Helen Macpherson Johnson, Sydney, Australia
1. What is your object and how did it come to be in your possession?
I embroidered the ‘Three Macphersons’ Panel, with Heather Smallbone, nee Macpherson, as part of the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry Project that has toured the world since 2014.
The project was designed to bring people together across our diaspora to celebrate Scottish culture, ingenuity and courage as it is manifested across the world.
It consists of over 300 embroidered linen panels stitched by volunteers from over 28 countries. I embroidered 3 of them. Andrew Crummy, a Scottish artist, designed the panels and encouraged input from the stitchers around the world as to subjects, historical detail and colours. We were sent Scottish linen and wools. The panel was only in my possession until we completed it and now is part of Scotland’s heritage.
2. Why have you chosen this object for the Macphersoniana project?
The ‘Three Macphersons’ celebrates Scottish Australians who have contributed to legislature, arts and philanthropy in my country and I was privileged to be part of portraying their legacy to Australians.
William Macpherson, 1784-1866, ancestor of our late clan chief Cluny, came to Australia in 1829. He was the first Collector of Internal Revenue then Clerk of the NSW Executive and Legislative Council. A stained-glass window (portrayed in the tapestry) was erected to his memory in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, by his son Allan.
Margaret Preston, nee Macpherson, 1875-1963, is one of the most widely known artists in Australia, a vibrant decorative painter and printmaker of distinctively Australian subjects that have delighted the public since they were first exhibited in the early 1920s.
Helen Macpherson Smith, 1874-1951, was born in Scotland and grew up in Australia. Her Macpherson mother was from a grazing family and her father was a wealthy entrepreneur in Melbourne. Helen bequeathed her wealth to establish a philanthropic trust benefitting Victorian charities. Today the assets of the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust are valued at over $100 million.
3. Why is this object important to you and what does it mean to you?
It was exciting for me to contribute to Scottish history and the Arts, as well as to be a part of something far bigger than myself. Whilst recovering from a major illness, I decided to research family history when I saw an ad for volunteers around the world to join the project. To embroider a piece of history connecting Australia and Scotland was a wonderful part of my convalescence.
4. What does this object tell us about what it means to be a Macpherson?
In 2018 I discovered, through Y-DNA results, that one of my embroidery subjects, our late clan chief Sir William Macpherson of Cluny’s ancestor William, was connected to me through sharing SNP A-861. My father, like William, worked in taxation, as the Assistant Dep. Commissioner, which is a linked family career through the ages for many Macphersons. I am also connected to my fellow stitcher, Heather and her brother, our Australian clan chairman, John L Macpherson. We are all part of group 32 of the Macpherson Project on the Family DNA website.
To be linked by both family history from 1760, and from DNA to a much earlier time, to the very first Macphersons, Kenneth in 1370 AD and his son Duncan the Parson, is the icing on the Macpherson cake for me!
The Three Macphersons Panel 
Design, linen and threads 
UK exhibition 
Cluny at the UK exhibition 
The Sydney Exhibition 2016 
My husband Chris and I at the Sydney exhibition.
Macphersoniana 