1852 - 1935
James Anderson McLauchlan was born at Monifieth, near Dundee, Scotland, on 5 November 1852. James was the third son and sixth child (of seven) of John McLauchlan and Ann Anderson McLauchlan. Aged 15 years, he commenced an apprenticeship of five years as a Fitter at the engineering workshop and foundry trading as 'Monifieth Foundry, near Dundee'.
On 23 May 1874, he left Dundee aged 21, to migrate to Australia. On 29 May 1874 he boarded the small full rigged ship, 'City of Adelaide' which was berthed at London's West India Docks, as an emigrant passenger bound for Adelaide, South Australia.
During the voyage of 86 days, he maintained a daily diary, which is still in existence and held by the Mortlock Library. From this diary it is possible to plot the course of the ship until she ran aground off Kirkcaldy Beach at 4.00am on Sunday 23 August 1874 in a severe westerly gale. The ship was undamaged, and in the same day, all passengers were brought ashore in lighters and taken to an hostelry at Adelaide.
He obtained employment as a mechanical engineer at the engineering works and foundry of Messrs Forwood Down & Co Ltd, Hindley Street, Adelaide.
On 5 October 1878, he married Caroline Opie, the youngest daughter of John and Mary Ann Opie (the fifth of seven children). They had a family of four sons and five daughters. They resided at Adelaide and North Adelaide before acquiring a few acres of land on a frontage to Ann Street, Campbelltown in 1887, where they built a family residence.
After a few years with Forwood Down & Co, he entered the service of the South Australian Railways. One of his chief tasks as a supervising engineer was the installation of the interlocking signal mechanisms for all stations in the Southern Division. He retired from the Railways in 1923.
Immediately after World War 1, two of his sons, Kenneth Colville McLauchlan and Ronald Yelland McLauchlan, took up an additional 49 acres of land, adjacent to the original property, under the Soldier's Land Settlement scheme. Here they established a fruit orchard and market garden over the entire area which extended across the Torrens River to McLauchlan Road, Windsor Gardens.
James served for many years as Sunday School Superintendent and Minister's Warden for his Church, St Martin's Campbelltown,
He died at Campbelltown on 2 September 1935 at the age of 82 years 10 months, and was buried in the churchyard of St Martin's.
This information was compiled by James David McLauchlan (grandson) and by Ian Murray McLauchlan (great-grandson).
