 horizontal water mills , also known as Norse or Clack Mills , around Dutch Loch . Originally these were two story buildings with turf roofs , built into banks to give access to the upper floor where the mill @-@ stone was sited . Inside the building there was a fixed lower millstone , and a rotating upper millstone driven by the water falling onto the paddles below . Some were still in use on Papa Stour in the early years of the 20th century , and there is still a working example of one of these mills on the Burn of Clumlie , at Troswick in the south Mainland of Shetland .   = = = 20th and 21st centuries = = =   In common with many small Scottish islands , Papa Stour 's population peaked in the 19th century and has experienced a significant decline since then ( see e.g. Mingulay ) . By 1970 the island school had closed and the population had declined to sixteen ' fairly elderly ' residents , but an advertisement in Exchange and Mart reversed the decline . A croft and five sheep were offered free of charge to incomers which brought a flood of applicants . By 1981 the census recorded a population of 33 . However , by 2005 the population had fallen to 20 after serious discord between islanders led to several court cases . A number of people left the island and the school closed . By early 2008 the population had dropped to just nine after a family of seven left . The 2011 census recorded a usually resident population of 15 - during the decade 2011 @-@ 11 Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4 % to 103 @,@ 702 .   Overview of population trends   = = = Shipwrecks = = =   The coasts around Papa Stour have claimed numerous wrecks . In Hamnavoe , Tiptans Skerry alone has sunk Dutch , French , German and Norwegian ships .   The Aberdeen trawler Ben Doran A178 , foundered on the Ve Skerries 3 miles northwest of Papa Stour , on the evening of 28 March 1930 while on her way to the village of Scalloway to land her catch . When she grounded weather conditions were fairly good but it was not until the following day that a passing trawler saw , and reported the wreck . By the time that various rescue attempts were launched by the coastguard and local volunteers ( there being no lifeboat in Shetland at that time ) , weather conditions had deteriorated to the point where it was impossible to approach the skerries . A request had been made for the Stromness lifeboat from Orkney , only 120 miles away , to launch , but the request was made too late to be of help . All 9 crew perished in the wreck . Only 3 bodies were recovered , that of James Mitchell , which was returned to Aberdeen , and the bodies of J. Cormack and J.R. Insh , which were buried in Scalloway .   The cargo ship SS Highcliffe ran aground in fog on Forewick Holm in February 1940 . On this occasion the conditions were clement and only the ship and cargo were lost . In 1967 the Aberdeen trawler Juniper ran aground in Lyra Sound at the bottom of the 60 metres ( 200 feet ) cliffs . The 12 man crew were rescued by the Aith lifeboat , the coxswain being awarded the RNLI silver medal for this rescue .   Papa Stour 's most recent shipwreck occurred on 9 December 1977 when the Aberdeen trawler Elinor Viking A278 , skipper Alec Flett , foundered on the Ve Skerries . The Aith Lifeboat came to the scene but was unable to get near enough to rescue the crew because of the sea conditions . At the request of Alec Webster , Coastguard Station Officer , Lerwick , a volunteer crew in a British Airways Sikorsky S61N helicopter from Sumburgh Airport was scrambled . They managed to winch all the boat 's crew to safety within hours of the grounding , despite the storm force winds . The helicopter crew later received a number of awards for bravery . There was no loss of life , but this incident prompted the building of a lighthouse on the skerries in 1979 , and may also have been the example required for the formation of the present Search and Rescue helicopter unit , based at Sumburgh Airport .   = = Economy & Transport = =   Crofting is the mainstay of island life . Sheep form the backbone of the agricultural economy but a diversity livestock are kept , including cattle , pigs , goats , chickens , ducks and geese . Vegetable are grown too , often in the shelter of circular walls , such plots being known as ' plantie scrubs ' . Fishing is still conducted but on a relatively small scale . There is a post office at the pier , but no shop . Mains electricity only came to the island at the close of the twentieth century . The Papa Stour Project is a Christian supported housing service
Ġhorizontal Ġwater Ġmills Ġ, Ġalso Ġknown Ġas ĠNorse Ġor ĠCl ack ĠMills Ġ, Ġaround ĠDutch ĠLoch Ġ. ĠOriginally Ġthese Ġwere Ġtwo Ġstory Ġbuildings Ġwith Ġturf Ġroofs Ġ, Ġbuilt Ġinto Ġbanks Ġto Ġgive Ġaccess Ġto Ġthe Ġupper Ġfloor Ġwhere Ġthe Ġmill Ġ@ - @ Ġstone Ġwas Ġs ited Ġ. ĠInside Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġthere Ġwas Ġa Ġfixed Ġlower Ġmill stone Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġrotating Ġupper Ġmill stone Ġdriven Ġby Ġthe Ġwater Ġfalling Ġonto Ġthe Ġpadd les Ġbelow Ġ. ĠSome Ġwere Ġstill Ġin Ġuse Ġon ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġyears Ġof Ġthe Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġand Ġthere Ġis Ġstill Ġa Ġworking Ġexample Ġof Ġone Ġof Ġthese Ġmills Ġon Ġthe ĠBurn Ġof ĠCl um lie Ġ, Ġat ĠTro swick Ġin Ġthe Ġsouth ĠMain land Ġof ĠShe t land Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ20 th Ġand Ġ21 st Ġcenturies Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġcommon Ġwith Ġmany Ġsmall ĠScottish Ġislands Ġ, ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġ' s Ġpopulation Ġpeaked Ġin Ġthe Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġand Ġhas Ġexperienced Ġa Ġsignificant Ġdecline Ġsince Ġthen Ġ( Ġsee Ġe . g . ĠMing ul ay Ġ) Ġ. ĠBy Ġ1970 Ġthe Ġisland Ġschool Ġhad Ġclosed Ġand Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġhad Ġdeclined Ġto Ġsixteen Ġ' Ġfairly Ġelderly Ġ' Ġresidents Ġ, Ġbut Ġan Ġadvertisement Ġin ĠExchange Ġand ĠMart Ġreversed Ġthe Ġdecline Ġ. ĠA Ġcro ft Ġand Ġfive Ġsheep Ġwere Ġoffered Ġfree Ġof Ġcharge Ġto Ġincom ers Ġwhich Ġbrought Ġa Ġflood Ġof Ġapplicants Ġ. ĠBy Ġ1981 Ġthe Ġcensus Ġrecorded Ġa Ġpopulation Ġof Ġ33 Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġby Ġ2005 Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġhad Ġfallen Ġto Ġ20 Ġafter Ġserious Ġdiscord Ġbetween Ġisland ers Ġled Ġto Ġseveral Ġcourt Ġcases Ġ. ĠA Ġnumber Ġof Ġpeople Ġleft Ġthe Ġisland Ġand Ġthe Ġschool Ġclosed Ġ. ĠBy Ġearly Ġ2008 Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġhad Ġdropped Ġto Ġjust Ġnine Ġafter Ġa Ġfamily Ġof Ġseven Ġleft Ġ. ĠThe Ġ2011 Ġcensus Ġrecorded Ġa Ġusually Ġresident Ġpopulation Ġof Ġ15 Ġ- Ġduring Ġthe Ġdecade Ġ2011 Ġ@ - @ Ġ11 ĠScottish Ġisland Ġpopulations Ġas Ġa Ġwhole Ġgrew Ġby Ġ4 Ġ% Ġto Ġ103 Ġ@ , @ Ġ702 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOverview Ġof Ġpopulation Ġtrends Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠShip w re cks Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcoasts Ġaround ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġhave Ġclaimed Ġnumerous Ġwre cks Ġ. ĠIn ĠHam nav oe Ġ, ĠT ipt ans ĠSk erry Ġalone Ġhas Ġsunk ĠDutch Ġ, ĠFrench Ġ, ĠGerman Ġand ĠNorwegian Ġships Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠAberdeen Ġtra w ler ĠBen ĠDor an ĠA 178 Ġ, Ġfound ered Ġon Ġthe ĠVe ĠSk er ries Ġ3 Ġmiles Ġnorthwest Ġof ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġ, Ġon Ġthe Ġevening Ġof Ġ28 ĠMarch Ġ1930 Ġwhile Ġon Ġher Ġway Ġto Ġthe Ġvillage Ġof ĠSc allow ay Ġto Ġland Ġher Ġcatch Ġ. ĠWhen Ġshe Ġgrounded Ġweather Ġconditions Ġwere Ġfairly Ġgood Ġbut Ġit Ġwas Ġnot Ġuntil Ġthe Ġfollowing Ġday Ġthat Ġa Ġpassing Ġtra w ler Ġsaw Ġ, Ġand Ġreported Ġthe Ġwreck Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġtime Ġthat Ġvarious Ġrescue Ġattempts Ġwere Ġlaunched Ġby Ġthe Ġcoast guard Ġand Ġlocal Ġvolunteers Ġ( Ġthere Ġbeing Ġno Ġlife boat Ġin ĠShe t land Ġat Ġthat Ġtime Ġ) Ġ, Ġweather Ġconditions Ġhad Ġdeteriorated Ġto Ġthe Ġpoint Ġwhere Ġit Ġwas Ġimpossible Ġto Ġapproach Ġthe Ġsk er ries Ġ. ĠA Ġrequest Ġhad Ġbeen Ġmade Ġfor Ġthe ĠSt rom ness Ġlife boat Ġfrom ĠOr k ney Ġ, Ġonly Ġ120 Ġmiles Ġaway Ġ, Ġto Ġlaunch Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġrequest Ġwas Ġmade Ġtoo Ġlate Ġto Ġbe Ġof Ġhelp Ġ. ĠAll Ġ9 Ġcrew Ġperished Ġin Ġthe Ġwreck Ġ. ĠOnly Ġ3 Ġbodies Ġwere Ġrecovered Ġ, Ġthat Ġof ĠJames ĠMitchell Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġreturned Ġto ĠAberdeen Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġbodies Ġof ĠJ . ĠCorm ack Ġand ĠJ . R . ĠIn sh Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwere Ġburied Ġin ĠSc allow ay Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcargo Ġship ĠSS ĠHigh cliffe Ġran Ġag round Ġin Ġfog Ġon ĠFore wick ĠHol m Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ1940 Ġ. ĠOn Ġthis Ġoccasion Ġthe Ġconditions Ġwere Ġcle ment Ġand Ġonly Ġthe Ġship Ġand Ġcargo Ġwere Ġlost Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1967 Ġthe ĠAberdeen Ġtra w ler ĠJun iper Ġran Ġag round Ġin ĠLy ra ĠSound Ġat Ġthe Ġbottom Ġof Ġthe Ġ60 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ200 Ġfeet Ġ) Ġcliffs Ġ. ĠThe Ġ12 Ġman Ġcrew Ġwere Ġrescued Ġby Ġthe ĠA ith Ġlife boat Ġ, Ġthe Ġco x sw ain Ġbeing Ġawarded Ġthe ĠRN LI Ġsilver Ġmedal Ġfor Ġthis Ġrescue Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠPapa ĠSt our Ġ' s Ġmost Ġrecent Ġship wreck Ġoccurred Ġon Ġ9 ĠDecember Ġ1977 Ġwhen Ġthe ĠAberdeen Ġtra w ler ĠEl in or ĠViking ĠA 278 Ġ, Ġsk ipper ĠAlec ĠFle tt Ġ, Ġfound ered Ġon Ġthe ĠVe ĠSk er ries Ġ. ĠThe ĠA ith ĠLife boat Ġcame Ġto Ġthe Ġscene Ġbut Ġwas Ġunable Ġto Ġget Ġnear Ġenough Ġto Ġrescue Ġthe Ġcrew Ġbecause Ġof Ġthe Ġsea Ġconditions Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġrequest Ġof ĠAlec ĠWebster Ġ, ĠCoast guard ĠStation ĠOfficer Ġ, ĠLer wick Ġ, Ġa Ġvolunteer Ġcrew Ġin Ġa ĠBritish ĠAirways ĠSik ors ky ĠS 61 N Ġhelicopter Ġfrom ĠS umb ur gh ĠAirport Ġwas Ġscrambled Ġ. ĠThey Ġmanaged Ġto Ġwin ch Ġall Ġthe Ġboat Ġ' s Ġcrew Ġto Ġsafety Ġwithin Ġhours Ġof Ġthe Ġgrounding Ġ, Ġdespite Ġthe Ġstorm Ġforce Ġwinds Ġ. ĠThe Ġhelicopter Ġcrew Ġlater Ġreceived Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġawards Ġfor Ġbravery Ġ. ĠThere Ġwas Ġno Ġloss Ġof Ġlife Ġ, Ġbut Ġthis Ġincident Ġprompted Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġof Ġa Ġlighthouse Ġon Ġthe Ġsk er ries Ġin Ġ1979 Ġ, Ġand Ġmay Ġalso Ġhave Ġbeen Ġthe Ġexample Ġrequired Ġfor Ġthe Ġformation Ġof Ġthe Ġpresent ĠSearch Ġand ĠRescue Ġhelicopter Ġunit Ġ, Ġbased Ġat ĠS umb ur gh ĠAirport Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠEconomy Ġ& ĠTransport Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠCro ft ing Ġis Ġthe Ġmain stay Ġof Ġisland Ġlife Ġ. ĠSheep Ġform Ġthe Ġbackbone Ġof Ġthe Ġagricultural Ġeconomy Ġbut Ġa Ġdiversity Ġlivestock Ġare Ġkept Ġ, Ġincluding Ġcattle Ġ, Ġpigs Ġ, Ġgoats Ġ, Ġchickens Ġ, Ġducks Ġand Ġge ese Ġ. ĠVeget able Ġare Ġgrown Ġtoo Ġ, Ġoften Ġin Ġthe Ġshelter Ġof Ġcircular Ġwalls Ġ, Ġsuch Ġplots Ġbeing Ġknown Ġas Ġ' Ġplant ie Ġscr ubs Ġ' Ġ. ĠFishing Ġis Ġstill Ġconducted Ġbut Ġon Ġa Ġrelatively Ġsmall Ġscale Ġ. ĠThere Ġis Ġa Ġpost Ġoffice Ġat Ġthe Ġpier Ġ, Ġbut Ġno Ġshop Ġ. ĠM ains Ġelectricity Ġonly Ġcame Ġto Ġthe Ġisland Ġat Ġthe Ġclose Ġof Ġthe Ġtwentieth Ġcentury Ġ. ĠThe ĠPapa ĠSt our ĠProject Ġis Ġa ĠChristian Ġsupported Ġhousing Ġservice