Call for plaque backed
A councillor has backed a call for a plaque to be placed on a Strath monument explaining the links between the prominent landmark and the slave trade.
In last week’s Herald, local resident and author Felicity Martin said more information should be given in relation to the life of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, in the vicinity of the Melville Monument, which overlooks Comrie.
Dundas, who retired to Dunira, delayed William Wilberforce’s parliamentary motion to abolish the slave trade in 1792 by winning an amendment to have the word “gradually”inserted into the motion, which legalised slavery in the UK for another 15 years.
Strathallan councillor Tom Gray spent a lot of his youth in Comrie but conceded he only had a“nodding awareness”of the history behind the 22-metre obelisk.
“The statues of Colston, Dundas and many more were invariably erected by a divided society, commemorating the heroes of a divided society and now have their relevance disputed by a divided society.
“I don’t believe for a minute that, while many lived in poverty and squalor, all society of Edinburgh thought erecting the Melville statue in St Andrew’s Square was money well spent for whatever reason it was being erected.”
He added:“How many in and around the village of Comrie in 1823 were aware of all the personal achievements of Henry Dundas when his friends graced his memory with a monument?
“History is factual and can only be recorded by words, pictures and historical artefacts.
“The Melville Monument overlooking Comrie is somewhat different to those bearing a statue in that it is a curio, begging questions, rather than a pride of place statue carrying the assumption of greatness in whoever stands at its summit.
“This is surely a most pertinent time to adopt Felicity Martin’s suggestion to let those who venture up the hill to learn the full story and have something worthy of reflection as they amble back to the village, or westwards through Dunira Estate.”