John Cameron (1847 - 1914)

Born 13 Mar 1847 in New Amsterdam, Berbice, British Guiana

Husband of Sarah Annie (Lodge) Cameron — married 18 Apr 1877 in Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia

Husband of Louise Christine (Heussler) Cameron — married 1899 in Queensland, Australia

Descendants

Died 29 Jun 1914 at age 67 in Albion, Queensland, Australia

Biography

John Cameron was born on 13th March 1847 at New Amsterdam, British Guiana. He was a son of Donald Charles Cameron, plantation manager, and his wife Margaret Anne Moore. His father, after managing a sugar-plantation at Berbice, British Guiana, migrated to the Colony of Victoria (Australia) in 1852, and the following year his wife and family followed on the Great Britain. The Camerons took up Native Creek and later Berremboke stations, north-west of Geelong. John was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, and at Geelong Church of England Grammar School.

He married Sarah Lodge, daughter of Oliver Lodge, on 18th April 1877 at Mudgee, New South Wales. ^[1] They had four children, however, Sarah died in 1893:

• Donald Charles Cameron KCMG DSO (1879-1960)
• John Cameron (1881-1953)
• Percival Lodge Cameron (1882-1940)
• Annie Vera Cameron (1885-1909)

Elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Mitchell in 1893-96 and 1901-08 as a central separationist, free trader and stern retrencher, Cameron used his qualities of honesty, shrewdness and even temper to influence coalition ministers. Declining office, he worked for the pastoral interest behind the scenes. His probity, political influence and individual solvency enabled him to replace the old, discredited entrepreneurs as chairman of Morehead Ltd, and as a director of the Queensland National Bank, the Darling Downs and Western Lands Co., the Queensland Meat Export and Agency Co. Ltd, the Union Trustee Co. and the Alliance Insurance Co. From 1903 he was an Elder of Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (now Uniting Church) on the corner of Ann and Creek Streets, Brisbane.

On 27th December 1899 at Queensland he married again, to Louise Heussler, daughter of J C Heussler. ^[2] They had one further son, Westgarth, who died aged just 33 days.

John passed away on 29th June 1914 at home at Avoca, Albion, Queensland and is buried in the Brisbane General Cemetery, Toowong, Queensland.

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #3577/1877
2. ↑ Queensland Marriage Index #C766/1900

• Waterson, D B. 'Cameron, John (1847–1914)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1979; accessed online 11 Jun 2020.