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Tha àiteachan gu leòr ann an Astràilia air a bheil ainm a bhuineas do dhualchas nan Gàidheal. Ann an Tasmania tha beanntan ann air a bheil Ben Nevis agus Ben Lomond. Feumaidh mi aideachadh gu bheil Ben Nevis Thasmania nas àirde na Beinn Nibheis na h-Alba. Obh obh!

Ann an Sydney, tha fo-bhailtean ann le ainmean a bhuineas do dhualchas nan Gàidheal, leithid Balmoral, Blair Athol, Campbeltown agus Kyle Bay. Mar as trice, eucoltach ri Alba, chan eil an t-ainm agus coltas na tìre a’ tighinn a rèir a chèile. Ge-tà, tha aon àite ann far a bheil an t-ainm stèidhichte, a rèir choltais, air cruth na tìre. ’S e sin Inverloch, no ‘Inverlock’ mar a chanas muinntir Astràilia ris. 

Tha e air a’ chladach ann am Bhictoria. Tha am baile aig beul cumhang loch-mara ris an canar ‘Anderson Inlet’. B’ e an t-Albannach, Samuel Anderson, a’ chiad Eòrpach a chaidh a dh’fhuireach ann. Do Ghàidheal, tha an t-ainm a’ dèanamh ciall.

Leugh mi aithris mu fhèis Cheilteach ann am Brisbane, prìomh bhaile Tìr na Banrigh. Thàinig daoine còmhla an-uiridh airson cultar nan dùthchannan Ceilteach a chomharrachadh. 

Bha an fhèis air a cumail ann am pàirc ann an sgìre ris an canar Auchenflower. ’S e sin ainm Gàidhealach à Alba. Thuirt muinntir na fèise gun robh e iomchaidh a cumail ann an àite le ainm Ceilteach a tha a’ ciallachadh ‘field of flowers’.Ìý

Tha dà àite ann an Alba air a bheil Auchenflower mar ainm. Tha iad san iar-dheas ann an seann Ghàidhealtachd Charraig agus Ghall-Ghàidhealaibh. Tha fear dhiubh deas air Cill Chuithbeirt no Kirkcudbright. Tha am fear eile faisg air Baile na Tràgha no Ballantrae. ’S e oighreachd a bha ann. Bha i leis an teaghlach aig Tòmas Mac Ille Riabhaich no McIlwraith. Cheannaich Tòmas taigh ann am Brisbane ann an ochd ceud deug is ochdad (1880). Chuir e an t-ainm Auchenflower air. Bha Tòmas na Phrìomhaire ann an Tìr na Banrigh.

Chaidh an taigh a ghluasad gu àite eile. Ach dh’fhàg e ainm-sgìre Gàidhealach às a dhèidh – agus dualchas a tha iomchaidh airson fèis Cheilteach anns an latha an-diugh.

There are many places in Australia that bear a name that belongs to the heritage of the Gaels. In Tasmania there are mountains called Ben Nevis and Ben Lomond. I must admit that Tasmania’s Ben Nevis is higher than Scotland’s Ben Nevis. Oh dear!

In Sydney, there are suburbs with names that belong to the heritage of the Gaels, such as Balmoral, Blair Athol, Campbelltown and Kyle Bay. Usually, unlike [in] Scotland, the name and the appearance of the land do not concur. However, there is one place where the name is based, to all appearances, on the shape of the land. That is Inverloch or ‘Inverlock’ as the people of Australia refer to it.

It is on the coast in Victoria. The town is at the narrow mouth of a sea loch called ‘Anderson Inlet’. The Scot, Samuel Anderson, was the first European who went to live there. To a Gael, the name makes sense.

I read a report about a Celtic festival in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. People came together last year to celebrate the culture of the Celtic countries.

The festival was held in a park in an area called Auchenflower. That’s a Gaelic name from Scotland. The festival folk said it was appropriate that it was held in a place with a Celtic name that means ‘field of flowers’.

There are two places in Scotland called Auchenflower. They are in the south-west in the old Gàidhealtachd of Carrick and Galloway. One of them is south of Cill Chuithbeirt or Kircudbright. The other is near Baile na Tràgha or Ballantrae. It was an estate. It was owned by the family of Thomas McIlwraith. Thomas bought a house in Brisbane in 1880. He called it Auchenflower. Thomas was the Premier of Queensland.

The house was moved to another location. But it left a Gaelic suburb name after it – and a heritage that is appropriate for a Celtic festival today.