By Maura Bowman

DUNDEE MSPs would love to hear from anyone who knows of “lost” settlements of the same name.

Shona Robison and Joe FitzPatrick have been tracking down settlements called Dundee across the globe to invite their residents to join in the 2009 Year of Homecoming —the celebration of all things Scottish that hopes to lure people of Scottish descent to pay a return visit during the year of the 250th anniversary of the birth of poet Robert Burns.

Now the Holyrood duo are writing to the mayors of the many Dundees across the world in the hope of enlisting their support.

“We have, so far located 16 distinct settlements called Dundee, with 13 in the USA— in Florida, Michigan, Oregon, New York, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Mississippi, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, as well as East Dundee and West Dundee in Illinois,” said Mr FitzPatrick.

“There is also a Dundee in New Brunswick, Canada; and one in Natal, South Africa,” he added.

However, the list may not be exhaustive, as Shona Robison explained.

“There are several more places with Dundee in the name around the world, but some are very small, such as Dundee in New South Wales, Australia, which is a farm,” she said.

“We have concentrated on settlements where there is a significant population, but we feel sure that there might be one or two more, and would welcome any information from anyone who knows of more that we may have missed,” she added.

In their letter, the MSPs give some information about the city on the Tay.

They go on to add, “Your town of Dundee shares an obvious link with us, which we hope will inspire your citizens to consider visiting our country and finding our more about us.”