MANY throughout Caithness and far beyond were saddened to hear that Wick historian Iain Sutherland MBE had died on Thursday, aged 83.

Mr Sutherland passed away peacefully at Pulteney House care home, where he had lived for the past few years.

Father of eight children and husband to the late Maisie, Mr Sutherland will forever be remembered as a man who fought for the heritage of his home town – a fact not lost on the powers that be with his MBE in 2006 for services to local heritage.

Many who encountered Mr Sutherland knew he was a man who did not suffer fools gladly and had dedicated his life to preserving the town's history by any means necessary.

He refused to mince his words when it came to some of the local councillors he encountered over the years. In the endnote chapter of his final book, This Will Do Now (2013), he talked about the "smouldering resentment" he felt over what he regarded as the desecration of the town from 1970 to 1980 by "a collection of nonentities disguised as a council".

Mr Sutherland's daughter Helen Hill said: "He set out to save as much of the heritage of the town as possible and had many successes with that."

She said that her father's no-nonsense attitude to saving Wick's buildings and cultural treasures was a necessity born out of the need to get councillors and others to listen.

Mr Sutherland frequently decried what he saw as "cultural vandalism" visited upon Wick with the destruction of much of High Street, the demolition of the Henderson Memorial Nursing Home and the removal of the river's sluice barriers which consigned pleasure boating to the history books.

He was also dismayed when the cathedral-like West Church in Francis Street was demolished to make way for a garage business and tried to save shards of its rosary window.

He will forever be remembered as a founding father of the Wick Society and the heritage centre in Bank Row. He was also deeply involved with restoration projects for the Black Stairs, the Whaligoe Steps, the Pilot House above Wick harbour, the historic fishing boat Isabella Fortuna and Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, as well as the unique Johnston photographic collection.

A period of work at Dounreay culminated in his job as the site's archivist and this knowledge stood him in good stead for his future projects.

Writing 17 books on local history, as well as short stories and poetry, he also penned several plays and a book on Caithness dialect.

Wick Society chairman Ian Leith said: "The Wick Society would not exist without the immense commitment Iain Sutherland gave to its inception, growth and continuance.

"The debt our heritage owes to Iain will not be forgotten, but for now let his family remember."

Wick artist Professor Ian Charles Scott sent his condolences from New York and said that "no human being can ever deserve the title Wicker more than the late, great Iain Sutherland".

"The man lived, ate and breathed Wick and Caithness in all its glory and gore," the artist said.

"I first befriended Iain while researching the heritage centre collection of old bicycles in order to complete a portrait of Benny Harper and we became good friends.

"He loved Wick with a hot-blooded passion that is rare nowadays."

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He said he was especially proud to be mentioned in Mr Sutherland's final work, This Will Do Now – a mix of short stories, poetry and personal memories.

"I drew and painted him several times and while working on his features would always feel the reins of my imagination running free through the past, present and future of Caithness."

Alan McIvor, chairman of Thurso Heritage Society, said: "Iain was an incredible font of knowledge – not just about Wick, but Caithness.

"If he was up in Thurso, we quite often had a chat. He popped in to the house when he was working on his book The Fishing Industry of Caithness, and we shared information about the Thurso side.

"His efforts to promote local history were outstanding, and the county would be much poorer if it weren’t for him. He was a real credit, and there is no doubt that history will remember him."

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Drew Macleod said he was "truly sorry" to hear of Mr Sutherland's passing and described him as "a fine man", while Rena Oliver said he "has left the town and county many memories and a very rich supply of descendants".

Dan Mackay wrote: "Indefatigable. Legend. Truly a one-off... we were richer for his contribution, poorer for his loss. Few historians make history – Iain Sutherland did."

Mr Sutherland's legacy will continue and a symbol of this is his revival of the annual Hogmanay bonfire in the Bignold Park – a "3000-year-old tradition", as he called it, that will burn brightly for many years to come in his memory.

Prof Scott added: "Now let all of us who knew Iain stand together and raise a dram to a man who can truly be called the greatest Wicker and know that he will be a part of its soil and happily reunited with the love of his life, Maisie."

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