Angus John Nicholson

Angus Nicholson was born in Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland, and in 1850 arrived in Australia with his parents, who settled at Mirboo North.

In the early 1870's Angus selected a block on the Patho plains, neat the site of the Patho railway station and put up a wattle and daub house there.

About 1915 a son, Angus John, born 1890, moved to Torrumbarry South to a property (originally Musgrove's) which he names "Oralea". A younger son Henry bought a farm next door called "Tully" from his mother's maiden name. Both married Hipwell sisters.

The brothers were contractors, shearing and working with horses and scoops and were employed in the construction of the Torrumbarry Lock and Waranga Basin.

Angus was a keen footballer and rode his bike from Waranga to take his place in the Willow Grove team. In 1927 he and a neighbour Ed Bissettt drove to Bendigo in Angus' T model Ford to watch the English cricket team.

Over the years members of the Nicholson family worked a number of different farms around Willow Grove, including Angus' son Ken, who wrote a book of reminiscences about the area. Another son Donald worked "Oralea", today carried on by his wife and son Malcolm. While their daugher Connie married dairy farmer Ron Spiers and now lives in Echuca. Henry Nicholson's farm was carried on through his son James and now his grandson John, while today Phillip and Jeffrey- other sons of James- farm in the Nicholson Lane area.

taken from- Echuca Moama- On the Murray by Helen Coulson published 1995