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The Archer brothers in Queensland
The Archer Family Correspondence, held in the John Oxley Library's original materials collection at OM80-10, comprises 153 letters written by the Archer brothers. The majority of the letters are written by the brothers to family members in Laurvig (today Larvik), Norway, while others are written between the brothers.
The collection includes letters written from Queensland places such as Wallerowang, Durundur, Emu Creek, Cooyar, Eidsvold and Gracemere between 1834 and 1855. Each letter is now available as a digital image.
History of the Archer brothers
The Archer brothers were some of the earliest settlers in Queensland. William Archer, a Scottish timber merchant in Larvik (or Laurvik, also Laurvig), Norway, and his wife Julia, nee Walker, had thirteen children in total. Nine of them spent time in Australia, including seven sons:
- Charles (1813-1862)
- John (1814-1857)
- David (1816-1900)
- William (1818-1896)
- Archibald (1820-1902)
- Thomas (1823 - 1905)
- Colin (1832 - 1921)
The first of the Archer brothers to settle in Australia was David, who arrived in Sydney in 1834. David was joined by his brothers William and Thomas in 1838 and together they resolved to seek pastoral land on the Darling Downs. Unfortunately an outbreak of scab among their sheep delayed their departure until such time as they believed all the good county to have been taken up. In 1841 David and Thomas, joined by another brother, John, ventured north to the upper reaches of the Brisbane and Stanley Rivers, where they discovered fertile land. It was here the brothers established Durundur (also Durandur) Station, near present day Woodford, the most northerly station at that time.
Ludwig Leichhardt and the Archers
Charles arrived in Australia in 1841, worked in Sydney for two years, then decided to join his brothers at Durundur. He arrived at Durundur in 1843 in company with Ludwig Leichhardt, who stayed at Durundur for several months until early 1844. There are numerous references to Leichhardt in many of the letters, and Leichhardt remained a friend of the Archers until his death.
The country at Durundur proved unsuitable for sheep, so in 1845 the brothers took up runs farther west within the Brisbane valley, at Cooyar and Woroongundi situated on Emu Creek. Charles and Thomas built the homestead at Woroongundi.
In 1847 Thomas Archer made exploring trips to Fitzroy Downs and in 1848 to the Burnett region. As a result, land on the Burnett River was taken up in the names of David and Thomas Archer. These runs were named Coonambula and Eidsvold. The town of Eidsvold was later established not far from the homestead.
Exploring the Fitzroy River area
In 1853 Charles and William were the first Europeans to discover the Fitzroy River, which they named in honour of the then Governor of New South Wales. They continued exploring along the river valley and were very pleased with the land, marking proposed boundaries of a new run, before returning to Eidsvold and Coonambula. In 1854 Charles and Colin returned to the Fitzroy River, from whence they explored westward searching for the country discovered by Leichhardt in 1847, named Peak Downs.
In 1855 the brothers took up Gracemere Station on the Fitzroy River, the run Charles and William had marked out in 1853. Gracemere was initially named Farris, but was renamed in honour of Thomas Archer's bride Grace Lindsay, nee Morison, whom he had married in Scotland in 1853. The homestead was built in 1858 on the north-east shore of the lagoon.
In 1860 Archibald Archer, who had been a planter in the South Seas, joined his brothers at Gracemere. Cattle and sheep were run on Gracemere in the earliest years, but in the early 1870s it was switched entirely to cattle. Rockhampton now stands on part of the original Gracemere run.
References
Gracemere State School, (1971) Centenary souvenir, 1871-1971, Gracemere
McDonald, Lorna, 1916-, (1999) Over earth and ocean : the Archers of Tolderodden and Gracemere: a Norse-Australian saga 1819-1965, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, Central Queensland University Press
O’Keeffe, Mary, (2006) 'Archer, Charles (1813 - 1862)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, retrieved 30 Jan 2008, from Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online edition [new window http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010023b.htm]
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Last updated: 19th August 2008
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