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21st March 2023 - Isobel Wylie Hutchison Biggar Probus Club’s second March meeting saw us welcome back one of our previous speakers, Liz Allan. This time she gave us an extremely engaging talk about the life of Isobel Wylie Hutchison, who was a Scottish Explorer, Botanist, Writer, Photographer and Poet. Born at Carlowrie Castle in West Lothian in 1889, Isobel had an idyllic childhood until she lost both of her brothers and her father in quick succession. Educated privately at home and influenced by her grandfather, she found enjoyment in working outdoors and in hiking increasingly ambitious routes, laying the groundwork for her inspiring independent and unconventional life. Her first expeditions in the 1920s took her to Iceland and then to Greenland, where she collected plant samples and lived alongside the indigenous inhabitants, learning their languages and observing how they were treated as a colony of Denmark. Her later expeditions in the 1930s took her to Alaska and to several of the Aleutian Islands in the north Pacific. She published a number of books and regularly submitted to newspapers and journals including the National Geographic. The plant specimens she collected were sent to Kew Gardens, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the British Museum. Later in her long life she worked for the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, serving as their vice president from 1958-1970, and encouraging women to explore the natural world.
The next meeting is on Tuesday 4 April in Biggar Municipal Hall at 10.00 which will be our Annual General Meeting. Everyone is welcome to what will be an important meeting for the future of the Club. |