Haggis and pipes at clan gathering

Roger Moroney
Mackenzie ... MacKenzie ... McKenzie - the spelling differs, but they are all part of the great Scottish clan inspired by the "son of Kenneth".
Last weekend about 100 members of the great clan, settled and living in New Zealand (and a couple from Australia), gathered in Hawke's Bay to simply celebrate being a Mackenzie ... or a MacKenzie ... or a McKenzie.
The clan gathering, staged at the Angus Inn in Hastings, featured all the fine things worth celebrating when one is part of a global fraternity.
The most important being traditional kinship among a great and historically grand family chain.
Then of course there was the haggis and the pipes and the colour of a spirited ceilidh.
"It was a wonderful occasion," said convenor Sonia Mackenzie as she reflected on another memorable annual gathering.
It was the first time in a decade the gathering had returned to Hawke's Bay and that meant a lot of toil for Mrs Mackenzie - but she wasn't complaining.
The duty befell her by virtue of being a Lieutenant to the Mackenzie clan chief in Scotland.
"I am his representative in New Zealand," she said.
While the majority of the clan who gathered were drawn from local McKenzies ... and Mackenzies ... and MacKenzies, many had travelled from the deep south of Invercargill and as far north as Whangarei to take part.
Despite Dunedin and Christchurch having a more recognised "highland" tinge to the populous, there were actually more clan members among the 500 throughout the country living in the North Island.
And och aye, while it was a grand affair, there will be a grander one in two years time when the five-yearly gathering of the clan is staged in Scotland again.
Mrs Mackenzie will make the journey, as she has done on several occasions in the past, along with about 600 other McKenzies ... and MacKenzies ... and Mackenzies ... from all over the world.
The event runs for a week. "It would have to - to go all that way."
The New Zealand clan has been staging gatherings since Mrs Mackenzie set the ball rolling and it became a formalised society in 1995.
One of the highlights of such get-togethers is the traditional arrival of the haggis - appropriately accompanied by bagpipes.
Providing the pipes last Saturday night was Ian Mackenzie of Te Puke, who carries the mantle of the clan chief's main piper.
Next year, when the clan gathers in Nelson, will be a special occasion, Mrs Mackenzie said. The clan chief, John Mackenzie, who is the Earl of Cromarty, will make his first visit here from Scotland.