My families

I am a fourth generation Australian whose great-great-grandparents came from northern England and Scotland between 1849 and 1854. Once in Victoria, most of these families were caught up in the business of gold mining that had become the basis for the colony's subsequent prosperity and growth.

On my father's side, my Scott forebears can be traced to the village of Harden in the parish of Bingley, West Riding of Yorkshire. On arrival in Victoria aboard the celebrated liner ss Great Britain they settled in the small gold mining township of Steiglitz where they ran a hotel for 57 years. My paternal grandmothers' family, by the name of Sutherland, came from Wick in the county of Caithness on the rugged northeast coast of Scotland, and after emigrating became farmers at Drysdale near Geelong, Victoria.

My mother's father's family, named Kinloch, hailed from the parish of Bonhill in the county of Dunbartonshire, Scotland, close to the shores of Loch Lomond. They took an assisted passage to Victoria and later moved to the rich Mt Alexander goldfield. My mother's maternal family, Ditchburn, originated near Alnwick, in the coal mining districts of Northumberland in northeast England; later in Victoria, they became prosperous in the golden city of Ballarat.

My research

A few years ago I decided that a cupboard full of genealogical information was of little use or value to anyone, so the decision was taken to put it together in an interesting and easily accessible form - in short, it was time to write it up in a book. So far I have produced two. My first effort, a smallish volume on the families of my maternal grandparents called Kinloch-Ditchburn: a family sketch, won an award from the Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies. The other, An obedient servant, concerns the life and teaching career of my paternal great-grandfather. Please take the time to look them over by following the link to Publications.