Emma McPherson (1833 – 1915), also known as Mrs Allan Macpherson,State Library of New South Wales
Catalogue entry, ''Scenes in New South Wales''. Accessed 6 February 2020. author and watercolour artist, was the daughter of

Charles Henry Blake Charles Henry Blake (1794–1872) was a British indigo planter and industrialist in India, who became a property developer and railway company director in London. Early life He was the son of Benjamin Blake, a sea captain turned indigo planter in ...

and his wife Frances.. In 1853 Emma married

Allan Macpherson Allan Macpherson (24 October 1818 – 6 November 1891) was a squatter, pastoralist and politician in the colony of New South Wales, a member of the Legislative Assembly. Early life Macpherson was born at Blairgowrie, Scotland. He went to ...

of Blairgowrie, Scotland. Allan was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In 1829, as a boy, he travelled to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with his parents, where he attended Cape's School. Later he purchased the properties ''Keera'', near

Bingara, New South Wales Bingara (Aboriginal for 'creek') is a small town on the Gwydir River in Murchison County in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Bingara is currently the administrative centre for the Gwydir Shire that was created in 2003. The ...

and ''Mount Abundance'', near what is now

Roma, Queensland Roma is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Maranoa Region. The town was incorporated in 1867 and is named after Lady Diamantina Bowen (née di Roma), the wife of Sir Geo ...

. He returned to Blairgowrie in 1850. In 1854 Emma gave birth to her first child, Jessie and in 1855 a boy, William Charles, was born. About this time, Allan felt the need to return to Australia to sell property which he owned. Emma decided to accompany him, so baby William was left in the care of Emma's aunt, so that she could travel with her husband. They took Jessie with them. Encampment in the Bush

After some time in Sydney, where Macpherson's father William Macpherson was employed, Allan, Emma and Jessie travelled by coastal steamer to

Morpeth, New South Wales Morpeth is a suburb of the city of Maitland in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs. The major population centr ...

and, from there, travelled by road to ''Keera'' in a covered wagon, which they had arranged to be constructed for them. Emma McPherson wrote a book about her time in Australia titled, ''My Experiences in Australia: Being Recollections of a Visit to the Australian Colonies in 1856-7''. She also painted scenes of some of the places visited during their journey to ''Keera'' and back, as well as other scenes around Sydney and elsewhere in Australia. Following the family's return to Sydney they returned to Blairgowrie in 1857. The Macphersons returned to Sydney in 1862 and remained until 1868, when they once more returned to Blairgowrie. Emma and Allan Macpherson had seven children, five sons and two daughters: Jessie, William Charles, Alan, Charles, George, Ewan and Frances. George Macpherson was killed in 1915, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a few months before Emma's death. Emma Macpherson's obituary noted that "many local institutions have been favoured with her patronage for long years, including the Choral Society, Horticultural Society, Bowling Club, Curling Club etc.: and the young people of the town and district have good cause to remember her for her generosity in providing accommodation in her policies for picnics and gala days. Nothing pleased her better than to see the children enjoy themselves, and to endeavour to make others happy." Oona Blake (1893-1969), daughter of Allan and Emma Macpherson's fifth son Ewan, donated Emma's album of paintings to the

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...

. Sir William Macpherson of Cluny, a Scottish High Court judge is a great-grandson of Allan and Emma Macpherson.

References

{{authority control 1833 births 1915 deaths Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Scottish writers Scottish painters