Miss Catherine McCaig of Oban was the daughter of Malcolm and Margaret McCaig of Lismore whose better known son, John Stuart McCaig, the Oban banker, designed and commissioned the erection of the classical tower overlooking Oban Bay. Catherine challenged John’s Will which provided for several thousand pounds to be made available each year to enable completion of his project after his death in 1902.
The Court of Session upheld Catherine’s challenge, describing her brother as an “eccentric testator”, and money which would have gone toward the completion of the Tower and the Museum which it was designed to house, subsequently benefitted the Oban community as a whole. On her death in 1913, Catherine’s entire Estate was directed to be used for charitable purposes partly by way of an educational endowment which was formalised by a scheme under the Educational Endowments (Scotland) Act 1928 and known as Catherine McCaig’s Trust Scheme 1932.
The Scheme was updated in 1963 and amended in 1968 and now provides for the annual award of McCaig Bursaries, McCaig Post-Graduate Scholarships and McCaig Grants.