80 years after St Kilda was abandoned, it may be time to return

Published on Thursday 12 August 2010 15:33

THE abandoned St Kilda archipelago should be repopulated 80 years after its last inhabitants evacuated to the mainland, it has been suggested.

•Historical picture of the parliament of the Hebridean island of St Kilda

As events are held to mark the 80th anniversary of the evacuation of the remote north Atlantic island group, a historian says it is time for people to return to live there.

Iain Thornber is based in the Morvern peninsula, where most of the 36 remaining St Kildans resettled after leaving their home on 29 August, 1930.

The islanders had petitioned the Scottish secretary to be removed after their way of life on the isolated outpost became unsustainable.

Mr Thornber, who met many of the exiled St Kildans in later years, believes the archipelago could be resettled and people would be queuing up to move there.

He said that, following a critical report by George Reid on St Kilda owners, the National Trust for Scotland, some of the trust's properties might have to be run by other bodies, and he suggested a community buy-out involving descendants of the evacuees could be possible.

"Now is their chance with St Kilda. Instead of the bulk of people going out there to look at the past, they could see a live community again", he said.

"It surely cannot be beyond the wit of modern man with techniques in eco-friendly, super-insulated houses, the means to generate electricity through wind and wave power, refrigeration and satellite communication, medical care and sea and air transport, to repopulate and sustain a community there again. They would be overwhelmed by applicants".

Mr Thornber claimed many of the St Kildans had expressed an interest in returning.

"There was a longing to go back, and it wasn't just pure sentimentalism," he said. "Certainly, the ones I met hankered to go back.

"I think if they had managed to hang on for another ten years they would have got back-up.

"But they were an ageing population and were beginning to depend very much on visitors coming in.

"I think there would be an appetite for a buy-out. I can see a good going community there. It's got a lot of potential."

Professor Jim Hunter, director of the Centre of History, part of the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands, said: "In principle, it could be repopulated, but I would have thought it would be extremely unlikely the various authorities would give this much encouragement.

"In relation to public spending, many people would feel those communities that have survived have a higher priority than trying to re-establish one in a places like St Kilda."

A NTS spokeswoman said Mr Thornber's proposal was "an interesting idea", but stressed it is not one it plans to pursue.

She said: "St Kilda remains a very remote and isolated place."In winter, it can be cut off for long periods due to raging storms, making it hard for supplies to get it through, so life there would certainly be challenging, as it was for the families who finally left there 80 years ago."