HMS Hercules served the needs of the Highlands and Islands Emigration Society, a charity founded in 1852, which assisted 4000 people to move to Australia in the mid-19th Century. Take Tahay, for instance. It's close to North Uist, but part of the administrative district of the Isle of Harris, and its name means 'island with a prominent hill'. It's 213' high and 131 acres in extent. Around 30 people moved there from Pabbay in the Sound of Harris in 1846 and tried to make a living by fishing. It turned out to be a wretched existence and within ten years the familes of five MacLeods and one MacAskill were assisted by the Society, sailed in the Hercules and had landed in Adelaide to begin a new life.
Scottish Islands Explorer - reveals opportunities
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