John McKenzie, son of Hugh and Agnes, born 1829, married Elizabeth Inglis, a weaver from Leith, in 1847, and they were living at 59, High Street, Kinghorn, in 1851. John was a younger brother of Isabella McKenzie, whose daughter (also Isabella) is the old lady featured in the 4 generation photograph on the home page. His g-g-grandson, Bob, contacted me after finding this site, and we correspond regularly by e-mail.

In 1853 John and Elizabeth emigrated to Australia with their first 3 children for economic reasons, and Bob has worked out the route as : Burntisland to Kinghorn by rail, railway steamer from Burntisland to Granton (Leith), Edinburgh to Glasgow and then Greenock by train, steamer from Greenock (possibly the "Princess Royal") to Birkenhead, then by the ship "Sea" to Australia, landing at Melbourne in May 1853. Their son, James Alexander Sea McKenzie, was born during that voyage, and his name reflects the names of both the ship and her captain. On arrival, they were employed by Mr Chirnside, (another Scot, from Berwickshire) as shepherds, for 40 pounds a year plus rations. They worked for the Chirnsides at Mt. William Station (sheep station), near the Grampians, then at Carranballac Station, near Skipton, till 1875. They then selected land at Port Campbell, on the Victorian coast. John and Elizabeth, pictured left and right, in photographs taken c.1895. The central picture shows their gravestone, the inscription on which is as follows : "Sacred to the memory of John McKenzie, died May 31st 1897 aged 68 years. Also of his beloved wife Elizabeth McKenzie, died January 18th 1911 aged 82 years. And of their eldest daughter Euphemia White, died March 24th 1901 aged 53 years. Rest dear loved ones".

(Above) The entrance to Carranballac as it stands today. As an aside to the journey outlined above, Bob has discovered that the captain of the ship they came to Australia on returned to his ship "not sober", and took the ship out to sea, despite the protestations of the master of the pilot vessel. He wrecked the ship on Corsair Reef with great loss of life (including his own) and the destruction of the vessel. Bob has had contact with some divers in the area, who have found some remains they believe to be parts of the "Sea".

James Alexander Sea McKenzie became a sheep shearer at the age of 15, and plied this trade for some 20 years. He moved with the family to Port Campbell, and eventually became both a councillor on the local council, and a Justice of the Peace. His farm was also producing dairy cattle by this time. In 1882 James married Martha Stephenson, and they went on to have 13 children. After the children were grown, they moved in to Camperdown, a larger town in the area. Most of this information came from a 1932 copy of the Camperdown Chronicle, which profiled James's life during his well-earned retirement.

Bob's grandfather, Robert Paterson McKenzie, served in World War One with the Light Horse, though he served with several units due to heavy casualties. He is pictured (left) on his commanding officer's mount, sometime between 1915-1918. He was repatriated via England in 1919.
On the right, Bob and his family, taken at his son Rob's graduation in 1998. He is still researching his family tree, and hopes one day to produce a definitive history.