Country diary 1975: Shetland’s unique society could be under threat

31 May 1975: International oil money and personnel may not destroy the physical fabric of the islands but there will be a social change in the rural outback

SHETLAND ISLES: Ten years ago, when we lived in these northern isles (from where my earliest contributions to this column appeared) Sumburgh airport at the busiest time of the year dealt with only two planes a day – and then only on six days a week. The first aspect of change to strike the returning visitor is the transformation of Sumburgh into a scaled-down version of Heathrow, complete with oil company executive jets, circling helicopters, and all the debris of runway extension. But change is not simply the physical manifestation of the offshore oil industry which will probably, in any case, be restricted to the shore installations at Sullom Voe and the harbour developments in Lerwick. Providing there is no massive oil spillage, once the installations are built, much of the face of Shetland will still be as it was. Spring will, as ever, be indicated by a barely perceptible greening of the grass in late May and the sheep and Arctic skuas will still haunt the bleak hills and clear voes from Foula to Skerries. Peat will still be the islanders’ fuel and the long banks will scar the hills. The indefinable change which has already started, and is bound to accelerate as the construction gangs move into the rural outback is a social one. This was a society in which you rarely locked your door unless going on holiday and in which to lock your car was a sign of mild eccentricity. The tiny local constabulary dealt only with occasional roisterings of Norwegian and Faroese deckhands whose boats were in harbour for the weekend. The invasion of international oil money and personnel may not destroy the physical fabric of Shetland but the survival of a unique society is already under threat.