Learn about the history of the Bundanoon Stones ahead of Southern Highlands Scottish festival Brigadoon

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The lifting of the Bundanoon Stones is one of several events to feature at Brigadoon.

Other events held on the day include the Heavy Weight Championship, where experienced athletes compete, as well as crowd participation on the caber toss and shot put.

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History of the Bundanoon Stones

Modelled on the Maglashen Stones from Scotland, the Bundanoon stones consist of a set of five round sandstone balls ranging from 90 kgs to 165 kgs in weight.

Only five of the stones are used at any one time with the current competition set comprising the 115kgs, 120kgs, 125kgs, 140kgs and 165kgs.

The stones vary in size from 43 centimetres to a massive 50 centimetres or half metre in a diameter.

The history of the stones goes back over one thousand years to the Highlands of Scotland when a boy was considered to have reached manhood when he could lift two stone in weight from the bare ground onto the top of a stone dyke or fence as we know it.

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Most villages took part in this exercise and the stones varied from village to village.

In the late 1970s the lifting of the stones was brought back to life in Scotland with the introduction of the Maglashsen Stones.

The stones are laid out five metres apart lightest to heaviest with each competitor having to lift all five stones on top of a wooden barrel four feet in height.

The person who can lift all five stones on top of the barrels in the fastest time is declared the champion of the day.

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