Donald MACPHERSON
Born 23 June 1815 at Dunachton Farm near Alvie, Inverness, Scotland[220]
Son of Aeneas MACPHERSON and Margaret MACKINTOSH [119]
Departed Liverpool, England on the Hindoo, arriving in Western Australia on 20 April 1839 [220]
Shepherd and Flock-master in Toodyay and the Victoria Plains in the 1840s [220]
Said to have worked for five years as a shepherd for Capt. James SCULLY and received new-born lambs instead of wages [252: page 61]
Farmer and Grazier in the Victoria Plains from 1845 until his death in 1887 [220]
In February 1845 successfully applied for a lease of 12,000 acres of land in the Victoria Plains [220]
The lease was the first to be taken out in the Victoria Plains district and included the localities Murra Murra and Badji Badji [220]
Initially resided at Badji Badji and later at Murra Murra; in the early 1860s the property became known as Glentromie [220]
By May 1848 himself, his brother John and their cousin Ewan MACKINTOSH had leases totalling 20,000 acres [220]
Married (1) Jessie MACKNOE on 24 April 1853 at Baylup WA [220]
On 21 May 1853 purchased his first freehold piece of land, a block of 30 acres at Badji Badji in the Victoria Plains [220]
On 28 December 1853 obtained a lease of 12,000 acres in Wannamal - the first lease to be taken out in Wannamal [114: page 11]
In 1855 his station was about 100,000 acres in size, with 4,000 sheep, a herd of cattle, a few horses and 100 acres of wheat crop [220]
Initiated as a member of the Perth Lodge of Unity, No. 753 of the United Grand Lodge of England Freemason [393]
Member of the Northam, Toodyay and Victoria Plains Agricultural Society 1857-1869 [220]
Over the years 1858 to 1884 he employed 26 Ticket of Leave convicts and in later years also employed a number of Chinese men [220]
By the 1860s had purchased over 30 more freehold blocks of land in the Victoria Plains [220]
In August 1862 signed a petition presented to the Governor requesting that convict John MCDONALD not be hung [220]
Erected a headstone on the grave of his nephew Aeneas MACPHERSON, who died in 1866, at the Culham Cemetery [138]
His wife Jessie died from an abscess on her liver in Perth on 27 August 1869 and was buried at the East Perth Cemetery [220]
At the time of Jessie's death their youngest child Flora was aged only five months [220]
Judge of the Cattle and Sheep sections at the Toodyay, Northam & Victoria Plains Agricultural Society's Show in 1869 [39: 15-Oct-1869]
Married (2) Selina Emma EARNSHAW in Perth on 28 January 1871 [220]
Foundation Member and Inaugural Chairman of the Victoria Plains Road Board on its formation on 1 March 1871 [5: 22-Jun-1934]
Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of the Victoria Plains Road Board 1872-1876 [220]
Until 1876 meetings of the Victoria Plains Road Board had been held at his home on Glentromie Station [220]
Retired from his positions on the Victoria Plains Road Board in 1876, however remained a member of the Board until 1886 [220]
Contributed one of the horses used by John FORREST and five men in their crossing from Geraldton to Adelaide in 1874 [39: 8-Feb-1922]
During his Fifth Expedition in 1876 the explorer Ernest GILES visited him at Glentromie Station [159]
In his journal GILES described him as "a fine, hospitable old Scotchman, who has a most valuable and excellent property" [159]
In 1877 was said to be one the largest flock-masters in the Swan River Colony in addition to possessing a fine strain of cattle [220]
The second Victoria Plains races in 1879 were held at his Glentromie where he also staged a banquet and ball [220]
In the 1870s and 1880s bred horses which were then herded overland to be shipped to India and the Far East [220]
On 24 October 1872 the Inquirer newspaper reported that the 1040 ton Astracanembarked Fremantle for Calcutta "with the finest [220]
batch of colonial-bred horses that has ever been exported from WA. The larger part of the shipment, some 170, are from the [220]
well-known stud of D McPherson of Glentromie Victoria Plains, and are accompanied by his son Aeneas McPherson." [220]
It was said to have taken 20 horseman to get the horses to Fremantle and nine grooms travelled on the ship [220]
His sons Aeneas and John variously travelled with the horses on ships to India a number of times in the 1870s and 1880s [220]
His home on Glentromie was said to have been an eleven room brick home with verandahs along the front and ends [220]
Also near the house was a detached cottage of another nine rooms including a large cellar [220]
His stable, also of brick, was 30 metre longs with walls six metres tall and with a loft capable of storing 50 tons of hay [220]
Adjacent to the 27 horse stall stable was a cart shed, harness room, chaff house, shearing shed and blacksmith's workshop [220]
Also near the stable was a large cattle yard, sheds for milking purposes and two workmen's cottages [220]
Although he never resided in Carnamah he aided its settlement through financial and other contributions to his brother Duncan [127] [134]
Assisted Duncan with £200 following his eviction from The Byeen in Toodyay and the sale of all his assets in late 1867 [127: page 182]
Also gave his brother Duncan horses, a dray and farming implements [134: page 156]
On 13 February 1879 purchased jointly with his brother Duncan the title deed to Victoria Location 1172 [122]
Victoria Location 1172 was 100 acres of land surrounding Carnamah Spring and Duncan's homestead Carnamah House [122]
By 1887 Glentromie consisted of about 5,500 acres of freehold land and about 60,000 acres of leasehold [220]
In 1887 he ran around 5,000 sheep on Glentromie, most of which were tendered to by shepherds [220]
Wool from the many sheep was carted to Perth with a six horse wagon drawn by Glentromie bred horses [220]
In 1887 he also ran about 250 horses on his property, in addition to 150 head of cattle and 100 pigs [220]
Father of Aeneas, Jessie, William, John, Elizabeth, Margaret, Edward and Flora [220]
Died 4 August 1887 in Victoria Plains; buried East Perth Cemetery in the Perth suburb of East Perth [220]
On 27 February 1888 Glentromie was sold by public auction to Walter PADBURY for £11,200 [220]
| Reference: Carnamah Historical Society & Museum and North Midlands Project, 'Donald Macpherson' in Biographical Dictionary of Coorow, Carnamah and Three Springs, retrieved 19 December 2024 from www.carnamah.com.au/bio/donald-macpherson-glentromie [reference list] |
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