The Daylesford Highland Gathering has a new committee – and the December 7 event will now include Highland Games after more than a 20 – year absence. Think caber tossing, weightlifting, hammer throws and stone puts.  

There will also be a Highland cattle display and a Highland dog display – along with plenty of bagpipes, dancing and kilts.  

The day starts at Victoria Park at 9am with the pipe bands marching along  Vincent Street at 9.30am. Then it’s back to the park for the band competition from 11am with the official opening at 1pm.

President Chris Sinclair said Victoria Park will also be alive with loads of other attractions, stalls and a variety of vendors.  

“We are trying to reinvigorate the event. And we also want the locals to come up  to Victoria Park and see us in action rather than just watch the street march.”  

Chris said the event will end with final presentations around 4.30pm with the  mass bands event – with all the competing bands and invitational bands coming together to play a salute to the chieftain and receive their results.

“It’s the end of the day ceremony with as many pipers and drummers we can get on the field.”  

Chris said the aim of the new committee was to start off small and slowly build  the event in the years to come for locals and visitors alike.  

“We’re trying to attract people who are travelling in the region with an interest in Scottish heritage and also wanting to build a strong local network.

The Daylesford  band will be taking part in the street march and the Highland Gathering has been happening at Daylesford since 1952 with the exception of two years because of Covid.  

“Last year we only had 600 through the gate, although if you add the participants it’s up to about 900. But we would like to hit about 1400 this year and then upwards and onwards.

“I’ve been going since 1975 when I was a teenager and played bagpipes in a band and the numbers back then were probably around the 3000 mark.”  

Entry is $15 for adults with free entry for children 12 and under.  Link: www.daylesfordhighland.com  

The Daylesford Highland Gathering committee has donated $10,000 to Daylesford Health to be used to improve comfort levels for residents at Lumeah Lodge, its residential aged care facility.

On the first Saturday in December for over 70 years, the Daylesford Highland Gathering has entertained crowds in Vincent Street, Daylesford with a fundraising parade of Scottish culture, music and dance, followed by a fun gathering at Victoria Park.

The current committee is looking to hand over the reins to a new generation of community members who can carry on its incredible legacy.

If you are interested in joining the Daylesford Highland Gathering Committee please get in touch via
www.daylesfordhighland.com online.

Committee secretary Anne Heriot said the donation was a token of appreciation for the wonderful facilities provided for the elderly of our community.

“Daylesford’s aged citizens are truly blessed to have a facility that provides such caring support and residency prospects, and we thank your dedicated staff for all their efforts.”

Daylesford Health’s Director of Nursing Meagan Harding said the money would play a pivotal role in
enhancing the facilities at Lumeah Lodge.

“This contribution will ensure that the residents of Lumeah Lodge enjoy an improved environment, characterised by safety, comfort, and inviting spaces for all who reside there. We are extremely thankful to the Daylesford Highland Gathering Committee.

“Community is at the heart of what we do at Central Highlands Rural Health. For more than 160
years, we have been supported by the generosity of those who contribute their time and money to ensure that we can best meet the health challenges of our local communities.”

Want to be a part of one of the longest running heritage festivals in Daylesford? Then you need to keep a couple of dates free.

The Daylesford Highland Gathering, founded in 1952, is keen to hear from people from all walks of life who would like to become members – and hopefully committee members.

The current committee, made up of John McColl (president), David Smith (vice president), Anne Heriot (secretary), Bob Orr (treasurer and life member), Keith and Rosalind Pyers (life members), Rhonda Smith and Barbara McColl, have given 20 years of service – Keith and Rosalind have actually clocked up 40 years each – and would like to see some new blood, and perhaps younger people, take over.

John said most of the committee were at the “retiring stage” and while they had enjoyed seeing the December festival thrive, it was time to step down.

“We are holding a public meeting for new members to sign up in February and then we hope that some of them will take up committee positions at the AGM in March.”

Anne said her involvement was all about the Scottish heritage of the event – and a long-held love of Scottish dancing.

“I started as a Highland dancer here when I was just four years old and I danced every year for 14 years. I love the history of the event and we want that to continue for another 72 years at least.

“I still dance with the Ballarat Scottish Country Dancing Association in Daylesford’s Masonic Hall every fortnight – and we all danced at the event last year. It’s always lots of fun.”

Keith said a new committee would be offered as much assistance as needed and with 20 years of hard work already done, all the processes were well in place.

“We have a very strong financial position, thanks to our strong and perhaps partly Scottish committee, and we built a great shed at Victoria Park which has the latest equipment in it.

“The Hepburn Shire Council has been very supportive each year and we also get excellent support from local businesses.

“It’s also great from a volunteer point of view that you hold the gathering in December and then it’s pretty much time out until October apart from a few things to tie up.

“We’ve also just recruited the Daylesford Football Netball Club to help with some of the heavy lifting in the leadup and on the day.

“It’s a very viable operation and this wonderful group of people are only stepping away because they are getting a little older. Being able to continue this heritage is something to be very proud of.”

A public meeting to recruit new members will be held at the Mitchell Hall in Daylesford (next to the Uniting Church in Central Springs Road) on Wednesday, February 21 at 7.30pm. The AGM will then be held at the same venue on Wednesday, March 6 at 7.30pm.

The history of the Daylesford Highland Gathering Founded in 1952 the Scottish festival has become an integral part of Daylesford’s diverse culture. It is the second-oldest event in the local calendar, runner-up only to the Daylesford & District Agricultural Show, which started in 1865.

Held in early December it is the first event of the new season of Highland Gatherings in Victoria each year with its location of Victoria Park offering a beautiful summer setting.

Hepburn Shire Council has helped the committee for 40 years with shire workers erecting the dancing platforms and ensuring Victoria Park is in its best condition.

Since the foundation years in the 1950s many distinguished citizens have acted as Official Openers and taken on the honourable role of Chieftain.

The list is impressive and includes state governors, current and ex state premiers, police commissioners, federal and state ministers, future prime ministers, local MPs (both state and federal)
and even a bishop.

A red-letter day was when Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop graced the event as a dignitary.

The Daylesford Highland Gathering is now an important part of local experience and brings colour and music to the community as well as drawing attention to the strong Scottish ancestry of Victoria’s Western District.

Words: Donna Kelly. Committee image: Kyle Barnes. File image: Contributed

Words: Eve Lamb. Image: Supplied
Organisers of this year’s Daylesford Highland Gathering are urging locals to get out in force and enjoy the long- running annual event.
Happening December 2, the Gathering is now in its 72nd year making it one of the town’s most long-standing annual events.
“It’s very popular in the district and I think the only longer running annual event for the town would be the agricultural show,” muses Gathering committee member Keith Pyers who himself has been with the
Gathering organising committee for 40 years.
Established in 1952 by Dan McKinnon, the Gathering has a proud history of bringing together those interested in Scottish culture from throughout Australia and internationally.
Daylesford’s Highland Gathering last year made a strong comeback after Covid’s interruption and this year it’s back with a vengeance.
Run in conjunction with the Victorian Pipe Bands Association, it promises a great spectacle with numerous highland pipe and drum bands, and dancers from around the state and further afield performing and competing throughout the day.
“Our Daylesford Gathering is the first of the new season of Highland gatherings so it’s very popular with the Scottish community and with the competing bands,” Keith says.
The day fires up with the morning parade through Vincent Street, itself a competitive event for bands and judged by top judges with the Victorian Pipe bands Association.
After that the full day’s entertainment takes over the town’s Victoria Park transforming it into a tartan microcosm of traditional dance and band performance and competition.
“We’re hoping to see a big surge in local attendance at Victoria Park,” says Keith, who himself boasts a 25 percent dram of Scots genetic heritage.
“And at the end of the day, around 4pm or 4.30pm, all of the bands come out onto the arena for the massed bands performance and it is a really brilliant spectacle.
“It’s very moving actually. The power of those pipes is something to hear.”
Keith says accommodation venues in and around Daylesford are typically heavily booked for the weekend and he’s urging local accommodation operators and other businesses to promote the
Gathering and let visitors know about its significance.
“The Scottish community and the history of Scottish settlement is very strong around western Victoria,” he says.
“The Hepburn Shire is named for one of the early Scottish migrants, John Hepburn, who came into the district.”
For anyone with even a trace of Scots heritage coursing through their veins – and there are plenty of such folk in the wider district – the skirl of the pipes can be undeniably stirring. But you don’t need Celtic blood to appreciate the entertainment on offer at the Gathering.
There’ll also be food and merchandise vendors and it’s a great chance for those with the ancestry to pick up some Scottish souvenirs or find out a bit more about their lineage with Clans marquees also present on the day.
“In recent years we’ve encouraged the Clans to attend and they’ll be setting up a tent section,” Keith says.
Secretary with the organising committee, Anne Heriot, has strong Scottish heritage. She also has very fond memories of competing in theDaylesford Highland Gathering dance events as a child.
“I used to be a Highland dancer from the age of four to 16, when we used to live in Melbourne and we’d come here every year for the competition. They are very fond memories for me,” Anne says.
She says it was wonderful to see the Gathering return last year after Covid, and says this year promises an even bigger turnout of bands.
“We’re expecting more than last year – 16 or more,” Anne said“And this time we’ve also got Ballarat Scottish Country Dancing coming to do some demo dances – reels and jigs.”
In a side-note likely to please all with a dash of Scots, Keith says the cost of a day pass “has not significantly moved in 20 years”.
More information can be found on the Daylesford Highland Gathering’s dedicated website.