DOUGLAS, Morton Alfred ^2,4,5,6,545

   User ID: 66.

  General Notes:

Arrived in Australia aged 6 years, around 1853, with his parents and older brother.

According to History of Queensland p 551 he was "educated at King's school Parramatta. He studied at that academy until reaching his middle teens, when he entered as a cadet, a commercial house in Sydney. Shortly afterwards he relinquished this position and became articled to the legal profession, in which connection he continued to study for three years. At the end of that period he accompanied his family to Queensland, and subsequently attracted by the great pastoral possibilities of the then colony, descided to identify himslef on the land, securing work in the Dawson Valley district". (Note - Kings school has no record of his attandance at that school BVT)

ater he engaged in agricultural operations on his own land in the vicinity of Toowoomba; his enterprise in this connection owing to a variety of causes met with failure. While still in hios early twenties he turned his attantion to horse dealing, to which he devoted some considerable time, becoming well knowm in the various pastoral districts which he visited in the course of his work.

Owned properties in the Longreach district, Strathfinella, Eyriewald, and Bellview. Teamster, and carted sleepers for the railway line being built to Charters Towers. He squatted on land near Cloncurry, Julia Creek. The properties became called Majuba, Nelia Ponds, Maxwelton.



Son George was born in Blackall in 1878.

"In the year 1892 your grandfather Morton Douglas travelled overland to Longreach from Winton where he took up 2 small selections 7 miles east of Longreach. We all arrived at that there little town of Longreach the day the Great Western Railway was openend from Rockhampton........Your grandfather did a little cultivation, ran a dairy in which all of us boys assisted. He also grew a couple of crops of wheat sucessfully which he made into chaff.

Three years later he went to a place called Coomoola and ran a dairy on a large scale, made cheese and butter. We 7 boys worked hard, also did your aunt Ada and grandmother. In those days it was an uphill climb to the ladder of success and under great deprivation and misery.

In 1897 your grandfather sold both places and took up 4 blocks of small selections on a place called Katherine Creek. The selections ranged about 2500 acres each. One block was held in the name of your uncle Ernest at that time just eligible to hold a Homestead as to age limit. We all started to finance these properties.. and with a few pounds left managed to buy 6000 old ewes from a man called Parsons at 6/- per head and wool in those days sold 6 pence per pound." See GS Douglas letter 1933 to Keith Shanklin Douglas.


^{6,13,29,208,546}

  Birth Notes:

20 years of age at marriage 1866, implies born 1846

  Death Notes:

(a) Carcinoma of stomach (b) Marasmus (c) Syncope

  Noted events in his life were:

• Emigration, Abt 1851, Arrived In Colony Of Nsw From England. ⁶

Morton married Henrietta Frances "Fanny" Shanklin, daughter of Hugh Evans (Robert) Shanklin and Henrietta Boulton, on 16 Jun 1866 at St Lukes School Room (Cofe), Toowoomba, Qld, Aus ^6,21.^,22 (Henrietta Frances "Fanny" Shanklin was born on 3 Mar 1847 in Patterson River, Dungog, Gloucester, Nsw, Aus,^{6,21,23,24,25,26} died on 31 Jan 1915 at "Gowrie House" Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, Qld, Aus ^6,26,27,28 and was buried on 13 Jan 1915 at Toowong Cemetery (C Of E) Por 2A Sect 25 Grave 16. (K706), Brisbane, Qld, Aus ⁶.)