Front matter and Introduction - Journal of the Sydney Society for Scottish History, Volume 1 (1993)

Abstract

It is said of the Celts generally that they have a long memory. Scots are
no exception. Clan feuds dating back hundreds of years are still to be found,
maintained half seriously and half jokingly among Australian citizens who
were themselves born and reared on the other side of the world from Scotland.
The heroes of Scotland's past are remembered and spoken of with respect or
even reverence by Scotland's children in all comers of the globe. Events that
are perceived as great national tragedies, such as the Highland clearances, are
still spoken of in terms of bitterness and regret by the descendants of the
emigrants who had been dead for a generation before those descendants were
born. However, notwithstanding these long memories and long held inherited
feelings, it is often found on examination that those holding those beliefs really
know relatively little about the facts.