January 2024

Happy Burns night! Will you be tucking into haggis, neeps and tatties tonight? Or making do with a wee dram?

New Zealander Dan Mathieson has led the global kiwifruit business Zespri for 7 years, and has spent 21 years with the company. He’s now moving to a new role as President of the Americas for the global berry company Driscoll’s. Congratulations on the new role, Dan.

This is rough. Richard Mathieson has contributed a lot to sculpture in public places, especially the Auckland Botanic Gardens. It was his piece that was vandalised and stolen recently. You can see Richard’s work at the Brick Bay sculpture trail near Snell’s Beach, which is well worth a visit.

A New Zealand genealogist (who is a Matheson descendant) is urging people to dig into their family history after Russell Crowe reported finding out that’s he descended from someone famous — well, infamous, as Simon Fraser was beheaded in the Tower of London.

Funding for general medical practices has come under strain. Dr Paula Mathieson of Whangarei is just one GP facing financial challenges.

Hooray! We’ve reached the milestone of 400 members of this Clan Matheson New Zealand Facebook group. Thanks to all who have joined and contributed.

Lena Orum, Chris Binns and Rodger Matheson ensured that Clan Matheson was well represented at the Waipu Highland Games.

Did you know that celebrating Christmas was once banned in Scotland? Or that Christmas Day wasn’t a public holiday until 1958 (and Boxing Day in 1974)? Early Scots Presbyterian migrants to New Zealand didn’t observe Christmas, but began to loosen up towards the end of the 19th century. Don’t listen to your ancestors! The trustees

Our December newsletter is out! If you’re an email subscriber, check your inbox. If not, you can sign up at no cost on our website. Read about an Otago family, a Scottish tragedy, Highland games, bagpipes, artificial intelligence and a library that’s growing by 4,000 books every day. Thanks for your interest and support over

The house marked in blue is where William and Barbara Matheson (nee Campbell) lived and died at 18 George Street, Fodderty, Scotland. Historical maps are a great tool for finding out more about how our ancestors lived. There’s an article on the Clan Matheson New Zealand website with some tips.