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Story: Southland region

Glencoe memorial

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Glencoe memorial

The Scottish roots of many Southlanders are recalled both by this memorial and by the name of Glencoe, a locality on State Highway 96 between Mataura and Winton. At Glencoe in Scotland in 1692 many McDonalds were killed without warning by soldiers affiliated with a rival clan, the Campbells. The frenzied but planned attack was justified on the grounds of the McDonalds’ purported disloyalty to the new King William, a Protestant who had driven the Catholic King James from Britain in 1688. The action was widely condemned, but the Crown shielded the perpetrators from punishment.

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How to cite this page

David Grant, Southland region – Society and culture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/20134/glencoe-memorial (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by David Grant, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.