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21 October 2009.

PICTURE CAPTION

Speaker to give Scottish Parliament kilt a swirl

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon Dr Lockwood Smith, is pictured left, being presented with a kilt in the tartan of the Scottish National Parliament by the Presiding Officer, Alex Fergusson.

Dr Smith, who has a Scottish heritage, will wear the kilt for the first time when he hosts a dinner for the Scottish delegation tonight.

Descended from the Smith and McLaren families, Dr Smith’s Great Grandparents first migrated to Canada and then to New Zealand from Scotland arriving in September of 1862 on the clipper Hanover as part of the pioneer Albertland colony which settled at Port Albert on the Kaipara Harbour.

The Smith family settled at Matakohe naming their home Devon Grove after the homestead in Dollar near Stirling where Dr Smith’s Great Grandmother grew up. Dr Smith lives at Matakohe with his wife, Alexandra (nee Laing) and a member of the Smith family still lives in the original homestead.

The presentation marked the New Zealand visit by the Scottish delegation led by the Presiding Officer, Alex Fergusson MSP, and including other members of the Scottish Parliament Ted Brocklebank MSP, Ross Finnie MSP, Rhoda Grant MSP, and Sandra White MSP.

The visit is part of a New Zealand inter-parliamentary programme raising awareness and building cooperation among different Parliaments around the world.

ENDS

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