History of the Hunter Valley Scots Club
How it all started
1st March 1981 - a meeting was held in Charlestown to discuss forming a Scots club, to answer questions and to form a steering committee to move ahead.
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17th March 1981 - The steering committee met to discuss what the club will be called, its constitution, membership fees and a badge.
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5th August 1981 – Steering committee met.
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12th August 1981 – A tattoo and games committee met
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16th August - a public meeting was held which approved the formation of the club and a committee was elected.
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Subsequent meetings in September, October and November 1981 were concentrated on finding suitable premises, on organising future functions such as Ceilidhs and Burns Night and on producing a Newsletter.
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The Early Days
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During the 1980’s several events were planned by the Committee and by the Bicentennial sub-committee. These include establishing Scottish Gaelic classes, running Celtic Art Workshops, Ceilidh Nights with themes and of course the ever popular Burns Night.
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There were Scottish Balls where debutantes were presented to Chieftains attending the Scottish Heritage Week events. These were held at Wests, at Workers Club and in Maitland.
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In 1988 a Weekend of Scottish Culture was held at the Morpeth Conference Centre as the Scots club contribution to the Bicentenary.
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Classes included:
Music – pipes, clarsach (Celtic harp), fiddle and song
Dance – Country, Highland and Children’s Singing Games
Knitting
Celtic Art
Scottish language.
The highlight was the presentation of The Papa Stour Sword Dance and The Bridal Dance from Shetland.
The attendees came from all over NSW and Queensland.
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In the early days it was envisaged the Hunter Valley Scots club would have its own licenced club premises. However, instead in the early 1990s the Hunter Valley Scots club was offered the Teralba Community Hall for lease. The club became Incorporated and after several meetings with Lake Macquarie City Council the Lease was eventually signed, giving the club a home of its own. It was realised the dream of building of premises for the club was way beyond reach with the membership numbers, spiralling costs and perhaps also the ageing membership the club faced.
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Events which attracted members, friends and their families, continued in the 1990s. These included Theme night Ceilidhs such as Mary Queen of Scots Night, Auld Reekie Night, Braveheart Night and more gave all ages a chance to enjoy an evening with a Scottish flavour.
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The Burns Nights remained the biggest and most popular event each year.
Into the early 21st Century, the Family affairs and Formal events still remained popular.