STRONG arms, stout hearts and incredible feats of strength will be the order the day when the Brigadoon-Bundanoon Highland Gathering pays tribute to a traditional Scottish coming-of-age ritual this month.
The Bundanoon Stones event on April 7 will pit competitors Luke Reynolds, Scott Hall, Jeremy Hogg and Richard Hozjan against each other to see who can lift five stones ranging from 115kg-165kg in weight the quickest and most cleanly.
The event dates back to the lifting of the MacGlashen stones more than 1000 years ago, when a boy’s ability to lift two stone in weight from the ground on to a stone fence was seen as a rite of passage into manhood in the Scottish Highlands.
The event was reintroduced in Scotland as a test of strength in the 1970s.
Stone lifting won’t be the only strongman event on the agenda. The gathering will also feature the Australian Heavyweight Championship, in which com etitors compete across five events.
Highlights include the stone put – which substitutes a traditional shot put for a stone; the weight for height – where competitors toss a 25kg weight over a bar which increases in height; and the caber toss. The latter sees competitors lifting and flipping a log about six metres in length weighing around 68kg.
For lesser mortals, the festival will offer entertainment linked by the common theme of celebrating Scottish culture.
There will be performances by pipe bands, games, dancers, a fiddlers’ tent, stalls and live performances by acclaimed Scottish vocalist Mary Kiani.
More than 30 clan information stalls will provide an opportunity for visitors to learn about their ancestry.
n brigadoon.org.au
