Malcolm Gunn has recently made additions to the Gunn family book to include updates he has created due to new information he is receiving from people all around the world.  In addition, immediate fa,mily are constantly providing new information  and of course we would like all of this to be available to the Gunn, Baikie and Geddes families.  You can access the revised version of the book on the publications page.

Recently Malcolm Gunn has been busy putting together the latest Gunn Newsletter. Issue number 8 for June 2010 has been emailed to a number of our clan. It is also available for download from this website. Go to the Publications page to find a list of all the newsletters available for download or click here for the latest.
Feature stories in the newsletter include

• the Troup family plans to visit Edinburgh
• a report on Kelly Gunn’s marriage in December 2009
• the birth of a couple more family members
• a report on their recent activities from Nicholas and Libby Gunn (grandchildren of Keith and Faye Gunn)
• a report from Joann Cerqueira in USA (grand-daughter of Janet Blyth, Donald Gunn’s younger sister)
• a tribute to the late James Waters (page 354 of the Book)

As Malcolm explains in the newsletter, he has been busy putting together the story of the other side of his family, the “Tank” history and this has caused the long delay between Newsletters 7 and 8.
(Errata: the article on page 2 telling of Kelly Gunn’s marriage to Adam Lemke is accompanied by a picture captioned “Adam and Grace”. This should read “Ben Gunn and Grace”)

Recently Ruth and I were on holiday in Canada where, amongst other things, we visited a fellow clansman in New Brunswick.  Ian Gunn is President of the Clan Gunn Society – Nova Scotia and between us we had made arrangements to meet while we were in his home town of Moncton in New Brunswick.  This was all possible because Ian had first contacted me after reading through our website one day, then emailing as a follow-up. Ian and his wife Sharon were very gracious hosts and we spent an enjoyable evening in a restaurant and later back in their home.

We travelled to lots of different places from Calgary to Jasper, Winnipeg, Toronto, Quebec and drove all the way to Cape Breton and back to Halifax (where we then flew on to New York in order to spend a few days with Ruth’s daughter). Above is a picture of Niagara Falls we took from the air in a helicopter flight.  Our trip to Canada proved most enjoyable and I am currently adding bits and pieces to my personal website for those who have an interest in following this up.

On Thursday 10 December 2009, in Lilli Pilli Park in Cronulla, Sydney, Kelly Gunn married Adam Lemke.

The happy couple went on to attend the reception held in the Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club later that evening, accompanied by over 150 guests.

Friends and relatives gathered from all over Australia, including Kelly’s two cousins from Adelaide, Yiani and Ilya Harpas.  Photos can be seen by clicking on the Photo Gallery tab in the menu above, then clicking on the link to Kelly and Adam’s wedding.

I have always regreted that my kids never got to meet my brave Grandpa Gunn, he died when I was only 17. He impacted me greatly as a child I remember his strength and Aussie Mateship mentality, respected his wisdom and loved his character…….he was an Aussie true and true, an ex-Serviceman and a real mate.

One thing that ALWAYS stuck in my memory was his incredible shed, I used to stare in wonder as a child at his stash of unused wood, shelves piled with haphazard stacks of wood, in different hues, shapes and colours. The various benches were cluttered with curious woodworking and carving tools that longed to be touched and used (but I never would dare). There were shavings and sawdust everywhere,  but the shed always looked neat and tidy, like an old and familiar shoe.  I used to love looking at the projects he was working on, watching Grandpa working in his old clothes was fun and interesting……I remember the smell, sawdust and pipe tobacco……how I love that smell! It casts me back 30 years sitting and watching my dear Grandpa work and whistle, he always used to work and whistle!!!

As a Homeschooler now I value the input close  family has over me and my children, one of my favourite memories was traveling to the Flinders with my dad Malcolm, allowing him to put on his geography teacher hat once again and explain how the majestic Flinders Ranges were eroded and carved through time……

I had a ball (probably more than the kids and James) but seeing how erosion and overgrazing has carved canyons in our precious land touched me, seeing ruins of extensive sheep and cattle stations now empty stirs my soul, allowing my dad to teach my six kids LIVING GEOGRAPHY was a bonus. We saw how the land was  folded, eroded and exposed, how the mighty peaks rose and the valleys formed…to me and the kids it was fascinating. To me it was a privilege to be taught by my dad.

In the same way I regreted that Grandpa had gone before my children  saw the skill and ingenuity of Grandpa as a carpenter and carver;  my parent’s house is littered with testimony of his skill, cupboards, built in wardrobes, mirrors carved and stained, tapestries and screens framed with frames he had hand carved and built. My children all spent their first 4 months in a magnificent cradle that he made for me originally 40 years prior to their birth. This man was worthy to be remembered.

During the first Gunn family reunion in 2005, we first saw the skill of Jim Gunn, I was amazed that his skill was so much like Grandpa’s and I WAS HOOKED……..I had to get my kids into this man’s life!!  We began to visit him at his home that he shared with his daughter (my dear cousin a few removed ?) Kath. Oh what days we had!!! We began to go every month, and every month my kids came out with some magnificant creation……kites, motorboats, pencilcases, cradles, draughtboards, JUST TO NAME A FEW……

It was like coming home to Grandpa for me…….the shed was almost the same as Grandpa Gunn’s with piles of wood and spiderwebs that never seem to freak men out!! The haphazard piles in differing hues, shapes sizes and lengths….It was just the same! The smell of sawdust, Uncle Jim in work clothes, no pipe tobacco but close enough for me!

My children except for the baby Esther learnt such amazing skills,  and learnt to use all of those interesting but untouchable tools that I saw on Grandpa’s bench. They learnt to use a hammer properly, they learnt to measure and drill, they learnt how to use a Bench Drill and a Jigsaw……things that I would never have been able to teach them. They  sanded, planed, cut, glued and hammered, all under the careful and gentle eye of Uncle Jim as they now affectionately called him.  The relationship spilled into the house with Kath doing cooking and games with the rest of the children…..sometimes they even let me go shopping whilst the bigger children worked. What a joy!

Recently I received an email from from one of our overseas Gunn Clan kin living in Canada. Ted Gunn from the Eastern Canadian branch of the Clan Gunn Society of North America. Ted has found our new website on the internet and wrote to congratulate us on the effort. He is a co-commissioner, with his wife Louise, for the Clan Gunn Society of North America. I have added a link to the Clan Gunn Society of North America website to the list at right for those who would like to find our more about these Canadian relatives within the Clan Gunn.

Ron Martin (page 293 of the book) celebrated his 80th birthday with family and friends on 21/12 2008
Nearly all of the immediate family were there, while Ron’s brother, Bob & Ann, drove over from Sydney. Other cousins attending were Murray Hill from M e l b o u r n e , Susan & John Ga r d e f r om Perth, Jim Gunn & Kathryn Gunn, Bob & Judy Robertson, David Gunn & Helen Wilkins, Malcolm & Jan Gunn

The other day I came across this little gem when browsing through the last Gunn Newsletter. A bit of information tucked away in between everything else – about Scottish radio

Malcolm’s newsletter says you can tune in to 5EB1, 103.1fm…Tuesday 12.30-1.30pm.  Their address is 10 Byron Place, Adelaide SA 5000. Living in Sydney as I do, I am unable to listen to this program. If anyone else has heard the show, why not tell us about it. What was it like?

We were beginning to think it may never happen. Kelly Gunn, daughter of Andrew Gunn in Sydney, has now set a date for her wedding to Adam Lemke.  Kelly and Adam announced their engagement soon after Valentine’s Day in 2008.  Now, over a year later, there is mark on the calendar for 10 December 2009 as being the date for the wedding.

Kelly and Adam are planning an informal wedding with an outdoors ceremony and a reception for invited guests in one of the local clubs.  Of course we look forward to the occasion with great anticipation and interest.  We also wish them both a long and happy life together in the future.

Above: Kelly and Adam were having a picnic with Ruth and Andrew at Kurnell, South Sydney, when Adam popped the question of asking for Kelly’s hand in marriage.

In a surprise visit to his father, Jim Gunn, the website editor drove from Sydney to Adelaide over the Easter break this year. He was accompanied by his son (Ben), Ben’s wife (Carina) and Andrew’s partner (Ruth).
The four days were filled with great times catching up with Andrew’s sister’s family (Helen Harpas) and with visiting places of interest in and around Adelaide. This included trips to Victor Harbour, the Barossa Valley and, closer to home, Glenelg and Port Adelaide. As an added bonus, Carina’s parents (John and Linda Curry) had also decided to drive over to South Australia and were in Adelaide at the same time, so it was possible to share many of these experiences together. The photo at left shows Jim Gunn talking with his grandson, Ben Gunn, outside the building that once housed the tailor-shop once owned and run by Jim’s father, Ben Gunn senior in Divett Street, Port Adelaide.