Biological Dad Graham Tregurtha found me in March 2013 after searching on and off for a number of years.

I was adopted to the Caldwell name, adopted Father only and still with my birth Mother. Birth certificate is dated in Napier 24 August 1978, No: 65075. I requested a new copy in 2001 as I was about to get married and thought I had lost my original. The copy I received is dated 20 November 2001, No: 1978102983 I don’t mind having 2 as the original is a bit beat up.

I am over the moon to discover the siblings and family is never knew about.
I have discussed with Graham Tregurtha if I would have his blessing to look at changing my name back to Tregurtha, he loves the idea. My adopted Father was gone from the family home within 2 years of my adoption due to alcohol. He has never been or acted like a Father at any stage during my life as he battled alcohol his whole life and alcohol always won. Sad for him, but tough for a child growing up who didn’t understand. It was this which had me feeling from a young age of not liking my current surname.

I’m just sitting on the idea of being a Tregurtha to get comfortable and make sure I’m not making a rushed decision. I then of course have to consider my wife and son and all the effects it would have and what I would need to get changed – passport, tax file number, banks, superannuation, marriage certificate, my sons Birth certificate and more.

I moved to Australia as minor on my Mothers passport on 3 May 1988. She is now an Australian citizen, forfeiting her New Zealand citizenship. I refuse to do so and got my New Zealand passport in 2013, dated 7 May 2013.

The only thing I have that bears the Tregurtha name is the little card that is put at the top of the cots that hospitals use for newborns.

I have had half a dozen open heart surgeries and have had these issues my whole life.
I am married to the sensational and amazing Nicole Caldwell, and we have 1 son, Bailey, who just turned 11 near the start of February. He was born 7 February 2003, straight from Nicole in to my hands as I’d pushed the midwife aside and was running my own show. She could guide me, but I’ll did all the good stuff, cut the cord, first bath etc while my wife recovered.  I consider getting married and the birth of my son as the two greatest things that have ever happened in my life.

(Below is a part of the reply we received from Jason after Tony sent him a personal welcome)

Thanks very much for your warm welcoming email, I really do love how welcoming everybody has been to me.  From family members in NZ, I’ve only begun and communicated with 3 so far – Graham and 2 of his children, Emma and Carl, as well as Carls wife and yourself (actually I should be saying brother and sister – still getting used to it).  It actually got me to pull out all my old photos to look for the birth card I mentioned in the application. I can’t find it!! But, I did find 2 things I didn’t know or remember I had that bear the Trehurtha name – my immunisation record and my plunket book.  The burn marks look like it was nearly lost when I burnt the family house down when I was 5, it was an accident, but the first sign of the troubles I was going to have through my childhood due to not having a feeling of belonging growing up.  I then of course like most people carried these in to adult life.  All good and sorted myself out now after a number of lost years of alcohol and drugs. I wasn’t meant to live past 30, if I made it that far, due to my heart condition and knew this growing up – that’s how I justified to myself to go off the rails. Medicine has improved and I’m here absolutely loving life for the first time, and it’s only been that way for me for 1 year so it can only get better.

(To read a full biography written by Jason for a high school student’s project see here)