A Broughty Ferry woman has discovered that her extended family has international connections that stretch across three continents.
Beth Fraser (78), who grew up in Lochee, discovered last year that Richard Mann, New Zealand’s ambassador to South Korea, was her cousin’s son her first cousin once removed.
Richard visited Beth in Scotland last year and now his father Athol, Beth’s cousin, and his sister Alison have followed and visited the family’s ancestral home.
Amazingly, Alison also worked for New Zealand’s diplomatic service and was the country’s ambassador to Brazil.
Beth’s uncle William Mann left Dundee to start a new life in New Zealand after serving with the Gordon Highlanders during the first world war.
Athol worked in international finance before becoming dean of the school of commerce at Victoria University in Wellington in 1986, a post he held for 10 years before he retired.
He said, “It’s been 22 years since we were last here but we have always considered ourselves to be close to the family in Scotland, even though we live 12,000 miles away.”
Beth said she was delighted that both Athol and Alison had come to visit.
“I think it’s fabulous, but I never knew that the family had so much brains,” she said.