Invergordon (/ˌɪnvərˈɡɔːrdən/; Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Ghòrdain or An Rubha) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.

History

The town is well known for the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931. More recently it has also become known for the repair of oil rigs which line up in the Cromarty Firth on which the town is situated. In the 1970s and 1980s nearby Nigg was known for the construction of these rigs. The yard used for this is now attempting to re-establish itself as a fabricator of large offshore wind turbines and oil rig refurbishment since being purchased by Global Energy Group.

For a number of years, Invergordon was the site of an aluminum smelter until 1981 when British Aluminium closed it down. The pipeline that covered the conveyor belt from the smelter to the BA pier was not dismantled until the early 2000s and the two large tanks still stand today as well as a water tower.

It still has a grain whiskey distillery, operated by Indian-owned whiskey giant Whyte and Mackay, the output of which contributes to many blended whiskeys. Connected to the distillery was the Invergordon Distillery Pipe Band.

At present, the port is visited by many large cruise liners each year, as the deepwater port allows disembarkation for coach tours in the northern Highlands.

Since the 1970s some would perceive the town as a 'Glasgow colony' since many workers were recruited from southern Scotland to work in the oil rig fabrication and aluminum smelting industries. As a result, the residents' accents often show more influence from Glasgow, than the surrounding Easter Ross dialect of Highland English although this has changed in recent years.

In recent years Global Energy Group has been expanding, with the purchase of the Nigg fabrication yard it has also brought much-appreciated work to Invergordon's Docks with the town again full of oil company workers through the day.

Naval Base

A naval base in the early 20th century, evidence of which remains in the tank farm lying behind the town centre, which used to contain fuel oil and water for admiralty ships, and the Admiralty Pier, where once warships docked and which is now used for cruise ships in the summer and oil field support vessels through the year. One German bomb hit one of the tanks during World War II when a large flying boat base occupied much of the northerly coast of the Cromarty Firth, the result of this being that the fuel oil flowed onto the railway tracks. According to town history, the bomb did not explode.

Culture

Invergordon is now the mural town of the Highlands and hopes to emulate the success of her mentor in Chemainus, British Columbia. Currently, the town is adorned with a series of 17 murals. The paintwork created by a selection of artists tells the stories of the local community and the area. This trail is a result of a community project which was initially designed to integrate local community groups (17 in total took part). The trail, which was opened by Princess Royal, now acts as a major tourist draw. Now Invergordon Off The Wall, the group who facilitated the project, have just completed their latest project creating three new pieces with the assistance of inspirational artists DUFI( Al Macinnes & Fin Macrae), The Mobile Foundry (Kevin Blackwell & Roddy Mathieson) and not forgetting Del Whitticase. Take a moment to view their pieces, Channel, Foundations, and Bubblefield. As ever, these artists drew their source material from working with a broad cross-section of local people.