John McKail (22 January 1810 – 6 August 1871) was an early settler of Western Australia. He was among the first arrivals in the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

in 1829, but in 1835 was banished to Albany after trouble with the law. In Albany, he set up as a merchant and subsequently developed interests in a number of fields. He owned hotels, invested in whaling, and exported sandalwood to Asia. McKail served in the Legislative Council from 1870 to 1871, as one of the council's first elected members.

Early life

McKail was born in Deptford, Kent, England, and was descended from an old Scottish

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

family."A PIONEER: JOHN MCKAIL'S ASSOCIATION WITH ALBANY"
''Albany Advertiser'', 10 December 1930. His father, Nathaniel, was a naval architect at Deptford Dockyard, and had intended for his son to take up the same profession. That did not eventuate, however, as at the age of 19, McKail secured a place on board '' Parmelia'', the ship carrying the first British settlers (including the new governor, James Stirling) to the

. His father was an acquaintance of the Mangles family, of which Stirling's wife was a member."EARLY ALBANY"
''Albany Advertiser'', 27 April 1929.

Swan River Colony

After arriving in the new colony, McKail and a friend initially camped out on Mount Eliza, overlooking the Perth townsite. He worked as a carpenter, helping with the construction of various government buildings. McKail was in trouble with the law on several occasions in the early 1830s, and was eventually banished from Perth. He was charged with "riotous behaviour" in 1833,John McKail
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 28 December 2016. and in May 1835 was charged with the

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

of Gogalee, the son of Yellagonga (a local Noongar leader). McKail reputedly confessed to shooting Gogalee, but because the circumstances were disputed the colonial authorities believed it was unlikely that a jury would convict him. An acquittal would have angered the local Aborigines, so it was decided that, instead of a trial, McKail would pay blood money to Gogalee's family, and then be expelled from the area.

Albany

McKail arrived in Albany later in 1835, and initially worked as a commercial agent for Anthony Curtis, a merchant who traded between Albany and

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. He was again in trouble with the law in 1836, when he was imprisoned for illegally selling alcohol. McKail eventually went into business on his own, in the late 1830s acquiring two hotels (which he leased to others) and a large warehouse. He was also contracted by the government to build Albany's first jetty. Beginning in 1841, McKail chartered a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

, the ''Emily Smith'', which he used to trade with Singapore and China. The ship would carry sandalwood to those countries and return to Australia with a cargo of sugar and tea, which were sold in Adelaide. McKail also had interests in whaling, and acquired several

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

properties, including in the

Porongorup Ranges Porongurup National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It covers , and is southeast of Perth and north of Albany. The park contains the Porongurup Range, which is the relic core of an ancient mount ...

, on the

Hay River Hay River may refer to: Places * Hay River, Northwest Territories * Hay River, Wisconsin Rivers * Hay River (Wisconsin) * Hay River (Canada), a river in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada * Hay River, Northern Territory, Australia * Hay R ...

, and at Torbay. From 1843 to 1846, McKail taught at a school in Albany for Aboriginal children. He also helped build St John's Anglican Church, splitting the

shingles Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. ...

for the roof himself. In October 1870, McKail was elected to the Legislative Council, winning the seat of Albany unopposed. The 1870 elections were the first official elections held in Western Australia. However, McKail served in parliament for less than six months before resigning his seat in April 1871, becoming the first elected member to do so.''The Inquirer and Commercial News''
12 April 1871. The journey from Albany to Perth in those days took seven days, and there was no reimbursement for travel expenses. McKail died in Albany later that year, aged 61. He had married Henrietta Jenkins in 1839, with whom he had two sons and seven daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKail, John 1810 births 1871 deaths Australian merchants Australian pastoralists Australian people of Scottish descent English emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Albany, Western Australia Settlers of Western Australia 19th-century Australian businesspeople 19th-century Australian politicians