2023 Clan Ayson Family Reunion Wellington
From: Louisa Medlicott, Consultant Clinical Psychologist. FNZCCP: MA, PGDipClinPsych.
Louisa (1.1.3) lives in Dunedin and is descended from Peter Ayson Jnr.
Wow, what a wonderful gathering of the Clan Ayson of New Zealand Society was had! Thanks to the stellar organisation from our National Secretary Lindy Daniell (1.13.4) and from Di Buchan, (1.9.3) descendants of Peter and Douglas Ayson and Alexander and Joan Ayson gathered on 6th and 7th October at the Wharewaka Function Centre, on Wellington’s Waterfront to celebrate 170 years in New Zealand.
The presence of 92 family members showed how strong the Clan identity continues to be. It was an absolute delight to share celebrations with people from so many generations, from Ian Ayson representing the 4th generation to young Oscar Rutherford-Peat from the 7th generation gather to celebrate our heritage.
The informal get together on Friday night was a fabulous opportunity to catch up with family members, and I know that catching up with some whom I had not seen since I was a pre-schooler was brilliant, as the family bonds continued to be strong. In addition, meeting new family members was a total pleasure – it felt as if we could have chatted for hours! The welcome from our Clan Chief Hugh Francis helped to set the scene for a positive gathering as well as reminding us of our history.
This was further strengthened on Saturday with the premier screening of the Toitu Otago Settlers’ Museum movie of the Ayson story which was very moving – the life admin and sheer determination required to get the family from Glenshee to Warepa shows the steel that must have run through the veins of our ancestors. Makes me so grateful that they were brave enough to make the move. Alistair Buchan’s video of his visit to Corrydon brought home just what it must have been like when Peter and Douglas were there – while we did not see it with 2-3 foot of snow around the buildings, the thought of living there with only the technology from the 1850s is pretty daunting (to get an idea, watching the BBC’s Victorian Farm 6 part series, available on YouTube, Victorian Farm Episodes 1-6 - YouTube is really interesting). The business part of the meeting went well, with useful amendments to the constitution passed, that should help to keep us an updated, modern, and financially viable society.
The afternoon activity of the Weta Workshop tour was fascinating. The amount of creativity and expertise we have in New Zealand is phenomenal – just looking at the Filmography from their website (Filmography Wētā Workshop (wetaworkshop.com) shows the extent of the impact the teams there have had on world wide cinema.Then the Reunion dinner, seamlessly MCed by Clan-Sub-Chief Bevan Watt. Di leading the family in song was absolutely wonderful, with accompaniment on the guitar from Neville Peat. While I did not think I knew the tunes to the music, I was so surprised to find out that I did!
Then on to the piping in of the haggis. Despite some technical difficulties, this went extremely well, thanks to the young substitute piper, and our Chief valiantly taking on the Address to the Haggis with zero notice – a lot of shared laughter was had.
Then Dr Claire Hills gave a brilliant after dinner speech, starting with a moving poem she had written. This really brought home the journey our ancestors had taken, and the bonds that we all share. Jo Hodgson’s singing was another stunning performance, and I was so impressed with her voice and her choice of music (Brave is my favourite of the Disney Princess movies).
The cutting the beautiful Reunion Cake by Ian Ayson and Oscar Rutherford-Peat was a lovely way to celebrate the totality of the family and helped to set up images of what we may become – a strong and vibrant family group celebrating our shared history and looking forward to a positive future.
As for the future, we hope to see all who attended this gathering, as well as more members, celebrate our 175th year in New Zealand down in Dunedin in 2028. We aim to have a road map to interesting places for family visits, so when you come, make sure to book in an extra day or two and get some transport to explore the areas where our descendants lived, worked, and loved and to find some time to reflect on their stories and how they contributed to our own.
Louisa Medlicott presents Claire with a thank you gift on behalf of the Clan.
After Dinner Speech by Dr Claire Hills, 1.13.4
Di Buchan presents a thank you gift to piper Kerrin Roundtree who very expertly piped in the haggis.
Congratulations to Carlin Morris for making eleven floral arrangements for the tables. This was a big task and very much admired by everyone.