Alice Margaret Smith
Alice Margaret Smith
Alice Margaret Smith was born 16 June 1874 at Scot Vale [Melbourne], Victoria. On 21 March 1898, at Isis Downs, Queensland, she married Archibald Eugene McEachern.
Archibald Eugene McEachern, born 31 March 1859 at “FuneRay” Strathdownie, Victoria, was grandson of Hugh McEachern and the fourth son to Archibald McEachern and Mary McArthur. Archibald Eugene McEachern was at "Fune Ray" near Strathdownie in Western Victoria. At the age of 18 he left, with Dundas Hamilton for Queensland where he became overseer on "Eversham" and later Manager of "Malvern Hills Station" near Blackall, in Queensland until shortly before his death, died when Jessie was 2 years old. After the death of Archibald Eugene McEachern, on 2 April 1908 at Barcaldine, his wife, Alice, took the children to Victoria and they lived with her parents at Stamford Park, Victoria. Archibald Eugene McEachern was named Eugene after his father's friend, Eugene Sylvester. Hugh McEachern sailed for Australia in the ship "British King", with Captain William Paton from Tobermory on 28 October 1838 arriving in Sydney on 1 March 1839.
"Strathdownie was the name given to the first cattle and sheep station in what Mitchell called Australia Felix, that is, western Victoria. It was taken up by the McEachern's, who left Goulburn, New South Wales, travelling by the sun and stars. The Cameron's took up Argyle, still in part, owned by their descendants. Both families were related to us (Gilmore's). Adam Lindsay Gordon, when droving from Mount Gambier in 1872, asked the McEachern's to let him put his cattle in their house paddock for the night. Refused, and having to watch the stock all night, he wrote a piece of verse on the gatepost cursing the McEachern's, I understand that the third generation still has a copy of the lines."[1]
Robert played for Victoria whilst still captain of Melbourne Grammar, and my own father (Gordon Stewart McEachern) was captain of Essendon cricket team."
Extract from a Scotch College, Melbourne, letter to my father - 11 June 1937:
"William Smith, the son of Adam Smith of Broadmeadows, Mosquito Plains, Penola was enrolled at the College on 6 April 1865 at the age of 16 (school No. 988). His brother, Adam Smith was enrolled on 3 January 1866 at the age of 14 (school No. 1054). Adam Smith passed matriculation in 1868, and was dux of the school and dux in Mathematics of that year. He represented the school in football (1868) and rowed in the No. 2 seat of the first crew to win the Head of the river title - Scotch College crew of 1868."
Alice Margaret Smith and Archibald Eugene McEachern had 4 children. they being:
- Alice Hope McEachern
- Robert Keith McEachern
- Gordon Smith McEachern
- Jessie Mary McEachern
[1]The Passionate Heart by Mary Gilmore
HOPE stemmata: from Ancrum to Apsley