Distant relations (front left) John MacManus, Janet
MacManus, Val MacManus, Brian MacManus, Ros Hamling, Bruce
Hamling and Kathleen Currie (nee MacManus) met for the
first time in Dunedin on Saturday. Photo by Craig Baxter.
A couple of Australian cruise-ship passengers met some
distant Dunedin relatives for the first time on Saturday.
Perth residents Bruce and Ros Hamling discovered they shared
ancestry with Dunedin residents John MacManus and Janet
MacManus by searching genealogical records on a family
history website.
They families had the same great-great grandfather, a
resident of County Cavan in Ireland, who fathered 11
children, Mr MacManus said.
His grandfather, John MacManus, had lived in Brisbane but
moved to Dunedin in 1906 and became a prominent Labour
politician and union organiser, he said.
Mr and Mrs Hamling were passengers on the Dawn Princess so
used the stopover to have lunch with the MacManus family in
Dunedin.
Mrs Hamling said she loved Dunedin and dreamed of renovating
a tired inner-city villa into a holiday home, ''or we could
just move into Larnach Castle''.
Dunedin resident Brian MacManus said he and his wife Val
enjoyed hosting their newly discovered relations for lunch.
-shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz
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