Chief’s Welcome

Ceud mile failte – a hundred thousand welcomes.

A warm welcome to our new website and hope you will find it helpful.

The Waipu Highland Games are considered by the Whangarei District Council as one of the most iconic events in all of Northland; and is the largest Highland Games in New Zealand. It is also the home of the Annual New Zealand Highland Heavyweight Championships.

Every year New Zealanders attend Highland Games to compete in Piping, Drumming, Highland Dancing, Athletics and Highland Heavyweight Field Events, Fiddling, have fun with Tartan In The Park or to share with the public their Clan heritage and genealogy/family history – and Waipu is no different.

We were also delighted to have had Dame Catherine Tizard to open the 139th Waipu Caledonian Highland Games; especially as Patron of the Clan MacLean Association of New Zealand, for which we were doubly pleased as Clan MacLean had been elected as the Host Clan for the 139th Games. The Host Clan is an honour the Waipu Caledonian Society bestows on Clans that have supported the Games over the years.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful hardworking and dedicated committee members of this society and the volunteers who made the 139th Highland Games a success.

All the best for 2010.

Slainte

Chief Pipe Major Bain McGregor

Photo: Chief Bain McGregor

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Waipu Caledonian Society – Chief’s Banner

Below is the explanation of the four quarters of the banner and what each section represents. It tells the story of the Waipu people in heraldic form.

1st Quarter: Saltire or St Andrew’s cross, the thistle and lion rampant representing Scottish origins.

2nd Quarter: Maple leaf of Canada, the Nova Scotian arrangement, Southern Cross configuration for Australia representing the periods of time spent in these two countries.

3rd Quarter: Bull’s head, fish, Bible/book and Celtic knot cross representing farming, fishing, education and religion.

4th Quarter: Southern Cross configuration for New Zealand and a lymphad/galley/ship representing the means of arriving at their final destination in Waipu.

The banner was designed by Wayne Laurence, FSA Scot, Secretary of the Waipu Caledonian Society in time for the 136th Waipu Highland Games while Bruce Matheson [Life Member] was the Chief of the Society. The embroidery work was done by Stitches of Whangarei.