William Hixon McDonald (senior) (1815-1869) was an Australian soldier-settler, who was amongst the first gold miners at Corindhap, Victoria.
William Hixon McDonald (senior) (1815-1869) was an Australian soldier-settler, who was amongst the first gold miners at Corindhap, Victoria.
McDonald was born c. 1815 in Enniscorthy, Ireland. He seems to have married Elizabeth Reid at Belfast, c. 1834. In February 1836, McDonald enlisted in the 2nd/51st King’s Own Light Infantry Regiment. Before he joined the army, he had been working in Dublin as a slater. [1]
His wife almost certainly accompanied him when McDonald’s regiment was posted to Van Diemen’s Land in December 1838. Their main duties in the colony concerned the supervision of convicts. The family was first stationed at ‘Malcolm’s Huts’ near Richmond, then Port Arthur, before being sent to a more permanent posting at Green Ponds (now known as Kempton) in August 1839. [2]
Elizabeth bore two children at Green Ponds. McDonald purchased his discharge from the army in 1842 and in 1847 joined other ‘over-straiters’, taking his family to Victoria, where they settled on a small farming selection at Freshwater Creek, Duneed, south of Geelong. [3] McDonald, and his son, William (junior), were among the first miners at the Break o’Day diggings during the Victorian gold rush. All members of the McDonald family eventually settled at Corindhap, the town which sprang up at Break o’Day. [4]
It is believed that it is McDonald’s photograph (pictured), which was used as part of a photographic montage honouring the early explorers and settles of Victoria, titled, the Explorers and Early Colonists of Victoria, compiled by Thomas Chuck in 1872. [5]
McDonald died from ‘general debility’ at his son’s homestead at Corindhap on 6 June 1869. Elizabeth died 12 years later in 1881. [6]
Thomas William "Tom" Roberts was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism.
Corindhap is a town in the Australian state of Victoria located on the Ballarat-Colac Road, 38.9 km from Ballarat and 62.9 km from Colac. Formerly known as Break O'Day.
Allan McLean was an Australian politician who served as the 19th Premier of Victoria, in office from 1899 to 1900. He was later elected to federal parliament, where he served as a government minister under George Reid.
The Melbourne Mint, in Melbourne, Australia, was a branch of the British Royal Mint. It minted gold sovereigns from 1872 until 1931, and half-sovereigns (intermittently) from 1873 until 1915. In 1916 it commenced minting Commonwealth silver threepences, sixpences, shillings and florins. From 1923 it minted all pre-decimal denominations. It minted rarities such as the 1921/22 overdate threepence, 1923 half-penny and 1930 penny, as well as Australia's four commemorative florins in 1927 (Canberra), 1934/35, 1951 and 1954. It assisted the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra in producing one cent coins from 1966 to 1968 and two cent coins in 1966. From 1969 all coin production moved to the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, and the building housing the coin minting equipment was demolished shortly afterwards. The remaining administrative building is now the home of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, and has been leased to the private sector since 2001.
The following lists events that happened during 1947 in Australia.
Kempton is a township on the Midland Highway north of Hobart, Tasmania. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 358. A low rainfall region of plains and low hills, it is mostly used for grazing sheep.
Marie Elizabeth Josephine Pitt (1869–1948) was an Australian poet and socialist activist, also journalist and Unitarian. Pitt wrote very highly coloured nature poetry, once much anthologised; and also wrote poetry in support of the socialist and labour movements. Marie Pitt was the companion of fellow poet and socialist Bernard O'Dowd.
Stomatella impertusa, common name the strigose stomatella or the elongate false ear shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.
The Jordan River, a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, is located in the Alpine region of the Australian state of Victoria.
Robert Rooney (1937–2017) was an artist and art critic from Melbourne, Australia, and a leading figure in Australian Conceptual art.
The Electoral district of Town of Melbourne was an electorate of the New South Wales Legislative Council before it became part of the Colony of Victoria on 1 July 1851.
Frederick Charles Porter (1832–1869) was an Australian miner and explorer of the Gippsland region of Victoria. His exploration work in early 1862 was critical in helping open up the Jordan goldfields.
James Frederick Porter (1855-1919) was an Australian engineer and mine manager of the Gippsland region of Victoria.
George Porter (1786-1872) was a mariner and early pioneer of South Australia.
William Hixon McDonald (junior) (1840-1898) was an Australian miner, political candidate and pioneer of Corindhap, Victoria.
European land exploration of Australia deals with the opening up of the interior of Australia to European settlement which occurred gradually throughout the colonial period, 1788–1900. A number of these explorers are very well known, such as Burke and Wills who are well known for their failed attempt to cross the interior of Australia, as well as Hamilton Hume and Charles Sturt.
Henry Jones was a photographer remembered for his portraits of pioneer settlers of South Australia. He was the father of the organist T. H. Jones.
James Scobie was an Australian jockey and racehorse trainer.
William Hixon McDonald may refer to:
The Ginninderra blacksmith’s shop is one of the most significant historical sites of the Australian Capital Territory. It was one of the first sites to be listed on the ACT Interim Heritage Places Register in 1993. The workshop is also of national importance as it is one of only a few known surviving stand-alone blacksmith shops in Australia; although, many farm-based smithies have survived. The building remains in stable condition, but there is no firm plan concerning its long-term management and it remains fenced-off and innaccessible to the public.