3rd International Gathering - 2008
Dunedin, New Zealand
New Zealand Chieftain, Gary Merrylees, starts proceedings at the formal banquet in the Dunedin Centre.
"The Edinburgh of the South" (Dunedin, New Zealand) was the setting for the 3rd International Merrilees Family
Gathering, attended by 140 adults and nine children from Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, New Zealand and the
USA. They are pictured (above) on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral for the official photograph. (Otago
Daily Times).
The Gathering began on Thursday afternoon (7th February) with an early-birds 'meet and greet' in the Hutton Room
of the Otago Museum where registration packs and name badges were handed out. On Friday and Saturday clan members
were able to check their genealogy and obtain personal copies of their family trees at Burns Hall. Bus tours took
family members to historic sites at nearby Taieri, and the Merrilees golf trophy was keenly contested by an international
field of 17 players.
On Friday afternoon 134 family members boarded the special charter train for a trip on the world-renowned Taieri Gorge
Railway and enjoyed a typical Kiwi barbecue.
On Saturday evening the family was piped into the Dunedin Centre for a formal banquet and an opportunity to socialise.
The Gathering ended with a church service on Sunday.
