Invergordon a small town on the shores of
Cromarty Firth in Highlands, Scotland, was once a booming town with a Naval
base, an Aluminium melting plant and oil rigs fabrication/maintenance yard.
However due to one reason or other these employment giving units gradually
closed and by the end of 20th century the town had started decaying.
In January
2002 a voluntary group known as ‘Invergordon off the wall’ was set up suggest
ways and means to regenerate the town. One of the projects taken up by this
group was creation of an outdoor art gallery where in several murals, depicting
the history and culture of the area were painted.
First mural was created in
2004 and till date murals at eleven locations have been painted. The murals
painted so far are;
- The Loch
- Volunteer Spirit
- Pipes and Drams
- Heritage of the Firth
- Gather Round
- Our Legacy
- A Century of Sport
- Fire! Fire!
- Saltburn’s Past
- The Way We Were
- The Long Goodbye
The design and subject of
each mural was decided by a community group who interacted with the professional
artists engaged to create the art work.
Most of the murals are located on the main “High Street” or
on the streets just off the “High Street”. The entire route which is about half
a mile long has been named ‘The Mural Trail’ and same was inaugurated in 2007
by Princess Royal (Princess Anne).
The route and its murals have become a hit not
only amongst the local populace but also with the tourists who visit Scotland.
In the words of their own web site;
" .....
400,000 - 500,000 visitors per year come to view the murals….. Employment has
increased due to the opening of 200 new businesses and morale and pride in their
town has increased dramatically."
A brief description of each mural along with link for more information as well as link for Google Street View of the mural is given below;
The Loch
Artist - Ken White (June 2004)
The right panel shows the working of an old quarry, the left shows the
stonemasons at work using the quarried stones and third panel depicts the nearby
Balnagown Quarry which is now the artificial Kildary Loch.
Volunteer Spirit
Artist - Ken White (2005)
The mural shows two boats with the Invergordon Lifeboat Station. The
mural was initially named as 'The Lifeboat' - The 'Douglas Aikman Smith' but later it was changed to
Volunteer Spirit.
The boat in the smaller poster is the Waveney Class Lifeboat, 'The White
Rose of Yorkshire' which was in service from 1989 till 1996.
The larger image shows the present Lifeboat 'Douglas Aikman Smith'
which is in service since May 1996.
Pipes and Drams
Artist - Anna Smith (2006)
A tribute to the Invergordon Distillery Pipe Band.
Heritage of the Firth
Artist - Steve des Landes (2006)
The Mural is a collection of six individual murals depicting the past
history/heritage of the town.
- Panel 1 (L to R) - Tide Waders/Tide Waiters - depicts the local fishermen's wives, who braving the cold waters, used to board boats, which came in during high tide, and guided the travellers to the town.
- Panel 2 - The Natal Disaster - depicts the sinking of HMS Natal on 30th December 1915 with 421 listed losses.
- Panel 3 - The Invergordon Mutiny - depicts one of the few strikes in British history when about 1,000 sailors of the British Atlantic Fleet, went on strike on 15-16 September 1931.
- Panel 4 - Tank 13 - depicts bombing of the oil depot by a German Junkers 88 on 15th February 1941. Tank 13 was hit and was totally destroyed but fortunately there was no fire, although massive amount of oil was spilled and flowed down the nearby railway line.
- Panel 5 - The Smelter - The Poisoned Chalice - depicts the dashing of the hopes of the local populace by closure of the Aluminium smelting plant. Locating of the plant here in late 1960 had raised the hopes of the locals for good job opportunities, however the plant closed in 1981 with sacking of most of the employees.
- Panel 6 - The Oil Rig - depicts an oil rig which have almost disappeared from Invergordon, which was once the hub of oil rig repairs.
Gather Round
Artist - Alan Potter (2006)
The mural illustrates Invergordon
Highland Gathering - an sporting and cultural event which is held annually to promote sports, music and
dancing etc.
The athletics and other sport events which are held in the
central arena of the town are shown in the circular ring of the Mural
and the other
outdoor events like
cycle racing, children's egg and spoon race, sack race, dancing and
piping etc. are depicted in the area outside the circular ring.
Our Legacy
Artist - Tracey Shough (2006)
The mural depicts the natural history of the Firth. The animals shown in the painting have been taken from Children's art competition and 24 winners
from the local primary schools worked with the artist Tracey Shough to depict the fauna of the region - mainly the fishes and the birds found
in and around Invergordon.
The mural also carries slogans to make the populace aware of about protecting the environment. The messages are spelt out loud and clear;
- Take Nothing But Pictures
- Leave Nothing But Footprints
- Kill Nothing But Time
A Century of Sport
Artist - Alan Potter (2007)
The mural illustrates various sports played in Invergordon during the past 100 years.
Fire! Fire!
Artist - Anna Smith (2007)
The mural depicts the tragic fire incidence of 3rd February 1972, which
totally gutted Royal Hotel. The residents of Invergordon have very fond memories
of the hotel, which had played a very important role
in their lives had served as the venue for many weddings,
birthdays and other social functions.
Saltburn's Past
Artist - Ken White (2007)
Saltburn is a settlement/village adjoining Invergordon. It has developed in the
same manner as Invergordon and has close ties with Invergordon. The mural which
consists of three panels, depicts Saltburn's past.
First panel (left) shows the first Saltburn school which was built by the
Saltburn stonemasons. The school is now village hall and all community
activities take place here.
The centre panel shows stone masons at work, The stone masons of
Invergordon/Saltburn had played a leading role in building the New Town of
Edinburgh.
The last panel shows sunrise over the village.
The Way We Were
Artist - Steve des Landes (2007)
The mural portrays the past link of the town with the erstwhile Naval base and
depicts the Royal Marine Band marching on the High Street.
The Long Goodbye
Artist - Tracey Shough (2008)
The mural depicts the story of 4th
Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (51st Division) who departed for France in 1939
and most of them were taken prisoner in June 1940 by Rommel's army at St Valery
en Caux.
Two panels of the mural are on the interior walls of main platform
and other two are on the passage way leading to the Station. The panels show
their departure, the farewell by family, their life in the battlefield and
ultimate capture.
_______________________________________________________________
View all locations in
Google Earth
Main Source of info: Web pages from official web site
of “Invergordon off the
Wall”
Credits: I am thankful to “Invergordon
off the Wall” for permitting use of pictures from their website.
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