Chapter:

Murdoch Family Reunion
March 1998
Hobart Tasmania
176 years of family history in Australia

ANGELA McDERMOTT: (JOHN'S BRANCH) Angela agreed to act as Co-Convenor with Rob, to chair committee meetings in his absence. Angela and her husband Tony very skillfully organized the Sunday spit roast and sporting activities at Cambridge oval. In the later activity she was also assisted by Max and Katherine Corney (JOHN'S BRANCH). Max and Katherine ran the Sports afternoon with lots of enthusiasm, with Max's headmaster skills quickly getting both the young and young at heart involved in running, tug of war and a variety of novelty games.

HELGA PIRZL (ROBERT'S BRANCH) and RACHEL MURDOCH: (JOHN'S BRANCH) Helga and Rachel represented the younger age group on the committee and they combined their talents to very ably organize the Friday night Cocktail Party, the Saturday Lunch Boat Cruise and the Saturday evening Dinner. These events were organized at top venues, with excellent caterers, and the young ladies ensured everyone had a great time.

GILL PIRZL: (ROBERT'S BRANCH) Gill organized the database of registrations and prepared the name badges, Reunion kits and the souvenirs. She looked after all the backroom stuff needed for a successful Reunion. Thanks to Gill's computing skills, people were able to selectively pick what activities they attended and the innovative name badge Gill designed allowed organizers to know at a glance who had paid for what events, which made security at functions unobtrusive.

ROB MURDOCH: (ROBERT'S BRANCH) Rob acted as Convenor of the Reunion and Master of Ceremonies for the weekend. Rob organized the program, registrations, and payments, travel accommodation, and mail outs. Rob provided the management experience needed to ensure the smooth running of the Reunion.

THE REUNION

The Salamanca Inn Hotel, in the middle of Hobart's famous historical tourist area .was an ideal base for the Reunion. It was the registration centre and hosted the excellent historical display set up in one of the hotel function rooms all weekend. It was also the venue for the Friday night Cocktail Party and the Saturday morning tea. Many of the visitors from interstate who could not find private accommodation also stayed at the hotel.

The Reunion commenced on Friday March 13th 1998 with a Cocktail Party at the Salamanca Inn. The theme for the night was our Scottish heritage. Over 100 people attended this function, which was designed as an opportunity for people to mix and get to know each other. Highlights of the party were the traditional Scottish addressing of the haggis; a computer generated picture show of Craigow in Scotland put together by Rob Murdoch and a talk on life at Craigow by Mrs. Joan Magnell, a descendant of MARY's who had traveled with her husband Roger from the UK especially for the Reunion.

After the party the family moved on to have dinner in smaller groups at various Hobart Restaurants. One large gathering at Bakers Restaurant in Macquarie St. included all the grandchildren and great grandchildren present of James Peter Murdoch, (a son of ROBERT).

On Saturday morning a Morning Tea and historical display was held at Salamanca Inn. These activities gave the family more time to mingle and get to know each other, particularly those from other branches. The historical display was very extensive and professionally setup. It included items associated with family history lent by every branch of the family. Associated with the display was a souvenir stall where visitors could purchase Murdoch souvenirs, copies of booklets and the family tree, reunion shirts and bottles of Commemorative wines. During the Morning Tea Max Linton gave a talk on the life of DR. JAMES MURDOCH, which was very informative and enthusiastically received.