, I bow to your superior knowledge.” (Dame Flora was very aware of the unifying value of a group’s myths.)Roman roads from London to York. Godwinson’s rapid

forced march up the Roman road caught Tostig and Ha-rold unprepared. Harold fought exposed at the head of his troops at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and caught an ar-row in the throat. Tostig also died. Godwinson was weak-ened enough by Harold and Tostig that he lost the king-dom to William of Normandy that same year at Hastings, but that is another story. I should mention, though, that all the leaders in the epic battles of 1066 A.D. in England were Vikings. Harold Hardraade was Norse Viking, as was his son-in-law Godred Crovan. Harold of Wessex was half Dan-ish Viking, as was Tostig. William of Normandy was the g-g-grandson of Rolf the Walker (too big to be carried by a horse), who had been granted a buffer strip on the coast of France by Charles the Simple (the name says it all), to protect France from other Vikings. By William’s time, the Norsemen, or “Normans,” had a large chunk of France (Nor-mandy). William’s “Normans” were so new at being French that they had only recently adopted the French language.As I have mentioned, the Norse Kingdom of Man and the Isles was a Viking kingdom loosely subordinate to Norway. The King of Man and the Isles was Godred Crovan, husband of Harold’s daughter, Maria Haraldsdotter, and, therefore, son-in-law to Harold. Godred is understood to have been one of Harold’s commanders in Harold’s invasion of York. It is known that Harold’s battle flag “Landwaster” was not brought ashore from Harold’s flagship, and it is known that Godred Crovan survived and returned to the Isle of Man.We can only hypothesise the way “Landwaster” almost cer-tainly became “The Fairy Flag of MacLeod” was as follows:1. After Harold’s death, the flag was taken back to the Isle of Man by Godred, where it became a treasured item of the Kings of Man and the Isles. Remember “the Banner of Red Olaf?” I think it entirely probable that Landwaster/The Fairy

Flag was that banner flown by Olaf the Red, son of Godred Crovan, grandson of Harold the Ruthless, and great, great, grandfather of Leod.2. Clan MacLeod became the heir of at least one strand of the Norse Kingdom of Man and the Isles (the MacDonalds, also descendants of Olaf the Red, were heirs to a larger strand of that kingdom). When a trusted retainer of MacLeod, perhaps hundreds of years later, found the flag in its little storage casket in the archives at Dunvegan, he must have asked, “What’s this?” It was obvious that the fragile white flag was a treas-ured object, so the fairy stories were born. (The fairy story takes two or three

A Standing Stone in Hervey Bay Queensland member (and past National Co-Ordinator), Rob MacLeod celebrated his 70th birthday with the unveilling of a Stand-ing Stone in his garden. Rob previously installed a Standing Stone at his Melbourne home and wished to carry on this tra-dition. A sunny Saturday, 19th March, greeted the dedication party. Rob welcomed attendees and blessed the Stone in

Scottish Gaelic with a dram of MacLeod of MacLeod 15 year old Scotch for good luck. Pip-ing was by Duncan Birt, Pipe Major of the Hervey Bay RSL Pipe Band. The stone is vol-canic rock quarried locally and stands about 4 feet (1.2 me-tres) above the garden.

Canberra Highland Gathering - Sat. 8th October Includes ACT Pipe Band Championships. Some 30 years have passed since Canberra people have experienced a local Highland Gathering. Venue is Kambah, on the ovals opposite the Burns Club. Attractions include a FOUR grade Pipe Band Competition, Highland Dancing, Irish Dancing, Tug O War, Vintage Display, Brass Bands plus clan and commercial stalls. At this stage we don’t plan a MacLeod stall. For further information contact Dave Fulton, mobile 0434 075 062 or email on dsfulton@iinet.net.auLike to Learn Scottish Gaelic Our member Barbara Crighton is also secretary of Comunn Gaidhlig Astrailia (Scot-tish Gaelic Association) and advises they will be holding their annual Sgoil-Earraich Naiseanta (National Spring School) this year in Canberra from Friday evening 2nd Sept. to Sun-day afternoon, 4th Sept. There will be classes for all levels from beginners to advanced. Venue is to be the ANU with accommodation available at University House. A wonderful opportunity to learn the language of your ancestors still spo-ken in many MacLeod lands - Skye, Harris and Lewis. Ongo-ing information at: www.ozgaelic.org/whatson/index.htmThere is also an active Gaelic learners’ self help group in Canberra, the contact is Tom Charnock on 02 6251 5852 or email: tom.charnock@defence.gov.au

Toukley Gathering of the Clans Sat. 27th August at the same location, Harry Moore Oval in Crossingham St., Toukley. Entrance is FREE! A street parade from the Touk-ley CBD starts the festivities. We usually manage to get a small group of MacLeods together for the march but would welcome some extras to make our clan more impressive.Entertainment runs from 10.30am to 4pm including massed bands, individual band displays, Highland dancing, lots of stalls - including the Clan MacLeod. In the evening there is a ceilidh and on Sunday 28th, a Kirkin’ of the Tartan.

Very late news, The MacLeod Wood-land planting is now complete! We look forward to seeing it when we next visit Skye in 2014. Peter

Society Donates 100 trees to MacLeod WoodlandOrbost Estate Farm is to be the site of a new planted woodland on Skye. Lease of the estate is held by Rachel & Keith Jack-son. Rachel is an Australian whose MacLeod ancestry comes via her grandmother, Peggy Staas (nee MacLeod). Rachel has a mention and photo in Scottish Exodus. Her original Skye contact was as a member of the NRG when she accompanied Peggy to a Clan Parliament. Rachel married Keith Jackson, a Scot, they settled on Skye and now have two children. You may have seen Rachel and Keith on the TV program Beach-comber Cottage. As well as farming the estate Rachel and Keith are prominent local citizens in Dunvegan. Rachel has cherished the idea of putting permanent reminders in place to show the connection between our great clan and the local area. The MacLeod Woodland involves the planting of 3200 trees, 2.5 Ha, of rowan and birch at the entrance to the estate. The area has a remnant gorge woodland and will re-establish

Orbost, about 4 to 5kms South of Dunvegan Village.

Healaval Mor & Healaval Bheag are MacLeod’s Tables

a corridor for wildlife, in par-ticular the hen harriers which live on the estate. Earthwork preparation and fencing started early this year and planting in March. Our So-ciety sponsorship is for 100 trees at £3 each.Memorial Wall Still in the planning. Concept is to create a wall utilising stones brought from wherever Mac-Leods have settled. Clans-folk can bring stones when attending Parliament or visiting Skye. These can be built into the wall as a me-morial to the clan diaspora.

Pipe Major Ron Clement pipes at Dunvegan Castle in 1998

service as a Pipe Major.Ron was accompanied by his wife Betty, also hon-oured because of her tire-less contribution in mak-ing and maintaining band uniforms and equipment.Venue was The Epping Club. The 87 guests in-cluded past and present band members, Clan Mac-Leod Society and NSW

60 Years a Pipe Major of the Same Band Saturday 14th May saw a celebration few Pipe Bands and even fewer Clan Societies experience. Ron Clement was special guest to a Celebration Dinner to honour his 60 years

Pipers’ Society representatives and immediate family of Ron and Betty. Ron has been President of the NSW Pipers’ Soci-ety for the last 20 years. People travelled from Papua New Guinea, Cairns, Perth, Brisbane and country NSW to be at this auspicious occasion.Shortly after Mosman Scottish Society was formed in the early 1940s their committee decided they would like to have their own pipe band. A small but youthful and enthusiastic group was formed in 1947 with Ron among them. Pipe Ma-jor Alec Cunningham of The Cunningham-Marrickville Pipe Band, an established Sydney pipe band undertook tutelage. Ron was keen and learnt faster than most, he entered his first contest in early 1948. In late 1948 and early 1949 the band started playing as a group and Ron was appointed the first Pipe Major. By Anzac Day in 1950 they were sufficiently adept to take part in the Anzac Day March with 12 pipers and 7 drummers, quite an achievement in such a short period.The Clan MacLeod Society was formed in 1954 prior to the first visit to Australia by Dame Flora MacLeod of MacLeod. The Clan Society founder, the late Bruce D. MacLeod looked around for a pipe band to welcome Dame Flora and provide entertainment at functions. He decided on the Mosman Pipe Band with Ron also being asked to be official piper to the Clan. This was the start of Ron’s long association with the Clan MacLeod.Television came to Australia in 1956 and this saw the slow withering of many social groups, including Mosman Scottish which folded around 1960 but the band was still vibrant. The Clan MacLeod Society was still strong spurred on by a fur-ther visit by Dame Flora in 1957 and a coming one in 1964. So a merger suited both, and Mosman Pipe Band became the Clan MacLeod Pipe Band still with Ron as Pipe Major.In a career so long there have been many memorable high-lights. Performing for Dame Flora during her many visits, for Chief John MacLeod of MacLeod when he visited in 1991 and 1999. Combining with the Bendigo Clan MacLeod Pipe Band during Chief John’s visits and on a number of other occa-sions. The trip to Dunvegan Castle in 1998. Plus all the band

Betty & Ron Clement

Cutting the cake

Urramach Medal by the Celtic Council of Australia in 2003 and OAM by the Australian Government in 2006. Both Ron and Betty are Life Members of the Clan MacLeod Society of NSW. Ron has now decided to hand over the reins as Pipe Major and Bruce Wheatley, a 30 year veteran with the Band, has been elected the new Pipe Major. Ron has not retired from piping and will still teach and perform with the Band, as he says, “as long as my bones permit”.

engagements at Surf Car-nivals, Street Parades, Balls, Festivals and per-forming for community groups.Ron has taught so many pipers over such a long pe-riod that it is impossible to even estimate a number. He has been honoured by The NSW Pipe Band As-sociation in 1992, Duine