Five generations across almost 150 years. One family, one
school. Since Charles MacCormick first walked through the gates
of Auckland Grammar School in 1875 the MacCormick name has
appeared on the School’s rolls in almost every decade that
followed — through two World Wars, a court bench, university
faculties, hospital wards, and rugby and cricket fields. The
first generation included five MacCormick brothers: Charles
Edward (1875), Arthur Deloitte (1875), William Alexander (1879),
Donald (1880) and Evan (1896). Today that legacy continues in
Professor Alastair MacCormick ‘57, Murray MacCormick ‘59 and in
the many other MacCormick descendants. Theirs is a story of how
a family and a school can grow together over time.
Alastair and Murray are in the third generation of the
MacCormick family to attend Auckland Grammar School, with their
grandfather, Charles Edward MacCormick, starting in 1875. Born
in Sydney, Charles was the eldest of the eleven children of
lawyer John Charles MacCormick and his wife Elizabeth (née
Deloitte). John and Elizabeth migrated to Auckland in 1865, when
Charles was just three years old.
After his time at the School, Charles went to Auckland
University College (now the University of Auckland) to study law
and was admitted to the Bar in 1887. He soon became a partner in
the Auckland law firm now known as Cairns Slane and in August
1906 he was appointed as Judge of the Native Land Court.
Charles spent 34 years on the bench, before being appointed as
Chief Judge in 1939 just shortly before he retired. In addition
to his duties as Judge, in 1918 Charles became Chairman of the
Native Military Service Board and in 1927 he was appointed to
the Royal Commission on Samoa.
The obituary published in the New Zealand Herald in July 1945
states: “During his long term as a Judge, Charles displayed
qualities of kindness, patience and understanding in his
dealings with native people...Leading representatives of the
Maori race paid glowing tributes to the esteem in which he was
held at a special function held in his honour on the eve of his
retirement from the Court in 1940.”
Outside of the courtroom, Charles was a keen sportsman. He was
an Auckland cricket representative for 10 years. He was also the
first treasurer of the Auckland Cricket Association, a former
Administrative Officer of the Auckland Rugby Union, of which he
was awarded life membership, and a President of the New Zealand
Amateur Athletic Association. Charles’ brothers Arthur (1875),
Hector and Evan (1896) were also keen cricketers, with Arthur
playing for Otago and Evan an Auckland cricket representative.
Another brother, Donald (1880), represented Auckland at golf.
Charles married Mabel Nichol in 1888, having four children —
three daughters and son Kenneth, who started at Auckland Grammar
School in 1905.
Kenneth was a distinguished New Zealand surgeon and military
medical officer who played a central role in New Zealand’s
medical services through both World Wars. He spent five years at
Auckland Grammar School and graduated in 1909 with a University
Entrance Scholarship, before completing medical school at the
University of Otago in 1914.
Like many others in their final year at Otago, Kenneth
volunteered for army service and enlisted as a Lieutenant in the
New Zealand Medical Corps in 1914. He served in Egypt, at
Gallipoli and on the Western Front in France, rising to the rank
of Major. In 1917, Kenneth was awarded the Distinguished Service
Order for outstanding courage while directing the evacuation of
wounded troops under heavy artillery fire.
After his discharge from active duty, Kenneth stayed in London
to complete his postgraduate training, becoming a Fellow of the
Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) in 1921. Returning to Auckland
in 1922, he became a prominent general surgeon and maintained
active involvement in the territorial army medical service
throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
Kenneth would soon be called back to active service in World War
II, but not before he gave back to his alma mater between 1935
and 1939 as Vice President and then President of the Auckland
Grammar School Old Boys’ Association.
During the early stages of the war, Kenneth returned to the
front line as Director of Medical Services for the 2nd New
Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Middle East and was promoted
to Brigadier. For his services to medicine and the armed forces,
Kenneth was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE) in 1941 and a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in
1943.
Kenneth returned home to New Zealand and continued to serve his
country post-war, becoming President of the New Zealand Medical
Association in 1953-54 and President of the New Zealand Red
Cross Society in 1961, before his death in 1964. Through Red
Cross, Kenneth and his wife Joan started the Meals on Wheels
service in Auckland. Two of Kenneth’s sons — Alastair ’57 and
younger brother Murray ’59 — would follow in their father’s
footsteps and become part of the fabric of the great School on
Mountain Road.
Alastair remembers his first few days as a Form 3 student very
well. “When you arrived at the School in the same uniform that
the boys wear today, the tradition still stands! You are always
amazed sitting in the Great Hall — I was just like any other
Form 3 student; you sit there and gaze in awe.” Alastair and
Murray both went through the School with strong academic records
and were School Prefects. Both participated in the School Cadet
Battalion, with Alastair being the Regimental Sergeant-Major in
his final year.
After graduating, Alastair headed to the University of Auckland
and earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics and
a Master of Commerce with First Class Honours in Economics and
was appointed a Lecturer in Economics in 1969. In 1970 the
university gave him study leave to go the United States, where
he completed his PhD in Management Science at Yale University.
After returning to the University of Auckland, Alastair took a
prominent role in developing the new fields of business and
management studies at the university. He was Dean of the Faculty
of Business and Economics for over 14 years and then became
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) from 1996-1999. Subsequently
the government appointed Alastair to the Innovation Board
2010-11, the Callaghan Innovation Grants Committee 2011-21, the
Tertiary Education Commission 2017-2025, and as Deputy Chair of
the New Zealand Government’s University Advisory Group, which
delivered its report The Future of New Zealand Universities in
2025.
Alastair has also had a long association with the School. He was
Vice-President of the Old Boys’ Association for four years
before serving as President for two years. Alastair has been a
member of the Headmaster’s Council for over 45 years and, when
the School gained its own Board in 1984, became a member,
serving as Deputy Chair from 1990 to 1993 and then Chairman from
1993 to 1998.
Murray followed his father’s trajectory and headed to the
University of Otago, where he also graduated with a Bachelor of
Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery. He held a lectureship in
surgery at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London and is an
Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery at the
University of Auckland.
With a career that spans almost five decades across general,
breast cancer and vascular surgery, Murray has pioneered several
major procedures and medical programmes in New Zealand. He
introduced advanced laparoscopic procedures, carotid artery
surgery, and post-mastectomy breast reconstruction techniques
into general use. He also founded Auckland’s first
multidisciplinary breast cancer management service and led the
rollout of breast screening programmes in Northland.
Both Murray and Alastair were recognised for their outstanding
achievements in their professions with a Companion of the New
Zealand Order of Merit for services to health (particularly
surgery) and for services to tertiary education and the
community in 2020 and 2022, respectively. The School also
recognised their contributions to society, presenting them both
with an Augusta Award (Alastair in 2019 and Murray last
October).
Continuing with the long history and tradition, William
Alexander (Bill) MacCormick started at the School in 1956. Named
after his grandfather William Alexander MacCormick (class of
1879), Bill was at Grammar for only two years (Forms 4 and 5)
before heading to the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University
of Auckland, beginning in 1958. After early employment as an
advertising artist, Bill started painting full time in the 1980s
and is known for capturing the essence of rural New Zealand
towns, historic architecture, and local landscapes. Bill’s early
works included watercolours painted in the Tongariro National
Park, and a special interest is the emotional power of buildings
in the New Zealand landscape that tell of those who have gone
before us.
Bill’s uncle, Ian Charles MacCormick (AGS 1929), was a prominent
accountant and administrator in Auckland. He moved to Sydney
prior to World War II, serving in the Australian Army. On his
return to Auckland, Ian founded the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Later he became Secretary/Manager of the Chartered Institute of
Secretaries, the Auckland Athletic Association and the Auckland
Aero Club.
The connection with Auckland Grammar School extends beyond the
MacCormick family name. Alastair’s wife Raewyn is the daughter
of Philip Potter (class of 1918) and her brother Ross started in
1960. Philip played representative rugby for Auckland. He was
the Managing Director of Auckland firm of Tanfield Potter,
well-known as importers and retailers of fine china and cutlery.
He served a term as Mayor of Mt Roskill. Ross was a Prefect and
Senior Tennis Champion in Forms 6 and 7. He was a long-time
Partner at Tauranga-based legal firm Cooney Lees Morgan until
his death in 2022.
Both Alastair and Raewyn’s sons Andrew and John, as well as
Murray’s two sons, James and Campbell, secured the fourth
generation of MacCormick men, with all four Old Boys attending
in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Andrew and John followed in their father’s footsteps, entering
in Form 3A and finishing in 7A. Both were in the 1988 Hockey XI
that won the Rankin Cup. Andrew completed his medical degrees at
the University of Otago and is now an Anaesthetist and Intensive
Care Specialist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
John was first in class across his five years at the School,
Captain of Hockey, first violinist in the School Orchestra and
was named Dux in 1989. John was awarded a Girdlers Scholarship
in 1990, allowing him to study at Corpus Christi College in
Cambridge University, earning a degree in Mathematics. He was
awarded University Blues for representing Cambridge, captaining
the University Hockey Team in 1992 and was in the British
Universities Hockey Team.
Returning to Auckland, John completed a Master of Science degree
with First Class Honours in Mathematics at the University of
Auckland, before taking up doctoral studies in computer science
at the University of Oxford, where he also gained a University
Blue for hockey. His DPhil thesis Stochastic Algorithms for
Visual Tracking (2002) was selected by the British Computer
Society for publication in the Springer Distinguished
Dissertations Series.
After working as a research scientist for seven years at Hewlett
Packard and Microsoft, John moved to Pennsylvania, where he is a
Professor of Computer Science at Dickinson College. He has
written four books on Computer Science and Artificial
Intelligence. First published in 2012, Nine Algorithms That
Changed the Future: The Ingenious Ideas That Drive Today’s
Computers has been translated into eight foreign languages.
While Andrew and John are now based offshore, they both keep in
close touch with their family and their alma mater.
John’s son, also named Alastair, was able to enjoy a full
Grammar experience in Forms 4 and 5, during the family’s 2023-24
sabbatical year in Auckland, when John was able to complete his
most recent book on artificial intelligence. Alastair enjoyed
his year of Grammar education, taking the opportunity to
participate in many extracurricular activities, including Wind
Band, Concert Band, Grammar Voices, Bridge, Fencing and Tennis.
Another fourth-generation member of the family is current
Grammar Board member David Watt ’90, who is the great-grandson
of Charles MacCormick’s younger brother Hector. David, with over
20 years of experience in the finance industry, is a Partner at
Pencarrow Private Equity, New Zealand’s longest established
private equity firm. Previously, David was a Managing Director
in the Investment Banking team at Jarden. David has two sons at
the School, Hugh and Max, and Max will become a member of the
class of 2022 when he graduates at the end of this year.
Alastair and Murray’s daughters Judith and Catherine also
continue the family legacy. Judith’s husband Warwick Stanes is a
Grammar Old Boy from the class of 1988 and is the son of the
School’s Archivist/Historian, Peter Stanes ’58, while
Catherine’s son Max MacCormick is from the class of 2012, making
him and his four cousins the fifth generation of MacCormicks to
join the ranks.
Alastair is proud of his family history and their close
association with Grammar over the generations. “Every generation
has taken pride in being part of the Grammar community and
maintaining the School’s core traditions. Our family’s Old Boys
think it a privilege to have attended the School, to have had a
Grammar education, and all remain deeply appreciative for the
learning and values that stay with them life-long.”
.png)
Tim O’Connor
— Headmaster
Grant Trethewey ‘76
— Board Chair
The Grandmother, Mother and Son Breakfasts were proudly
supported by Shakespeare Orthodontics.
