James McLaurin (1821-1891)


James McLaurin(1821-1891),grazier was born on 23 July 1821 at Dunoon,Argyllshire,Scotland,the second
son of James McLaurin (1781-1864),farmer,and his wife Mary,nee McGibbon (1783-1856).On 20 January
1838 he arrived at Sydney onboard the "Brilliant" with twenty seven members of his family and went to
Singleton,where his father was manager of James Bowman's station.In October 1839 he and his brother
Alexander(1823-1872) overlanded cattle to Adelaide for Edward and Geotge Howe.Next year on a
similar trip he had many skirmishes with Aboriginals and discovered and named the Edward River.After
cattle dealing on the Melbourne market,he formed Allanvale station in the Westernport district with his
brother Alexander and John Webster as partners.

About 1843 James McLaurin worked on the Howes's Murray runs and made many trips with stock to
Melbourne.When the Howes went bankrupt he took cattle for wages and by 1845 with his father and
three brothers had occupied an abandoned run near Deniliquin,renaming it Cornalla.It is said that he and
Archibald "had to milk twenty cows before breakfast,split posts all day and thresh wheat by candlelight...
and it was not uncommon to see the milk cows coming home with spears sticking in them".In the early
1850's the five partners bought Derulamein for £3000 on the breakup of Benjamin Boyd's Deniliquin run
and in November 1855 paid a record £24,000 for the near-by 50,000 acre (20,234ha)run of Moroco;
later they acquired the 64,000 acre (25,900ha) cattle run of Billabong in the Murrumbidgee district.By
1866 the family held over 203,000 acres (82,151ha) in the Riverina.

In 1852 James had been attracted to the Victorian goldfields but within three months went toAlbury where
he built the Fanny Ceres flour-mill.In 1859 he was appointed a magistrate and in 1859-60 served on the
first town council.In 1861 he sold the mill to George Day in exchange for the 90,000acre (36,421ha)
Yarra Yarra run,near Germanton (Holbrook).When their father died in 1864 the brothers dissolved the
partnership and James took Yarra Yarra and Billabong.When Yarra Yarra was threatened by the
bushranger Daniel Morgan,James McLaurin led his sons and station hands in a raid on Morgan's camp,
only to find it deserted;in his absence the homestead was plundered by the bushranger.In 1862 James
McLaurin petitioned parliament for pecuniary relief after 6305 cattle worth £20,132 had been compulsorily
slaughtered in an outbreak of pleuro-pneumonia.By 1870's he had restocked with sheep and was growing
wheat.An elder of the Presbyterian Church,he liberally supported its local causes.In March 1872 he was
elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Hume;a petition against his return was dismissed as "frivolous
and vexatious".He resigned in February 1873 and refused nomination to the Legislative Council.In February
1891 he sold his holdings to his four eldest sons.He died on 10 November 1891 at Yarra Yarra and was
buried in the Germanton cemetery.Predeceased by his first wife Ann,nee Sparrow,who died in 1853 without issue,and by his second wife Isabella McDonald (d1887),nee Rankin,he was survived by five sons and
three daughters of his second wife.


James McLaurin (1781) and Mary McGibbon (1783)James McLaurin's parents were my 6th generation great great grandparents
article by Trevor smurthwaite

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