Allan McFarlane

Allan McFarlane (10 April 1792 – 11 March 1864)

Obituary By the death of Allan McFarlane, of Wellington Lodge, South Australia, early in March, Australia has lost one of the oldest and most enterprising of its flockmasters. The deceased gentleman was born at Caithness, Scotland, and arrived in South Australia with his parents in 1839. The family settled at Mount Barker, but in 1842 land was taken up on the shores of Lake Alexandrina, and the late Mr. McFarlane, with his elder brother-afterwards Sir Donald Horne McFarlane, who sat in the House of Commons -went to manage the property. He remained in possession of the same country for sixty-six years. He experienced all the ups and downs of the pioneer, Wellington Lodge being for many years far removed from the "circle of civilisation." From year to year the area of land in occupation was extended, until eventually Mr. McFarlane obtained the freehold of the greater portion of it. In addition to being an enterprising pastoralist the deceased gentleman was a self-taught engineer of considerable ability. Among other inventions, he designed a new woolpress and had a good deal to do with the introduction of a compressed-air shearing machine He was also one of the first to build levees along the Murray to control the flood waters, whilst by means of pumping plant and pipes he carried water to his back country. In company with the late Mr. Thomas Seymour, Mr. McFarlane went on an exploring trip to Lake Eyre, and named Oakden Hills. He was a keen sportsman, and while in England in 1861-2 he won several prizes for rifle shooting at Wimbledon. When contingents were being sent from South Australia to South Africa, Mr. McFarlane gave liberal donations, and presented the Government with six picked horses. In addition to Wellington Lodge Estate, the deceased was interested in pastoral property in the Young district in New South Wales. Mr. McFarlane has left a widow, four sons-Messrs. Allan, jun. (of Wellington Lodge), John (N.S.W.), Donald (N.S.W.), and Gordon (Wellington Lodge)- seven daughters-Mrs. Jervois (Wellington Station), wife of a nephew of the late Sir William Jervois, a former Governor of the State; Mrs. A. E. Bowman (of Bethanga Park, V.), Mrs. M. S. Hawker (Aldgate), Mrs. A. G. Lamb (Sydney), Mrs. A. B. Henderson (Tourable, N.S.W.), Mrs. E. Gordon (Young, N.S.W.), and Miss Agnes McFarlane. There are also twenty grandchildren.

McFarlane, Allan (?–1908)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/mcfarlane-allan-692/text693, accessed 14 October 2017. Obituary - Pastoralists' Review, 15 April 1908, p 118 . http://oa.anu.edu.au/uploads/obituaries/692/mcfarlane_allan.pdf.''

Allan McFarlane (10 April 1792 – 11 March 1864) was a Scottish pastoralist and parliamentarian in the The Murray and then Mount Barker districts of the Colony of South Australia.

His son Allan McFarlane sen. (1829–1908) succeeded him on the Wellington Lodge station. His grandson, Allan McFarlane jun. ran Jockwar Station, Tailem Bend, and had a son, also Allan McFarlane.

Allan McFarlane and his wife Margaret (née Horne) (22 November 1795 – 17 September 1878) and their family left their home in Caithness, Scotland, and arrived in South Australia aboard the Superb on 29 October 1839. Margaret's brother Donald Horne (died 1870) was a Writer to the Signet.[3]

McFarlane was appointed Justice of the Peace some time before December 1858 and Special Magistrate in 1864.

McFarlane was elected to the seat of The Murray in the South Australian House of Assembly in 1862 in a by-election occasioned by the death of Dr. David Wark. He defeated Henry Kent Hughes 20 votes to 18 (out of a constituency in excess of 200, voting not being then compulsory).[5] With a redistribution later that year, most of his seat was subsumed in the seat of Mount Barker.[6] and he was, with John Dunn, elected to that seat in the election held at the end of 1862.

McFarlane bought Wellington Lodge station.

McFarlane was for many years active with the Mount Barker Agricultural and Horticultural Society. and a Mount Barker representative on the Country Committee of the R.A.& H.S

McFarlane died at his residence Ruthyn Lodge, Kensington.

For many years his name was spelled McFarlane or MacFarlane interchangeably in the newspapers, so it would appear that he was indifferent to its orthography, but eventually "McFarlane" was settled on by his descendants, with famous exceptions noted below. The occasional spelling "Alan" in references can be ascribed to typographical mistakes.

Children of Allan McFarlane and his wife Margaret (née Horne) (22 November 1795 – 17 September 1878)

• Elizabeth Williamson McFarlane (2 Aug 1817 – 2 January 1887) married surgeon David Begg ( – 20 January 1868) of Tirhut, India on 13 December 1843.
• Patrick McFarlane (1820 – 31 May 1855) died at Tirhut, India.
• Margaret Horne MacFarlane (11 June 1821 – 22 October 1901) married Northern Territory pioneer William Giles jnr. (1814 – 14 January 1875), son of William Giles on 11 April 1848. John Horne McFarlane (1823 – 13 October 1866) died in Melbourne
• Benjamina Horne MacFarlane (9 May 1826 – 18 October 1905) married Andrew Chalmers M.D. on 25 December 1851
• Allan McFarlane (1829 – 11 March 1908) married Susanna Hector on 27 June 1862. They lived at "Glensloys", Mount Barker and "Wellington Lodge". Allan made considerable improvements to Wellington Lodge station (land reclamation, massive water tanks, compressed-air shearing machines powered by burning mutton fat, wind-powered sawmill) and was known as a considerate employer, notably to his aboriginal workers. He was a successful breeder of merino sheep and one of the first to recognise the threat to pastoralists posed by the rabbit. He was a stalwart of the Meningie District Council, an enthusiastic yachtsman with the Milang Sailing Club, and an expert marksman, winning several trophies at Wimbledon. Their family included:
• Sir Donald Horne MacFarlane (18 Jul 1830 – 2 June 1904), merchant, parliamentarian and poet, lived in South Australia for 13 years.
• Isabella Horne McFarlane (1832 – 6 October 1916) married Charles Hampden Pickford on 3 June 1852
• Susan Dunsanne (some references have Dunsmuir) MacFarlane (30 Mar 1839 – January 1887) married * * Alexander Benjamin Henderson on 24 September 1862

NB: Duncan McFarlane J.P. (died 27 October 1856), also of Mount Barker and of "Alverstoke" Glen Osmond was no relation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_McFarlane