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Welcome! This website was created on 19 Nov 2011 and last updated on 25 Mar 2024. The family trees on this site contain 2035 relatives and 470 photos. If you have any questions or comments you may send a message to the Administrator of this site.
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About The Bunning/McKenzie Family
An interest in Genealogy is not for everyone. Some of my relatives have no interest in their ancestors, whatsoever. Fortunately, in each branch of our family tree there is someone who  has been endowed with curiosity, some research skill and a desire  to tell the story of the  forefathers.  Trials and tribulations in family history do make for good reading, inspiring members to face adversity with courage and determination.

As the administrator of this site, I have learned that genealogy lends itself to an appreciation of world  history.  Highland Clearances, British  Colonization,  the Gold Rush in Australia, , World  War 1 and 2 , and  the Spanish Influenza  epidemic affected my ancestors. The census data reveals that in the mid 1800s  women were having babies about every two years. Some women died in childbirth  or had their lives shortened by the strain of giving birth to a dozen children. Young women, who  may have become pregnant before marriage, left the country to give birth. Some mothers left the newborn with  its grandparents.  While avoiding scandal, it could  place a heavy burden on an aging couple.  
  
 Up until the 19th Century Scotland’s people  endured a social structure akin to the feudal system of the Middle  Ages. There were a few lucky souls, born into families that held title to the land, but the majority of Scots  were poor crofters, paying the rent to a wealthy landowner. In the Highlands a genetic blessing might be to carry  the McKenzie DNA. An incredible number of the McKenzie clan lived well into their nineties.

During the industrial revolution the lowland Scots in our family were  working in the textile trade. Many were processing linen or working on looms. Many of the children left school at  12 to work as agricultural laborers or domestic servants. The mid 1800’s seem particularly difficult and it is  apparent from correspondence that families in the Highlands were relying on the generosity of  their kinfolk overseas to sustain them.

Some pioneers arrived in a new land at an opportune time. Investment in cheap real estate always  proved prudent. In later years, education was a wise choice enabling families to find gainful  employment. But the formula for success was ever-changing. It seems that the key to success was  adaptability. The family members supported each other with love and understanding and were prepared to  change their jobs, their location, and their thinking in order to thrive.

My branch of the Mckenzie family lives in western Canada. We have been here since Douglas Mckenzie  was enrolled in the Air Force Commonwealth Training Program  during WWII.  He was stationed in   Winnipeg, Manitoba. There he met a Canadian woman named Margaret Meldrum and they corresponded  throughout the war. He proposed marriage and after 1946, like many other war brides in the  Commonwealth, Peggy Meldrum took a ship to an unknown country to start a new life.

Doug's family had already been living in New Zealand for three generations and had established  sheep stations, productive farms, a reputation in breeding Hereford cattle and an excellent dairy  in Featherston. Doug was the youngest in a family of twelve. After the war he apprenticed as a  carpenter and he and Peggy lived for two years in Wellington. She worked for Watkins, a home  products company, then found a job as a waitress in "The California Cafe".  Peggy was feeling  homesick. Her father needed help on the farm in Rosenort, Manitoba so the couple decided to return  to Canada. Their daughter Isabel was born in Winnipeg. Farming in this part of the world was  a hit and miss occupation. After severe flooding of the Red River in 1952 and three brutally cold  winters, Doug was ready to move elsewhere. They headed for the west coast. Initially they had not  ruled out returning to New Zealand, but Vancouver Island reminded Doug so much of home they  decided to stay. Their son Bruce was born in Nanaimo.

Doug and Peg have passed on and we are still here, near the island, on the island, or in planning  stages to return.



THE MCKENZIE PRAYER

BLESS A' THE MCKENZIES AN' A' THE MCKENZIE CHILDREN THEIR SONS AN' SON'S CHILDREN AND THEIR DOCHITER'S
 FOR A THOUSAN' YEARS TO COME.
 BE YE GRACIOUS AN' SEND DOON MOUNTAINS O' SNUFF,
 AN' RIVERS OF WHISKEY.
 AN' OH LORD SEND DOON SWORDS AN' PISTELS AN' DAGGERS, AS MONIE AS THE SANDS ON THE SEASHORE
 TO KILL THE MACDONALDS, THE CLAN RANALDS,
 AND THE CAMPBELLS.
 AN' OH LORD, BLESS THE WEE COO,
 AN' MAKE IT A BIG COO.
 AN' OH LORD BLESS THE SUCKLIN, AND MAKE IT A GRAND BOARD. AN' OH LORD, BLESS THE WEE BAIRNS, YON ANGUS, ALEX AN' BESSIE AN' MAGGIE AN' FLORRIE.
 AN' OH LORD, BUILD UP A GREAT WALL BETWEEN US AN' THE IRISH, AN' PUT BROKEN BOTTLES ON TOP, SO THEY CANNAE COME OVER.
 AN' OH LORD, IF YE HAE ANYTHING GUDE TO GIE,
 DUNNA GIE IT TO THE IRISH,
 BUT GIE IT TO YOUR CHOSEN PEOPLE, SCOTS,
 ESPECIALLY TO THE CLAN MCKENZIE AN A' THEIR FRIENDS.
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Getting Around
There are several ways to browse the family tree. The Tree View graphically shows the relationship of selected person to their kin. The Family View shows the person you have selected in the center, with his/her photo on the left and notes on the right. Above are the father and mother and below are the children. The Ancestor Chart shows the person you have selected in the left, with the photograph above and children below. On the right are the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. The Descendant Chart shows the person you have selected in the left, with the photograph and parents below. On the right are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Do you know who your second cousins are? Try the Kinship Relationships Tool. Your site can generate various Reports for each name in your family tree. You can select a name from the list on the top-right menu bar.

In addition to the charts and reports you have Photo Albums, the Events list and the Relationships tool. Family photographs are organized in the Photo Index. Each Album's photographs are accompanied by a caption. To enlarge a photograph just click on it. Keep up with the family birthdays and anniversaries in the Events list. Birthdays and Anniversaries of living persons are listed by month. Want to know how you are related to anybody ? Check out the Relationships tool.

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