Alexander Mathieson was the son of John Mathieson and Barbara Alexandrina (also spelt Alexandria and Alexandra) Brunton. Both parents were from Anderson’s Bay near Dunedin; they married in 1885 and had an impressive 11 children.
When he enlisted Alexander was working on his own farm, Stoneburn, Dunback, Otago. He had married Ivy Irene Fairburn in 1916, and while he was overseas she moved to her in-laws’ home in Anderson’s Bay. Alexander returned after two years overseas, and he and Ivy settled in Waimatuku near Riverton in Southland though later moved to Tomahawk, Anderson’s Bay. Their son Alexander Reginald Mathieson was killed in North Africa in World War 2. Alexander (senior) died in 1946 aged only 56, and is buried in Anderson’s Bay cemetery in Dunedin.
