Obituary - Peter Douglas Giffen Ayson
PETER DOUGLAS GIFFEN AYSON 1924-2016
Funeral, Calvin Presbyterian Church, Robertson St, Gore
Wednesday 29 June 2016
Tribute from Neville Peat.
Good afternoon. Kia ora tatou katoa.
You all know that Peter was very much a family man. But a few of you might not know about his extended family. It is a very extended family, with the family tree recording 6,700 cousins and inlaws. Ayson cousins, many times removed, are found the length and breadth of New Zealand, with quite a few in Australia and other countries as well.
I’m here from Dunedin to pay tribute to our former Clan Chief Peter as an Ayson cousin. I can tell you that the Clan is gathering in force here today. The current Clan Chief Hugh Francis of Palmerston North and National Secretary Lindy Daniell of Masterton, are both here along with Clan Sub-Chief Bevan Watt, Treasurer Robyn Ayson, of Dunedin, and Clan executive committee members Les Green, Janet Sim-Elder, Murray Ayson and myself, all from the Dunedin area.
Peter was a fourth-generation descendent of the Aysons who migrated from a remote part of the Perthshire Highlands to become pioneers in Otago and Southland in the 1850s. He is named for his great-grandfather, Peter Ayson, a South Otago identity in the 19th century. His two middle names are also from his Ayson side – Douglas from his great grandmother, and Giffen the surname of his grandmother. His grandfather was William Ayson, a boy just 10 years old when he arrived from Scotland with his mother and father and nine siblings, and who, at the impressive age of 96, wrote down the epic story of his family’s settling in Otago. This is the result – "Pioneering in Otago", a bonny wee book with an amazing tale to tell.
Peter, therefore, was steeped in Ayson family history from childhood. At the 1953 centenary of the Aysons’ arrival in Dunedin, he was part of a steering committee that set up the Clan Ayson of New Zealand Society. He became the first National Secretary, and in 1985, aged 51, he was elected the sixth Clan Chief. He served in this role for 18 years, until 2003 – to date the longest serving of the nine chiefs in the Clan Society’s history.
To give you an idea of the size of the family tree, in 1990 when we were compiling a history of the Clan and the family tree, there were at least 2,000 known cousins spread across 250 surnames – and Peter knew a good number of them personally.
The book was first published in 1991 and updated in Year 2000. This is the result, "The Ayson Story". Peter led a group of us in this project. He was the chief researcher and compiler, a meticulous researcher of family history. He was forever on the phone tying up loose ends. I chipped in with editorial advice and some of the text. Through those months that we collaborated on the book project, my admiration of him increased enormously.
It was hard to say no to Peter. His quiet way was irresistible. Like the Clan Chief Fergus Ayson immediately before him, Peter would do a lot of communicating by phone – that’s what Fergus used to call ‘telephone visiting’. It’s a bit of a lost art in the digital age, isn’t it? Peter will be remembered for the many reunions he worked so hard to organise – national, regional and sub-regional reunions, that were typically enhanced with memorabilia, haggis ceremonies, the Mackintosh tartan (Aysons are a part of Clan Mackintosh) and intense socialising.
We Aysons are all the poorer for now having lost direct access to Peter’s wisdom, his integrity, and his knowledge of family history, all of this delivered in a kindly manner. He had charm and etiquette in full measure – plus good looks to complement the charm.
And what a legacy he leaves! It runs deeper than most of us realise – through the heightening of a sense of heritage for all of us, of who we are and where we came from. And for the Aysons this only increases as the decades roll by.
To dear Mary, Mark, Philip, Jeanne and Trevor, and the grandchildren: In your deep loss, feel some comfort through the loving thoughts of hundreds of Ayson cousins who met Peter and now salute him for what he was – a blessing to Aysons everywhere.
As they say in Scotland, no one dies till they are forgotten. In the years to come, the Clan Ayson website together with the reunions and newsletters will make sure we remember Peter, forever.