Scottish Australian Heritage Council

19/02/2026

As featured in the :
Scottish Australian Heritage Council

As featured in the :
Scottish Australian Heritage Council

www.scottishaustralianheritagecouncil.com.au

18/02/2026

Celtic Nations at the National Multicultural Festival 2026
The Scots, Irish and Welsh were all represented over the weekend at NMF2026 in the Grand Parade, Celtic Tattoo and Celtic Village.

The Celtic Village tents were sponsored by the Canberra Burns Club. Thank you. The Village involved the SAHC, Clans Buchanan, Douglas, Edmonstone and MacLaren along with the Canberra Celtic Choir and the Welsh Society of Canberra.

The Celtic Tattoo showcase program highlighted wonderful performances from:
Mad Kelpie Playdate
ACT Emergency Services Agency Pipe Band
First Step & Highland Dance School
Canberra Burns Club Pipe Band
Strathmannan Ceilidh Band
McGrath Irish Dancing.

Thank you to the great audience throughout the performance (a bit dreich early on).

Thank you to the MC, Mani, and Stage Manager, Aidan, for their professional and fun approach to managing our performance on the day.

Thank you to the ACT Government and its Team for supporting another wonderful event celebrating Canberra's many cultures.

18/02/2026

National Multicultural Festival Canberra 2026 Celtic Nations Grand Parade 7 February 2026.

12/02/2026

Sadly we mourn the passing of our friend, Christopher Dunkerley, a highly respected and longstanding representative of the Cornish community in Australia and member of the Celtic Council of Australia.

Vale Chris Dunkerley
It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Christopher Dunkerley (Kevrenor) C*C.

Chris was a member of the now Cornish Association of NSW since 1981, of which he has been Secretary and newsletter editor for over 30 years. He has also been a member of the Celtic Council of Australia (CCA) since its inception in 1982.

Chris was elevated to the Bards of the Gorsedh of Cornwall in Australia in 1988, taking the Bardic name Kevrenor (Builder of Links) to celebrate his networking in the then new age of the internet as well as across Celtic societies.

When the Australian Standing Stones were first envisaged, Chris became a member of the CCA’s Council for the Standing Stones to consider possible locations, which was awarded to Glen Innes in 1990. He has attended the Australian Celtic Festival at the Australian Standing Stones since their inauguration in 1992.

His deep connection with the national monument to Australia’s Celtic heritage is epitomised by his annual presentation at the Cornish ceremony at the Australian Celtic Festival, where at the Gorsedd Stone, of local granite, he would hold aloft and then set down a piece of granite from Minions on Bodmin Moor in Kernow (Cornwall) to symbolize the connection between Cornish Australians and their ancestral homeland Kernow.

The Australian Standing Stones Management Board elevated Chris to the College of Guardians, who pledge to promote and protect the monument. And as a true Friend of the Celts in Australia, Chris was awarded by the CCA the Celtic Honour C*C.

We will miss Chris. Yma Kevren – There is a Link! And it cannot be broken.

04/02/2026

National Multicultural Festival, Canberra
Sunday 8 February 2026, 9am to 5pm
Clan: if you're in or around Canberra this weekend, join the Clan Seanchaidh and all-round legends Malcolm and Judy and Lachlan at the National Multicultural Festival, Canberra!
At the same time, enjoy the Celtic Tattoo on the stage 10:00am to 1:30pm, next to the tent in Ainslie Place, near the fountain at the Canberra Centre.

Join Malcolm, Judy and Lachlan Buchanan at Stall B15 on Sunday, 8 February. Grand Parade on Saturday, 7 February from 4 pm.

28/01/2026

The Scottish Australian Heritage Council extends sincere condolences to Madam MacDougall's family and friends and to Clan MacDougall.

Vale-Madam Morag MacDougall
The is saddened to learn of the passing of Madam Morag Hadfield MacDougall of MacDougall, Chief and Head of the Honourable Clan MacDougall.
We send her family and our condolences at this time.

28/01/2026

The SAHC is proud to congratulate two of our members who have received Australian Honours in the Governor General's Australia Day 2026 list.

Congratulations to Prof. Sybil Jack-Ungar OAM and Prof. Fiona Stewart AM. Well deserved.

21/01/2026

SAHC: Vale Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO FTSE
Sadly, we learn today of the passing of an extraordinary person, Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO FTSE.

This is particularly sad for the Scottish Australian community as Dame Marie was the Patron of the Scottish Australian Heritage Council (SAHC) Macquarie Dinners.

In 2017, the Scottish Australian Heritage Council awarded the Macquarie Medal to the much respected former Governor of NSW, Dame Marie Bashir, as an acknowledgement of her research into, and public promotion of, the achievement of the fifth Governor of NSW, Lachlan Macquarie, sometimes called “The Father of Australia”.

The presentation was made by the NSW Minister for Multiculturalism, The Hon. Ray Williams, at NSW Parliament House. The occasion was celebrated jointly with the Aboriginal community in Sydney, as Dame Marie supported Indigenous medicine and nursing students, as well as the progress of reconciliation.

Dame Marie had a passion for the role that Governor Macquarie had in establishing the future of Australia as a country. We remember her passion from the many talks Dame Marie presented to the SAHC about Governor Macquarie and his legacy with a vision to transform the penal colony into a civil and civic society.

In 2014 the Celtic Council of Australia awarded Dame Marie the Celtic honour of Tus Enorys Ewn (T En E) (from the Cornish - "Truly Honoured Person"), for most distinguished service to the Celtic community, her unstinting support to the Celtic identity in NSW and her contribution to the public recognition and celebration of Macquarie’s contribution to our nation (Dr F. Davidson).

Dame Marie is missed by all those whose lives she touched with her public service to many communities and the nation.

Vale Professor Dame Marie Bashir, RIP.

Pictures:
(1) Dame Marie Bashir presented with the SAHC's Macquarie medal by the Hon. Ray Williams, NSW Minister for Multiculturalism, 2017
(2) Dame Marie Bashir, Premier Barry O'Farrell, Mayor Clover Moore, unveiling Governor Lachlan Macquarie's statue, 2013, Hyde Park, NSW. Attended by SAHC. Pic: AP AAPIMAGE.

15/01/2026

2026 Burns Supper & Ceilidh presented by SAHC member Hunter Valley Scots Club. Tickets are going like hot clootie dumplings.
A great night for all things Scottish!
Saturday 31 January 2026 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Location: Club Macquarie
458 Lake Road, Argenton NSW 2284

29/11/2025

St Andrew's Day Kirkin' o' the Tartan services on 30 November 2025 at Canberra, Toukley and Sydney
Canberra: 9.30am, Clans meet @ 9:00am
Presbyterian Church of St Andrews, Forrest, ACT

Toukley: 9.30am, Clans meet @ 9:00am
St David’s Presbyterian Church, Toukley, NSW

Sydney: 10.00am, Clans meet @ 9:30am
St Stephen's Uniting Church, Macquarie St, Sydney CBD

16/11/2025