John Mackenzie (colonial settler)

Lieutenant Colonel John Kenneth Mackenzie (1793–1857)—also spelt 'McKenzie' or 'MacKenzie'—was a military officer who fought in the Peninsula War and the War of 1812, and a pioneer colonial settler of New South Wales, Australia. He is a particularly associated with Nerriga, Braidwood and The Wool Road.

Mackenzie was born, in 1793, at Edinburgh, Scotland.^[1] The spelling of his surname varies between sources—even on his marriage certificate it is spelt in two different ways^[2]—but, Mackenzie himself and his descendants used 'Mackenzie'.

He joined the British army in 1807, as an ensign. He fought in the Peninsula War and later in the War of 1812, during which he was wounded at the Battle of Bladensburg. At various times he was stationed in France—with the army of occupation—the West Indies and Portugal. From around 1818, he received a number of promotions, culminating in his appointment as a Lieutenant Colonel in early 1832.^[2]

He arrived Sydney in August 1832, aboard the Clyde, to take command of a detachment of his regiment, the 4th (The King's Own) Regiment of Foot. As well as Mackenzie, his family, and his headquarters staff, the same ship carried 199 male convicts to the colony.^[3][4][5] This was just one of a number of ships that brought convicts, together with the soldiers of the King's Own that were guarding them.^[6]

In 1833, he became a shareholder in the Bank of New South Wales.^[7] In 1834, he sold his commission.^[8] He lived for some years in the district around Liverpool, and was a justice-of-the-peace in that district.^[9]

His association with Nerriga began when he took up land, near to the Endrick River, which was granted to him in June 1836. The area was then called 'Narriga' after a property there, owned by George Galbraith. In 1838 and 1839, Mackenzie bought more land in the area—including Galbraith's property, 'Narriga'—bringing his total landholdings there to 4,541 acres.^[8][10] He and his family appear to have moved permanently to Nerriga only in mid-1841.^[11] Some sources mention him as a pioneer of the Monaro region, around this time. However, he and his family seem to have moved directly from Liverpool to Nerriga.^[1][11] It appears that Mackenzie took up a property, 'Dangelong' station near Cooma, but chose to settle at Nerriga instead.^[12]

Mackenzie became a close associate of the founder of Braidwood, the nearest town to Nerriga, Thomas Braidwood Wilson. Mackenzie and Wilson are notable as being among the main proponents and financial backers of The Wool Road and the new port of South Huskisson (now Vincentia).^[13] It was Mackenzie's wool clip that was the first to be loaded onto a ship at the port, in late 1841.^[14][15] He also loaded his wheat crop there in 1842.^[16]

Once construction of The Wool Road was completed, Mackenzie took up land at Yarrook, along the new road, just to the west of modern-day Sassafras, becoming probably the first settler landholder in the area. The land was an area of natural grassland, where Mackenzie established stockyards and grazing. His holding is known to the present day as 'McKenzie's Paddock'.^[17]

In 1843, Mackenzie was appointed as a councillor on the District Council for Braidwood and Broulee.^[18] He became a Police Magistrate, at Braidwood, although in that judicial role he attracted serious criticism and controversy; it appears that he ran his courtroom, in an idiosyncratic and authoritarian manner, with regard neither for the rights of defendants nor the freedom of the press.^{[19][20][21][22][23][24]}

Mackenzie was ruined financially, as a result of the economic depression of the early 1840s, no doubt complicated by the failure of the privately-owned Wool Road and the port of South Huskisson. He was bankrupted in May 1849,^[25] and consequently lost all his land at Nerriga; his home there was sold in 1851.^[26] In 1853, he was reduced to asking permission to live in a house in South Huskisson that belonged to Edward Deas Thompson.^[27]

Mackenzie married Charlotte Solomon on 15 May 1815 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They had six daughters and eight sons. Of their fourteen children, one was born in France, one in Grenada, seven in the United Kingdom, and five in New South Wales.^[2] One of his sons was Major General Hugh Mackenzie.^{[2][28][1][29]} Mackenzie's daughter, Janet, married Stewart Ryrie (Jun.), a pioneer settler of Jindabyne^[30] His eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Alured Tasker Faunce, a Captain of the 4th Regiment, later a colonial magistrate and a pioneer settler of Queanbeyan.^[31][29] Elizabeth's daughter, Charlotte Faunce, married Alexander Ryrie and was the mother of Major General Sir Granville Ryrie.^[32] Elizabeth's daughter, Ellen Faunce, married David Ryrie.^[29] His third daughter, Mary, never married and lived to just short of her 102nd birthday. Most of his descendants lived in the Monaro, Shoalhaven, Southern Highlands, and Yass districts of New South Wales.^[12][33][29]

Mackenzie died of a heart attack, while visiting his son's property, 'Moelle', at Jerrawangala, and was buried there. There is a memorial erected to his memory in the cemetery at Nowra.^[27] with an inscription reading: "Corunna, Salamanca, Vittoria, St. Sabastian, Nive, Peninsula, Blenkensburgh [sic]. In memoriam, John Kenneth Mackenzie, sometime Lt.-Colonel H.M.4th King's Own Royal Regiment Foot. One of Wellington's Peninsula soldiers. Departed this life 14th August,1857. Aetat 66."^[34][35] His wife Charlotte died at Yass, in 1875.^[1]

Mackenzie had worked his land using convict labour, and those same convicts had been put to work building The Wool Road, along with others—totally around seventy—who were assigned to him for road construction.^[36] Mackenzie had a reputation as a harsh master. One of his assigned convicts, Cornelius Flynn, bore on his back the scars of harsh corporal punishments carried out on Mackenzie's orders. After one such flogging, Flynn swore an oath that one day he would dance on Mackenzie's grave. Years later, by then a free man, it is said that he waited until after Mackenzie's funeral service and, with the grave freshly filled and heaped, he then fulfilled his oath while singing a ditty that was offensive to Mackenzie's memory.^[37]

The old Mackenzie homestead building at Nerriga was still standing in 1988.^[38]

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