Ewen Gillies (born 1825), also known as 'California Gillies', was a pioneering adventurer and serial emigrant from the remote Scottish island of

Hirta Hirta ( gd, Hiort) is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The names (in Scottish Gaelic) and ''Hirta'' (historically in English) have also been applied to the entire archipelago. Now without a perman ...

, St. Kilda. During a lifetime punctuated by migration, he settled for periods of time in Australia, New Zealand, California and possibly Canada, but returned home on three separate occasions to live in the small remote community on Hirta, the only inhabited island in the small rocky St. Kilda archipelago, which has been described as Scotland's most remote and isolated island community, located in the

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over 40 miles west of the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

Early life

Ewen was born in 1825 into the Gillies family, a large

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whose origins can be traced to the settlers that came to St. Kilda from the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

and

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in the eighteenth century after a

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outbreak had reduced the St. Kilda population to 42. Ewen spent his childhood on the island and in 1849 he married Margaret McDonald, the beautiful daughter of a respected Island elder. In the 1851 census, Ewen is shown as 24 years old and Margaret as 19, and 33 of the St. Kilda population of 110 were members of the Gillies family.

First emigration (1852)

His first voyage started in 1852, when he, his wife and their baby daughter Mary were among 36 St. Kildans who decided to emigrate to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with the help of the

Highland and Island Emigration Society The Highland and Island Emigration Society was a charitable society formed to promote and assist emigration as a solution to the Highland Potato Famine. Between 1852 and 1857, it assisted the passage of around 5,000 emigrants from Scotland to Au ...

, reducing the population of the island to 70. He sold his

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, furniture and other belongings, raising £17, and they set off in September 1852, first by boat to Skye, then with 400 other emigrants to

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on the steamer ''Islay'', arriving on 1 October. On the following day they travelled by ship to

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. The owner of St. Kilda, Sir John MacLeod, tried without success to persuade some of the group to return to the island, offering to pay for their passage plus two years' living allowance. When they were unconvinced, he generously paid for their voyage to Australia, and they boarded the ship ''Priscilla'' and sailed on 13 October 1853. Unfortunately, an

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onboard resulted in 80 passenger deaths, of whom 18 were members of the St. Kilda group, including the Gillies's young daughter. The ship arrived at

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on 19 January 1853, but

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regulations delayed disembarkation. Gillies and his wife settled near

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in a new area called Little Brighton that had lost most of its labour force in the 1852

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

. Gillies worked for George Walstab as a brickmaker for six months, but is reported to have been sacked for laziness. They then set off for the goldfields, and during the next two years found sufficient gold to buy a large farm, but subsequently suffered financial problems, sold the farm and returned to Melbourne. Gillies went to New Zealand in search of more gold and his wife and two children remained with friends in Melbourne. He returned eighteen months later, only to find that his wife had remarried, assuming he would not return. Gillies sailed to North America, joined the

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and fought in the

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, but in 1861 he deserted and joined a gold rush in California, where he mined successfully for six years. He accumulated a considerable fortune and went back to Australia to reclaim his children, then sailed with them back to St. Kilda in 1871, where they were enthusiastically welcomed. However, after five weeks he and his children became dissatisfied with the remote and isolated life on Hirta and decided to emigrate to America.

Second emigration (1871)

In 1871, Gillies left St. Kilda with his children and sailed to North America, where his priority was his children's future. Eleven years later, after settling his children, he returned to St. Kilda, arriving in 1884. On 27 April 1885, at the age of 59, he married an island girl, Rachel MacQueen, aged 31 according to the certificate. Her silver ring was the only metal wedding ring on St. Kilda; a piece of woollen thread was traditionally used. During his stay he tried to persuade the islanders to emigrate, stirring up discontent and ill-feeling against their landlord. By October 1885 almost all the islanders were keen to relocate, either to the mainland or to Australia. However, in June 1886, Robert Connell visited the island and reported that they had changed their minds.

Third emigration (1885)

Gillies and his new wife left St. Kilda in 1885 and travelled to Australia, settling in Melbourne. His wife, however, was homesick and did not like the climate, so within eight months she brought him back to live in St. Kilda. This time, the islanders quickly tired of his overpowering self-assurance and his attempts to make them change their ways and introduce modern methods, and they forced him to leave.

Fourth emigration (1889)

Gillies and his wife took the first boat from St. Kilda in summer 1889. Some sources state that they travelled to Canada, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Others suggest that they may have settled in California, where Gillies's children were living. It is possible that a gravestone in

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District Cemetery in

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, inscribed "''Ewen Gillies: ''" and "''Rachel Gillies: died ''" may mark their final resting place.

References