CONCLUSIONS - The Lighthouse - page 128

9
C ONCLUSIONS
It is well over 100 years since the disaster, and the Flannan Isles, along with the light-
housestation,arelittlechangedfromthatdayinDecember1900.Afteritwasautomated
in 1971, there was no longer any need for a human presence there. The main change is
the building of a helicopter landing pad not far from the stone chapel, giving an almost
surreal aspect . There are, however, still visitors who arrive by launch on day trips from
the west coast of Lewis, a service run by Seatrek in the summer. The run is very popular
with people interested in the islands and particularly for birdwatchers, who have plenty
to see with the colonies of puffins, gannets and other seabirds.
The Stones at Callanish also draw plenty of interest. There is also much in the area to
explore onaholiday andvisitors can see the former Flannan Isles shorestation inBreas-
clete, which was taken over by the local council and converted into flats.
The NLB headquarters at 84 George Street in Edinburgh are in the same Georgian
building they have always occupied, and around the Scottish coast the lighthouses re-
main; most are still working but others have been sold off. At virtually every station the
lightkeeper's cottages have been sold into private ownership, although the NLB has re-
tained the towers. Passing ships were and still are charged so much per ton of cargo car-
ried, length of vessel etc.; this money being paid into the General Lighthouse Fund. The
system is more complicated than this now, as all kinds of scales and charges are worked
out and agreed with shipowners and there are various kinds of exceptions and exemp-
tions. It is not perhaps generally realised that, at least as far as the UK and Ireland are
concerned, the three lighthouse authorities are entirely self-funding, receiving no gov-
ernment money at all.
Anna (Annabella) Ducat who was eight years old 1 at the time of her father's disap-
pearance, gave an interview to The Times in 1990 2 when she was ninety-eight years old
and living in Edinburgh. The article gave brief details of the circumstances of the disap-
pearances. Anna Ducat had stated that her father had been reluctant to take the Flannan
Isles posting when it was offered to him by Robert Muirhead. He had said that it was
too dangerous and that he had a wife and four children depending on him, but took the
position when pressed by Muirhead, who had faith in his abilities as a good lightkeeper.