#52Ancestors - Week 22 - So far away

Distance is a feature of my family history. Ancestors from all branches of my family tree came from England, Scotland and Ireland. As they had all arrived in Australia by the early 1870s they had to endure a long ship journey to travel to the other side of the world from their home.

Today we complain of the long time taken to travel from Melbourne to London by plane which takes approximately one day. This is nothing compared to the time taken by my ancestors to travel the same distance.

At the beginning of the convict period in Australia, my twelve convicts left England and Ireland to travel to Australia, never to return home. The length of time they spent aboard the convict ships varied. The ships of the First Fleet spent approximately 252 days sailing to Australia. However the longest voyage was that of the Lady Juliana which took 309 days. My convicts arrived in Australia by 1808 and the length of time of the later voyages for this group generally took 150 to 180 days - a long time to be in cramped conditions on a convict ship.

SS Somersetshire

The free settlers on my family tree travelled the same distance but the time taken for the trip was reduced, especially when steam ships were introduced. In 1869 George Hutton travelled to Australia on the steam ship Somersetshire, a trip lasting 58 days. I wrote an account of this voyage as part of the Family Saga unit for University of Tasmania Family History course.

For most members of the family, coming to Australia was a one way voyage. However members of one branch of the family, the Huttons and the Mackillops, made many sea voyages, not only between England and Australia but between England and India.

William Forbes Hutton was in the British army in India and he and his wife, Eleonora Mackillop, made many trips between England and India. This is shown by  the places of birth of their children. George was born in Bath, England, in 1850 but Jean Elizabeth was born in Bangalore, India, the following year.  Eleonora Mary was born in Bath  in 1854, then the next two were born in India - Alice Katherine was born in Secunderbad in 1856 and  Arthur William  was born in Ootacumund in 1857. The remaining six children were born in England. 

It was normal for children born in India of British parents to be taken to England to be cared for by a family member. This happened with the Hutton family who were cared for by Eleonora's parents in Bath. I have a copy of a letter written by Jean Mackillop to her daughter, Eleonora, providing information about three children in her care.

In 1871 William Forbes Hutton arrived in Melbourne to decide where his family might settle in Australia. He chose land at Lilydale and the family home, Cooring Yering, was built on the property. In 1873 he went back to England returning with two family members in 1874. Eleonora travelled to Australia with the rest of the family later that year. Eleonora had previously travelled from England to Tasmania then back to England with her family when she was a child.

For some families, it would therefore appear that the huge distance between countries was not a deterrent.

NB: In 2015, in another 52 Ancestors challenge, I wrote another post on the topic - So far away.

No. 11 Ainslie Place

University of Tasmania Family History course - Writing family history

Week four e-tivity - Googling places past
Using Google Maps and or Google Street View, and cross-referencing with our own research into local and family history, we were asked to write a description of a place where one of our ancestors lived or may have visited.

11 Ainslie Place

Arriving in Edinburgh on a cold, wet August day our first destination was Ainslie Place in New Town. This block of Georgian stone townhouses was built towards the end of the 1820s on part of the old Moray Estate. 

Before leaving Melbourne I found the location on Google Maps so we knew how to find the street. Google Earth had shown that the two semi-circles of townhouses were still there and that the communal park for residents in the middle still existed.

When standing near the park we ignored the few cars parked in the street and were transported to another time.

It was easy to imagine a horse and carriage pulling up in front of number 11. George, Jean and their children alight from the carriage and climb the short flight of steps to the front door of their home which is opened by a servant. The carriage then travels to the stables at the back of the property.

Tall windows frame either side of the front door. Similar sized sets of three windows are on the two other floors. Decorative black ironwork features on the first floor windows while iron fencing protects the stairs leading to rooms below the main living area. 

There have been changes over time. Another storey has been added to the building and some of the townhouses have been subdivided into flats. However, from the street, it is easy to imagine the Ainslie Place of the 1830s where my great, great grandmother was born. 

 Once again, 250 words was the limit for this writing exercise.

52 Ancestors #32 Eleonora Mackillop

Eleonora Mackillop was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 11 December 1830 when her parents, George Mackillop and Jean Eleanora Hutton were living at 11 Ainslie Place in the New Town area of the city.

The buildings in Ainslie Place were built in the 1820s and were designed by the architect J G Graham. The houses in Ainslie Place face on to a small garden and behind the buildings the Water of Leith flows through the Dean Gardens - a private garden created in the 1860s.

The decorations on the balconies are a feature of the Ainslie Place buildings.

 

The above three images of Anslie Place  are taken from the street view of the area in Google maps.

Towards the end of 1832 Eleonora's parents, together with Eleonora and her four brothers, travelled to India. Eleonora's younger brother James died in Calcutta in July 1833.  Later that year the family moved to Tasmania where they lived until the end of the 1830s when they returned to their home in Edinburgh.

George Hutton's notes illustrate that travelling by ship could be eventful. After the ship to India rounded the Cape of Good Hope it encountered a cyclone. Eventually the ship reached Mauritius but was declared a wreck as the force of the cyclone had twisted the hull of the ship. The journey was continued on another vessel. Another ship, possibly the St George, was wrecked off the west coast of Tasmania. This ship was carrying family paintings and heirlooms belonging to the Hutton family.

In Tasmania the family lived in a large house with gardens in Davey Street in Hobart and this was where Eleonora lived until she was nine or ten. While the family was in Hobart Eleonora's two sisters were born. While they lived in Hobart, Eleonora's parents would have employed a governess and / or a tutor to provide at least a basic education for the younger children. The boys may have attended school. Unfortunately Eleonora's eldest brother, George Downie Mackillop, died in Hobart in November 1836 when he was 15. Two months later the family home in Hobart Town was first placed on the market as George Mackillop made plans to return to Scotland. The house was not sold until 1839 and advertisements for the sale of the contents of the house appeared in newspapers early in 1840, probably after the family had returned home.

The Scottish census for 1841 shows the family living in Ainslie Place while the 1851 English census shows that the family had moved to Bath where they lived at 26 Grosvenor Place. When Eleonora married William Forbes Hutton on 27 June 1849, the wedding took place at St Saviour's Church in Bath which was a short distance across the road from where the family lived.

Eleonora was 18 when she married William (33) who was an officer in the 34th Light Infantry in Madras India. No doubt Eleonora and William met through family as William's father, Thomas Hutton, was the brother of his wife's grandfather, William Charles Hutton.

Eleonora and William had eleven children - George (1850-1936) born in Bath and died in Sydney, Jean Elizabeth (1851-1939) born in Bangalore and died in England, Eleonora Mary (1854-1941) born in Bath and died in East Melbourne, Alice Katherine (1856-1946) was born in Secunderbad and died in Nyah (Victoria), Arthur William (1857-1930) was born in Ootacumund and died in Sydney, Dorcas Emma (1859-1938) was born in Bath and died in Malvern, Walter John (1861-1943) was born in Bath and died at Armadale, Margaret Isabella (1863-1950) was born in Bath and died in Armadale, William Lidderdale (1865-1929) was born in Torquay and died in Ballarat, Maurice Charles Graham (1867-1963) was born in Leckhampton and died in Melbourne and James Stewart (1869-1870) who was born and died at Leckhampton.

As can be seen from the details of the births of the first six children Eleonora made several trips between England and India. We know from the letter written in 1855 by her mother that Eleonora's parents had the responsibility of looking after at least the first three children while their parents were overseas.

Living in India provided a number of challenges, particularly for the families of the men working in that country. In the letter that Eleonora's mother wrote to her in 1855 she included the following advice to her daughter -

I hope and trust it may be God's pleasure to bless you both with health even in the Indian climate. Pray do not, from the fear of falling into indolent habits, run into the opposite extreme and overtax your strength in any way; what would be slothful indulgence at home is only necessary rest in India, and I hope you will take sufficiency of it.

In the notes about his family that George Hutton wrote in the early 1930s he recorded an incident when his mother was out riding. In the area near Coonoor she encountered some semi-wild buffalo on the terrace above the track where she and others in the party were riding. Her horse charged the cattle and lost his footing resulting in both horse and rider falling down a steep embankment. Fortunately bushes broke their fall. After that she was given a quieter horse to ride.

The 1861 English census records the family living in Bath while the 1871 English census shows them living at Leckhampton in Gloucestershire. It is thought that William may not have spent much time in India during the 1860s.

In the early 1870s William decided to formally retire from the army and settle the family in Australia. Eleonora and seven children not already in Australia arrived in Melbourne on 6 May 1874. Initially they lived in Kew in a large house, Blythswood.

Blythswood, Kew

They then moved into Rockingham, next door to Blythswood, until their new home, Cooring Yering, at Lilydale was completed.  The house was built by David Mitchell.

Cooring Yering, Lilydale

The property was large enough to accommodate the large family and, possibly from time to time, visitors. When William died in 1896 Walter and Maurice inherited the Cooring Yering vineyard while Eleonora inherited the rest of the property.

In his notes about his family when they arrived in Australia in the 1870s, George Hutton recounted a story illustrating the emphasis placed by his parents on the education of their children. Dorcas had been sent to school in Tasmania it was decided that Margaret should also attend the same school. However when Eleonora was taking Margaret to Hobart the ship lost her propellers and spent the day drifting until a passing ship towed them back to Hobson's Bay. Eleonora changed her mind about margaret attending school in Tasmania and Dorcas left the school at the end of the term. One asumes thy instead attended school closer to home. In his notes, Peter Hutton mentioned that Maurice attended Melbourne Grammar School until 1885. Walter and William may have also attended that school.

Eleonora died on 30 July, 1900, and was buried at Lilydale Cemetery. She was aged 69. The story of Eleonora's life provides an example of the life of women whose family were in involved furthering the interests of Britain in India either in the Army, the Civil Service or as merchants and also in other new British colonies.

Eleonora Mackillop was my great (x2) grandmother.

Letter from Jean MacKillop to Eleonora Hutton

Part of a letter from Jean Eleonora MacKillop to her daughter, Eleonora Hutton, who was at the time in India with her husband, William Forbes Hutton. George and Jean MacKillop were looking after three of Eleonora and William’s children in England while Eleonora and William were overseas. George MacKillop was a merchant who had spent time in India and built up interests there – hence the references to the tea. William was also probably involved in the tea trade. Part of the letter (indicated by …) appears to be missing.

The letter provides an insight into the social history of the time and in part reads like an episode in a Jane Austen novel with references to the social circle of the time. It also provides interesting observations on the development of children as well as the style of life British wives were expected to follow when accompanying their husbands in India.

Jean MacKillop would have been 55 when this letter was written. She died in 1859. Her son, John MacKillop, died at the massacre at Cawnpore (India) in 1857.

                                                                                   

26 Grosvenor Place

                                                                                    Bath

                                                                                    23^rd and 25^th October 1855

My dearest Ellie,

We all rejoiced to receive your nice letter from Madras on the 1^st of this month, giving such good accounts of William’s health and endurance of heat – they were early days certainly – but gave good promise, and I hope and trust it may be God’s pleasure to bless you both with health even in the Indian climate. Pray do not, from the fear of falling into indolent habits, run into the opposite extreme and overtax your strength in any way; what would be slothful indulgence at home – is only necessary rest in India, and I hope you will take a sufficiency of it.

Now for the bairns. According to my rule; they are all well and happy – I thank God – I often wish you could both see them.

George is greatly improved and is reasonable and obedient – he speaks more intelligibly, and does not lose himself so often in a maze of words and thoughts – I hope that when he can read he will learn to express himself well and clearly; he had his first lesson this morning and was very attentive – but I have to begin with BA again – humanly speaking there will be no more interruptions and I expect to have to give you a good report of his progress in my next. Bessie tells me he was most anxious to do everything “as Grandmama would like” during our 11 days absence. He does not know the Lord’s Prayer quite perfect but almost so. I do not think he is quick in learning by heart, at present – but his technical memory will probably improve when he acquires the habit of giving his mind to his occupation. He is to write to you next, if he is a good boy – this goes via Marseilles and must therefore be brief and light.

Jeannie is not so obedient as Georgie and has rather a fancy occasionally for doing what she is told not to do – because it is forbidden – but she is an affectionate little body and they are all three very good children.

Last, but not least in any way, comes Baby – soon after I last wrote to you her cough became very severe, attended with light fever and great dearrangement of the stomach and bowels; the two upper eye teeth appeared, and she got slowly better – but she still had a shake and is not so fat and firm as formerly. Looks black under the eyes and still coughs a little, i.e; a night and day perhaps, she will be quite free from the enemy – then she will cough twice or three times in the 24 hours – and I have no doubt this will last to all her teeth are through; the worst (the upper eye teeth) is however over – I have told you quite the worst of her case and now to cheer you up with the good; her flesh is mottled, though a little soft for her – and we all think she is better for not being so (she still makes nearly two of Jeannie) she eats and digest well, sleeps well, plays and runs about, scrambles up on Jeanie’s bed whenever she can find the opportunity and trys <tries> to say everything. “Down dere” is a favourite expression – she insists on calling your father “Papa” – then asked where Papa is she points to Wm’s picture. Mr Brace (he attended while Mr B was away and Mr Ormond both say it is not an unusual way of cutting teeth and only requires care in avoiding exposure to cold at such times; I give them dresses up to the neck – Jeannie’s brown pelisse is made into a frock for baby – and baby’s red one into a frock for Jeannie – Nurse has made a high body to Baby’s pink frock and Jeannie has a new pink muslin-de-laine those are for their evening dresses; when the cold weather sets in they will take to their merinos but I do not mean to give them any but high dresses during the winter – prevention is better than cure of coughs and colds.

George and Jeannie were delighted with your letter to them, and George of his own accord, prayed for the conversion of the heathen and still continues to do so in his evening prayers.

When I last wrote to you I had no expectation of making out our proposed visit to Paris; - and when dear Baby became so unwell, though sorry for the cause, I felt very thankful that we had been detained at home; and hoped; selfishly perhaps, that it wd be given up altogether; however; when my poor Aunt became convalescent, and she wished it, and Bessie volunteered to take my place here, and baby was then well again (except looking hollow under the eyes), I gave in to your father’s and Georgie’s desire to go to Paris – I’m not going into details of all that we did and saw during the 11 days for Georgie will do it much better than I can – I think the change and the rest from household affairs has as usual done me good, and I always enjoy home comforts more after I have been deprived of them for a time.

We saw and dined with the Learmonths in Wimpole St the day we left home; they are both looking well and Mrs L has grown stout – they were very friendly and pressing for us to spend some days with them on our way back from Paris – but it is late in the season and as my poor Aunt is extremely nervous I could not have conscientiously have asked Bessie to have remained any longer – besides I am glad to be home again. The Caltons were in treaty for a house in Reading – Bessie is growing tall, but still delicate and under a doctor’s care. Mrs Reilly’s boy has been ill and was still delicate. Tom Learmonth was expected in a few days from Sebastapol – he has been travelling through Switzerland and other parts of the Continent during the summer and arrived at Sebastapol a few days after its fall.

24^th Papa and I went yesterday to pay a wedding visit to Mrs Frederick Inman and left Georgie to keep guard outside, fortunately as it turned out, for we found the bride supported by her mother, Mrs R Bridges and Emily Inman in a small room, and we were scarcely seated when Mr and Mrs G Baker entered, soon followed by Dr and Mrs Stone, so we took our leave after partaking of cake and wine. It wd not be fair to form an opinion of Mrs Fred on such a short visit and in such awkward circumstances. I did not like her mother’s manner, and I think R Bridges by far the best looking and most agreeable of the party at present. On our way there we met Miss Nash, who had been paying her a visit – she’s looking out of spirits and told me her mother was very poorly but not from the …

Papa desires me to say – “He has recd William’s letter from Madras –

            The net proceeds of the tea of 1854 – paid in July “56) will be about £50,000

            Deduct all expenses                                                                                 24,000

            Leaves to be divided on a capital of £180,000                                      £26,000

or nearly 14½ p. ct. He does not, however, expect the Div. Will divide over 10 p. ct. – They will probably give a profit of upwards of £30,000, and most of that will likely be divided in 1857. He doesn’t care whether you contribute or not to the paying for the shares. – You will see from the above they will in a few years be paid for entirely by the dividends …. his family, which is likely to be increased in a few months hence. Mr Magee will have the Octagon to himself, I believe, but this too is not quite settled.

I do not know how we are to manage if Kensington is shut up. George goes now and then to afternoon service and he behaved very well last time.

It is time I concluded this letter – for you will be puzzled to make it out. I would have entered more into details if I had been aware we cd exceed the ½ oz. Mrs Learmonth strongly recommends The End by Dr Cumming – I intend to read it when I get time. God bless you and with best love to Wm – I am ever

                                                My dearest Ellie

                                                Yr affectionate Mother

                                                J E MacKillop

Mackillop house in Hobart

Two advertisements for the sale of house and contents of the Mackillop home in Hobart

Elegant Mansion, Garden, AND EXTENSIVE PREMISES.

BY MR. T. Y. LOWES,

At his Mart in Elizabeth-street on Saturday, 15th April next, at one o'clock, positively without re- serve, the proprietor (G. Mackillop, Esq..) being about to leave the Colony,

THAT splendid Family Mansion, situate in the most delightful part of Davey-street, and   bounded by the Sandy Bay Rivulet, the property of George Mackillop, Esq. comprising every accommodation that can possibly be required.

The first floor consists of a drawing room 29 feet by 16, dining room and parlour, a bed room, butler's pantry and sleeping room, kitchen, scullery, &c, under which are spacious cellars.

On the second story are six large bed rooms, fitted with cupboards, three dressing rooms, and store closets.

The attics comprise two servants bed rooms and a store.

The whole is fitted up in the most complete manner, with water closets, &c, without regard to expense, and elegantly finished.

The out offices consist of a stable, loft and servants sleeping room, large store, coach houses, oven, wood and fowl house, pig sties, and sundry other buildings in the yard, which is securely fenced.

The premises stand on 2 acres, 1 rood, 27 perches of excellent ground; the garden has been trenched   15 inches deep, well manured, and stocked with trees, all of which were loaded this season with the choicest fruit (the pears and apples still remain;)   strawberries and raspberries were in the greatest abundance; the never-failing stream at the bottom   affords a constant supply of water, and the neighbourhood is truly respectable, having the residences of Thomas Learmonth, Esq. on one side, and Hugh Ross, Esq. on the other.

The beauty of the surrounding scenery is too well known and admired to require comment.

The title is a new grant,

Terms-Ten per cent, deposit on the day of sale one-third by bill at six months, bearing eight per cent. interest; the balance may remain secured on the premises for ten years at eight per cent,

For tickets, to view, and further particulars, apply to the Auctioneer  

Colonial Times Tuesday 4 April 1837 page 2

ELEGANT HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE, LANDULET, CHINA, GLASS,

CHOICE Cellar of OLD WINES, BOOKS etc

BY MR. T Y. LOWES,      

At the Residence of George Mackillop, Esq. upper end of Davey-street, TO-MORROW, the 12th instant, commencing at 12 o'clock precisely,

THE whole of the costly and truly elegant

Household Furniture, and other effects, the property of George Mackillop, Esq., proceeding to England, which will be sold without

the least reserve

Comprising in part,

Solid Spanish mahogany rosewood dining  

and drawing room tables and chairs, elegantly carved and highly polished.

Two splendid drawing-room lamps, of exquisite workmanship

A semi grand Piano, by Broadwood, Two easy chairs, beautifully carved Elegant mahogany sideboard Celleret

Tea caddies

Dumb waiter on handsome brass castors, Cheffioneers and card tables

Very superior Brussels and other carpets, one made to order, 29 x 15 9 (exceedingly good)

Chimney, pier, and dressing glasses

Extremely rich and costly dinner, dessert, tea and breakfast services   China

Cut glass

Ivory handled balanced knives and forks Crockery &c.

Four-post and other solid mahogany bed-steads, richly carved

Hair mattresses, English feather beds

Ladies' wardrobes, bidets, bed-steps, cheval glasses Children's bedsteads, and every requisite article of Household Furniture in excellent order, and of the best possible description

ALSO,

A cellar of the choicest old wines, sent expressly to order, comprising every variety A handsome landaulet, with Collins' patent axles, carriage, harness, horse cart, &c.

AND

An extensive library, of the best selected works, amongst which is Brewster's Encyclopedia, in 22 vols.

A more particular description will be given in the Catalogues to be issued previous to the Sale, as it is impossible to particularize them satisfactorily in an advertisement.  

Terms,-From £25 to £100 three months, above £100 four months' credit

N.B. The elegant Service of Plate, being of considerable value, is for sale privately, if applied for previous to the 10th proximo, the Proprietor wishing it not to be separated, as the whole bears the same crest.    

Since the above was advertised, Mr. Mackillop has determined to sell all his splendid plated ware, the articles of which will appear in the catalogue. These and the other goods will be on view the day previous to the sale.  

Colonial Times Tuesday 11 February 1840

52 Ancestors #29 George Mackillop

George Mackillop was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland in 1790. His father was John Mackillop, a farmer, possibly a sheep farmer, at St Ninians, south of Stirling in Scotland. In 1781 John married Mary Downie, the daughter of Robert Downie 1735-1805, a farmer and a distiller. In 1786 James, the eldest son of John and Mary Mackillop, was born.

In1807 George had completed his matriculation for the Glasgow University. It is unlikely that he actually attended the university as his name is not included in the list of graduates to 1911.

We do know that George went to India to join his brother, James, who was working with their uncle, Robert Downie, at the firm, Downie, Cruttenden and Company. When Robert Downie left India in 1811 the name of the firm changed to Cruttenden and Mackillop and Company with the two brothers taking over the role of their uncle in the company. Both men proceeded to make money as merchants buying and selling goods between India and England. Looking at newspaper advertisements the Mackillop name appears in the name of a number of companies over the years.

On 8 January 1820 George Mackillop married Jean Eleanora Hutton (1800-1859) at St John’s Church, Calcutta, Bengal, India.

Their first three sons were born in Calcutta - George Downie Mackillop on 21 October 1821, Charles William born in 1824 and John Robert Mackillop born 1 November 1826.

The family returned to Scotland. The next two children were born in Edinburgh - Eleanora Mackillop born 11 December 1830 and James Mackillop born 17 September 1832. At this time the family was living at 11 Ainslie Place in Edinburgh.
George then decided to take his family to Van Diemen’s Land via India where no doubt he would have checked his investments. They left Scotland at the end of 1832 or early 1833. Unfortunately while they were in Calcutta ten month old James died and was buried at the South Park Burial Ground.

The family probably settled in Hobart in 1834 where Mary Rose Mackillop was born on 8 July 1834 and Georgina was born on 5 April 1837.

On 22 January 1835 George Mackillop arrived in Sydney on the brig, Siren, to travel to Monaro where, accompanied by James MacFarlane and Thomas Livingstone plus some other men, they made their way into Victoria, crossed the Snowy River and explored country a few miles south of Lake Omeo. He named the area Strathdownie. George and his party were the first Europeans to explore this area of Victoria. The reason for the expedition was to locate grazing land for sheep and cattle which they planned to bring across from Van Diemen’s Land. Many years later George Hutton wrote the following account of his grandfather’s adventures.

George Mackillop led the expedition into East Gippsland that discovered Lake Omeo. Strictly speaking he did not lead the expedition (I doubt he being much of a bushman). I fancy a man named MacFarlane did that, but I have no doubt he found the money for the enterprise. Returning to N.S.W. after finding Lake Omeo, the party missed the water. It was a very hot day and all were very thirsty. Mackillop especially, so he sucked pebbles and at last sat down on a log unable to go any further telling the rest of the party to go on and leave him. Two of the convict servants however stuck to him and at last persuaded him to take a few puffs from a pipe (Mackillop was not a smoker) which put some moisture in his mouth and he was then able to go on and join the rest of the party. Mackillop had never smoked until this time but from then on became a heavy smoker, so much so that a doctor he consulted when he was 70 years of age told him he had knocked ten years off his life. He died when 74.

George returned to Hobart from Sydney in April. He continued to live with his family in Hobart for the next few years though he was actively involved in the early settlement of Victoria. He joined Mr Dobson’s Port Phillip Company with the plan to acquire land in the new settlement.  In May 1836 he arranged for 750 sheep to be taken to Port Phillip aboard Captain Tregurtha’s brig, Henty.  The ship ran into mudflats in Port Phillip Bay but eventually arrived at Hobson’s Bay, Williamstown and on the 20 May the sheep were safely landed. In August 1836 Captain Tregurtha took a party, including George Mackillop, aboard a small boat exploring the Barwon River near Geelong.

George Mackillop purchased a number of properties often in partnership with James Smith. A survey of dwellings, stock and cultivation at Port Phillip taken on 9 November 1836 listed a property, belonging to George Mackillop and James Smith, on the east bank of the Salt Water River, seven miles from Captain Lonsdale’s headquarters. The residence consisted of a tent and there were 2240 sheep and one horse on the property. There were five men on the property.George had also been a member of a party exploring land near Geelong.

In 1839 George Mackillop and James Smith established the property Strathdownie in south west Victoria near Mt Noorat. The property was later renamed Glenormiston when they sold it the following year. George may also have had a property in the Omeo region. Macfarlane and Livingstone certainly established properties in this area.

In 8 January 1847, after George and his family had returned to England, properties owned by George Mackillop were auctioned. An advertisement in The Argus 8 January 1847 described the land for sale. This included a property on the Merri Creek consisting of 146 acres, ‘a very substantial stone built and elegant house on the cottage style with verandah, and commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country’, a three stall stable and a coach house. Three parcels of land in St Kilda were also for sale. One consisted of three acres of cleared land with a three rail fence, the second had a 60 foot frontage on to Promenade Street fronting on to the bay and leading on to Ackland Street while the third had one hundred foot frontage on to Ackland Street. These parcels of land had been purchased on 6 September 1842 after George had left the colony so he was still looking out for investment opportunities in Port Phillip when he was in England. Land purchased in Collins Street, Melbourne was also for sale. As well as buying and selling property George was also selling stock and merchandise.

On 23 November 1836 George’s eldest son, George Downie Mackillop, died and was buried at St David’s Church Cemetery in Hobart.

Issues of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture published in Edinburgh in June 1839 and March 1840 contained two articles by George Mackillop from Hobart Town providing British readers with his views on the new colony. One article was entitled ‘On Australia’ while the second had the title, ‘On Port Phillip in Australia’.

26 Grosvenor Place, Bath

George first put advertisements in the newspapers for the sale of his Hobart house in 1837 but it was several years before he sold the property. George and his family returned to Scotland in the early1840s. They then moved to Bath in England where they lived in a townhouse at 26 Grosvenor Place. Although George and his family returned to the United Kingdom to live, some years later two of his daughters, with their husbands, made their homes in Australia.

George Mackillop died at Torquay in Devon on 10 July 1865. He was 75.

George Mackillop was my great (x3) grandfather.

George Mackillop Notes continued

George Mackillop 22 Jan 1835 reached and now known as Omeo
Mr George McKillop arrived March 1836, on 9 Nov 1836 has 2240 sheep, 1 horse, in partnership with Mr James Smith
Mr McKillop in Jan 1839 employed Bridget Carthy aged 15, Children's maid, who came on the Westminster

George McKillop, one of 469 voters who qualified by Freehold in Barabool Hills Geelong Electors List District of Bourke. Source - Melbourne Courier 8 Aug 1845
George McKillop Owned Property Barrabool Hills Geelong - Freehold Property

The above are from the website - Victoria before 1848 - http://www.oocities.org/vic1847/mc/mc16.html

Massacre on a property Gleorminston owned by George Mackillop and James Smith. The manager of the property - Frederick Taylor - who was responsible for the raids was also involved in a massacre at Barrabool Hills.

'A Djargurd wurrung clan that particularly suffered during the late 1830s was the Tarnbeere gundidj. This clan's name literally means belonging to Tarnbeere, or flowing water, a reference to nearby Mount Emu Creek. This clan was effectively exterminated in a massacre in early 1839 by a group of Europeans led by Frederick Taylor, the manager at George McKillop and James Smith's station at Glenorminston, adjoining Lake Terang. Glenorminston was also known as Weeraweeroit, after the Aboriginal name for the camping place and waterhole on the rivulet near the home station. Before his involvement in this massacre, Taylor had earned some notoriety through his involvement in the murder of a Watha wurrung Aborigine in October 1836. At that time, John Whitehead, a convict shepherd working for Taylor murdered Woolmudgin, the clan head of the Watha wurrung balug clan based in the Barrabool Hills near Geelong, apparently with Taylor's encouragement.'

From a chapter written by Ian D Clark, Scars in the landscape.Djargund Wurrung pages 103-119. 
 

Information on the history of the Barrabool Hills is provided at Barrabool Hills heritage listing

'Many of the European settlers who came to Victoria in the 1830s entered via the Port of Geelong, and the Barrabool Hills, visible from the port area, were regarded as potentially valuable pastoral country. As a result most of the area was selected for squatting runs by the late 1830s, and then surveyed in the 1840s for some of the earliest land sales in Victoria (Appendix 1G: Three parish maps). Ownership of the land encouraged the development of longer term crops such as vineyards: the area was the main source of wine grapes in Victoria until the industry was wiped out by Phylloxera in the 1880s.'

George Mackillop - Notes

January 22 (1835) George Mackillop, of Hobart Town, arrived in Sydney in the brig Siren and sailed for Hobart Town in April. He went first to the district known as the Cowpastures, Nepean River and then to the Maneroo country. From there, accompanied by a party, two of whom were James MacFarlane and Thomas Livingstone, he made his way a few miles to the south of Lake Omeo, and gave the name Strath Downie to the locality he reached and now known as Omeo.

Jardine Matheson Archive at Cambridge University Library contains correspondence from Robert Taylor and James Matheson to a variety of people including George Mackillop and the company Cruttenden, Mackillop & Co., Calcutta
http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0012%2FMS%20JM%2FC1

NSW Colonial Secretary Index 1788-1825
http://colsec.records.nsw.gov.au/

SUTHERLAND, James Charles Colebrook. Of the firm Alexander and Co, Calcutta
1822 Nov 19; 1823 Apr 25	Re opinion sought by Crittenden, Mackillop & Company of Calcutta, as to rate of exchange applying to a bill of exchange drawn by Frederick Goulburn on the Governor General of India, the subject of a Declaration & Protest by George Mackillop of that firm (Reel 6063; 4/1785 pp.18, 20)

MACKILLOP, G. Of Calcutta
1823 Feb 26	Re importations of wool and spirits (Reel 6056; 4/1764 pp.24-24a)

A break through
During my regular Google search for additional material about George Mackillop I located the British website - History of Parliament - which contained information about James Mackillop, George's brother who was a member of parliament for two years. - http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/mackillop-james-1786-1870.
This website provided information that I had been searching for for many years - information about the parents of James and George.

Their father, John Mackillop, was a farmer at St Ninians. The Gazetteer for Scotland entry for St Ninians - http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townhistory836.html - mentions that the area is involved in the woollen industry so he was probably a sheep farmer.

In 1781 John married Mary Downie, the daughter of Robert Downie 1735-1805. Robert was a farmer and a distiller. He married Margaret Morison (Morrison) in 1758 and they had a number of children including George (1762 - 1808) and Robert (1771-1841). Mary's brothers, Robert and George both went to India - George served in the East India Company army while Robert became a merchant initially working with Daniel Maitland but eventually at the company Downie, Cruttenden and Company. When he left India in 1811 the company became Cruttenden and Mackillop and Company with his two nephews taking over his role.  Robert Downie also became a member of parliament and much of the above information can be found on his page on the History of Parliament website -  http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/downie-robert-1771-1841.

The above information not only allocates parents to George and James but also explains how they became involved in India as merchants through family connections.

Mention in the last online resource was also made of Robert Downie's uncle, John Downie of Authentie, which led to information about his son Sir John Downie (1777-1826) who served in the British Army in the West Indies and in the Peninsular Wars in Spain fought against the French.

Quarterly Journal of Agriculture articles

Two articles by George Mackillop were published in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture volume 10 June 1839 – March1840 published in Edinburgh.

I have previously found excerpts of these articles but have now found digitised copiesof the complete articles in Google Books so it is now possible to read about his views of the colony. 

On Australia – George Mackillop of Hobart Town – p354 – p362 (November 1839)

On Port Phillip in Australia – George Mackillop of Hobart Town – p208 – p232 (September 1839)

Digitised copies of the above two articles in Google Books.

Another article is in volume 7.

Quarterly Journal of Agriculture volume 7 June 1836
Australian Colonies - George Mackillop of Hobart Town - p156 - p169  

Digitised in Google Books

Geogina Hutton

Article from Trove - http://trov.nla.vic.gov.au

The Argus Tuesday 13 November 1928 p1

HUTTON.—On the 12th November, at Kenmore, Dandenong, Georgina, widow of the late Colonel T. Bruce Hutton, Cumberoona, Dandenong, aged 91 years.

Houses of George Mackillop in the UK

When George Mackillop and his family returned to England in the early 1840s they moved into no. 26 Grosvenor Place, Bath.

View from centre of terrace towards 26

Grosvenor Place, also known as Grosvenor House, is a terrace consisting of Georgian 42 houses built in 1790 and designed by the architect John Eveleigh. It has been a Grade I listed building since 1950. No 23 is the central house in the terrace and once was the Grosvenor Hotel. George and his family lived at no. 26. Each house has three stories plus a basement.

View of the back of the terrace - now separate apartments

See Images of England for additional information about the terraces.

For 60 years (2011) no. 26 has been a doctor's surgery - Grosvenor Place Surgery.

 Before moving to Australia Geoge Mackillop lived at 11 Ainslie Place in Scotland.

Anslie Place was built in what was known as the New Town in Edinburgh. It was designed by James Gillespie Graham in the 1820s. The two curved terraces have space for a small public garden in the centre. Each of the houses in the terrace had three stories and a basement. Attics were later added to some of the houses.

The Royal Institute of British Architects website had additional information on Anslie Place, Edinburgh, but the link appears to have disappeared.

Sketches relating to a site report for no. 11 are on the  Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland website.