William Coghill

William Coghill (c. 1784-1860) was a pioneer pastoralist and squatter of the Port Phillip District in 1838.

William Coghill was born in Scotland, probably in 1783 or 1784,[a]. At his wedding in Wick, Scotland in 1812 his occupation was listed as shoemaker.[3] He continued as a shoemaker until his departure for New South Wales.[4] William arrived in New South Wales on board the Mangles in 1824, captained by his brother John.[5] In January 1838, William and two of his sons traveled from the Monaro Plains, New South Wales, to the Port Phillip District with John Stuart Hepburn and 2000 sheep.[6] By April 1838, the Coghills had established a run at Glendaruel near present day Clunes. By mid 1840 William was back on his property in NSW, leaving his sons in charge on the Glendaruel pastoral lease, which was split into two leases. The second was Glendonald station on Coghills Creek. William later moved to the Moonee Moonee Ponds Creek near Tullamarine.[7]

In 1846 William Coghill formed the Immigration Society with others including A.M Campbell and G.C Curlewis to encourage labourers to the area. William Coghill, his wife and younger children lived on the Cumberland Estate on the south of Gellibrand Hill from about 1845[1] and became prominent in local affairs, including the establishment of the first Scottish Presbyterian church in the district.[8] William's Sons David and George established their own pastoral properties nearby.[5]

He died on 19 July 1860 (aged 76).[2]

  1. ^ a b Moloney & Johnston. "Place: Cumberland Place No.- 40" (PDF). City of Hume Heritage study. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Died". The Age. 21 July 1860. p. 4. Retrieved 28 October 2022 – via Trove.
  3. ^ Old Parish Marriages 043/30 501 Wick. Retrieved 14 March 2022, scotlandspeople.gov.uk
  4. ^ Occupation shoemaker listed in children's baptismal records, for example William Coghill Junior baptised July 15 1821 043/40 35 Wick. Retrieved 31 January 2022
  5. ^ a b Pentreath, Steve (November 2004). "Mallee Roots" (PDF). p. 6. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  6. ^ Letters from Victorian Pioneers, Edited by Thomas Francis Bride, LL.D., Published for the Trustees of the Public Library by Robt. S. Brain, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1898. p 51
  7. ^ I.W. Symonds, Bulla Bulla: An Illustrated History of the Shire of Bulla, Spectrum Publications, Melbourne, 1985, p.53
  8. ^ "Meeting at Broadmeadows". The Argus. 21 March 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 28 October 2022 – via Trove. The Argus, 21-3-1851 p2.


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