Georgiana McCrae
Encyclopedia
Georgiana Gordon McCrae (15 March 1804 – 24 May 1890) was an Australia
n painter and diarist.
, she was the illegitimate daughter of George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon
and Jane Graham. The Marquis of Huntly played little part in her life, as far as can be deduced from Gordon's memoirs. In 1805-07 she spent much of her early childhood in Scotland
- her first memories were playing with rocks in Newhaven
. She was baptised on 6 October 1806 at St James' Church, Piccadilly.
By 1809, Gordon and her mother had moved to Somers Town
, where she began her education at a convent school. Somers Town was full of French refugees from the revolution
some thirty years earlier. She did not study there for long; because those who paid her school fees were worried about Catholic revolutionary influences, she was temporarily sent to Claybrook House in Fulham
. She stayed there less than a year, and it was when she was tutored at home that her talent was discovered.
. He left her on 13 August 1813, the same date as her aunt, Margaret Graham, dying.
Graham had left Georgiana's mother £400. It was to be used for Georgiana having a home of her own. After having become ill in the winter of 1813, she studied music under novelist Fanny Holcroft. The need to control her future was emphasised by her father's second marriage.
In 1814, Georgiana studied under John Varley
. At eleven, she was committed to a professional career, and as such, studied Greek
and Roman
statues
for fifteen hours a week. However, she thought portraits were her metier. She also studied with John Glover
and Dominic Serres
. Abbé Huteau, a French priest, took charge of her general education from 1814-1820, and she received two proposals.
Overqualified to teach young ladies painting, and overspecialised to be a governess, Georgiana was unable to use her talents for money or be properly taught at the Royal Academy
. There were few successful women painters while she was training, except for Swiss painter Angelica Kauffmann
, and Mary Anne Knight, who supported her family by making portraits.
Georgiana herself exhibited a view of a church in 1816, two Thames River scenes and two genre studies: a boy returning from market in winter, and a Margate cottage scene. In 1820, she won a silver medal from the Society of Arts for her portrait of her grandfather, Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon
. A year later she won the Society's silver palette with her Portrait of a French lady.
from the time she was sixteen. Her sense of history was greatly inspired. Duke Alexander Gordon died when she was twenty-two, and the Duchess took over the house.
When it came time for Georgiana to look for suitors, there were three possible candidates. Andrew McCrae was a solicitor and distantly related to the Gordons. Major McDonald who belonged to a Catholic family (and was never a serious possibility, even though he promised to convert) and Peter Charles Gordon, known as Perico, the heir of the Laird of Wardhouse. In 1828 the Wadehouse marriage looked favourable, and she tells it amusingly in 'Stray Leaves' (MS 12018 McCrae Family Papers).
After being separated from Gordon in 1829, she went to Wodehouse to paint again in Edinburgh
. Her first patron was Charles Kilpatrick Sharpe, and she focused at this time on women and children, especially the then-fashionable art of miniatures
. By 1830 she made £250, however her art did not engross her as she was in love with Gordon.
. During their marriage, their fortunes were erratic and they lived in London until 1837. Georgiana painted many portraits of the McCrae family. While in London and in Edinburgh, they had four children, but during her married life she lost her first child, her mother and father.
In November 1838 McCrae was to sail for Sydney
on the Royal Saxon. Georgiana was not allowed to sail because of birth complications, and waited in London. She painted portraits again while McCrae thought about settling in New Zealand. In January 1840 The Port Phillip Herald told Gordon that McCrae might be practicing law in Melbourne
, and in October of that year, Georgiana and the children were able to join him on the Argyle.
The Arygle arrived in Port Phillip Bay
on 27 February 1841, and anchored in Hobson's Bay on 1 March. They moved into Argyle Cottage in Little Lonsdale Street West
, Melbourne. She made good friends with Sophie La Trobe, and Governor Charles La Trobe
tickled her interest in the flowers, native birds and animals. At the time the McCraes first settled there, Melbourne grew rapidly, and Andrew's brothers were successful within its institutions. Georgiana, meanwhile, enjoyed a professional and social life with a few close friends, and took her sons on walks, as she had done in London.
. However, McCrae borrowed a great deal and Nicholson took out a mortgage in July 1843.
When times in Port Philip grew hard, despite the Insolvency Act, Andrew McCrae wished to abandon Melbourne life, so he started a project to go to Arthur's Seat
. Georgiana visited there in 1844. The Duchess did not wish to buy Mayfield, so in 1845 the McCraes prepared to move to Arthur's Seat, and sailed on the Jemina for nine hours. Andrew's plans to expand were at first hampered by the Purchase Regulations set up by Governor Gipps
- but the leases were extended by seven years and McCrae held 21360 acres (86.4 km²) of Arthur's Seat. Andrew and Georgiana built a cottage at the foot of Arthur's Seat which was later named McCrae Homestead
.
. The Bunurong
people were part of the McCrae life at Arthur's Seat, and Georgiana learnt the language and painted portraits of Benbenjie and Eliza. They left Arthur's Seat
by 1851, by which time Melbourne had been seized up by the gold rush
.
Andrew McCrae had become a Police Magistrate in Alberton
, Gippsland
, and Georgiana and the children lived in La Trobe Street West
. Georgiana greatly enjoyed the intellectuals who were brought to her house by gold, especially the influence of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and William Howitt
, who wrote Love, Labour and Gold.
In 1854 she met Nicholas Chevalier
, one of the foremost painters of the Australian landscape. In 1856 she met Louisa Anne Meredith
who was a painter and poet, and they stayed friends until Georgiana's death. There was another female artist who came to Melbourne in 1852 - Julie Visseux. Despite the artistic and intellectual stimulus of gold-rush Melbourne, McCrae seemed to have done little of her own painting from 1851-69, except for a portrait of Meredith and two studies of Hewitt. In 1857 she exhibited with the Victorian Society of Fine Arts, and the Argus was greatly impressed. There were nine pencil/watercolour drawings and miniatures on ivory.
The belated professional stimulation and recognition was not to last, however, regarding the turmoil in her personal life caused her role on the perphirery of the Scottish aristocracy and her respectable life in the colonies technically with but in practice often apart from Andrew McCrae.
McCrae had been disabled by a hip injury since 1859 which meant she could not visit Andrew who had been Police Magistrate in Kilmore
. In any case he was no support when he learnt Georgiana had been cut from the will, and the sons had to support themselves. Her eldest son, George
, went to Britain in 1864 after ten years in the Public Service, and his brother Sandy worked in Queensland. Georgiana coped by writing memoirs of the Gordon Castle and, more generally, the family history. She also copied out her journals from 1838 to 1845, with possible cuts and additions. It was around this time of frenetic activity, after his leavetaking in Kilmore, that Georgiana left McCrae after thirty-seven years of marriage. McCrae left for Britain in 1867 and stayed for seven years until 1874.
and Marcus Clarke
and Adam Lindsay Gordon
while still maintaining their privileged position in the Government House circle. In 1868 they moved to Arundel Cottage in Richmond
, and Georgiana travelled more frequently within Victoria than she had been able to do in the past, particularly in Cape Schanck
.
At the homestead of Barragunda she painted the Pulpit Rock. While her two daughters gave her trouble, she enjoyed a happy mother-daughter relationship with Edith Anderson. Andrew McCrae died on 24 July 1874, leaving the seventy-year-old Georgiana free to take on the role of matriarch, despite her increasing dependence on her children.
In her last years, beginning in 1886, she lived with her daughter and grandchildren, but occasionally visited and painted in Cape Schanck. She wrote frequently to Edith's daughter, and the letters give insight into her old age, as do the letters she wrote to friends in Scotland and her half-sister Susan Sordett. She lived to see Melbourne's half-century and the centenary of white settlement in Australia in 1888. She made her will on 6 May 1890 with a balance of £149 and her paintings and jewellery, and died on the 24 May 1890 in the presence of almost all her family who kept her possessions and records.
Her legacy includes the journals her grandson published in 1934, and her great-grandson George Gordon McCrae buying back the Arthur's Seat homestead in 1961. In 1969 after his death it went to the National Trust
from his son Andrew.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n painter and diarist.
Early life and family background
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, she was the illegitimate daughter of George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon
George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon
George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon GCB, PC , styled Marquess of Huntly until 1827, was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician and the last of his illustrious line.-Early life:...
and Jane Graham. The Marquis of Huntly played little part in her life, as far as can be deduced from Gordon's memoirs. In 1805-07 she spent much of her early childhood in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
- her first memories were playing with rocks in Newhaven
Newhaven, Edinburgh
Newhaven is a district in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, between Leith and Granton. Formerly a village and harbour on the Firth of Forth, it currently has approximately 5,000 inhabitants....
. She was baptised on 6 October 1806 at St James' Church, Piccadilly.
By 1809, Gordon and her mother had moved to Somers Town
Somers Town, London
Somers Town, was named for Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers. The area in St Pancras, London, was originally granted by William III to John Somers, Lord Chancellor and Baron Somers of Evesham. It was to be strongly influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini: Euston , St...
, where she began her education at a convent school. Somers Town was full of French refugees from the revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
some thirty years earlier. She did not study there for long; because those who paid her school fees were worried about Catholic revolutionary influences, she was temporarily sent to Claybrook House in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
. She stayed there less than a year, and it was when she was tutored at home that her talent was discovered.
Education, apprenticeship and first Academy exhibition
Her first art teacher was Louis Mauleon, a civilian prisoner of war who earned his living by making cartons and jacks for London toyshops. He taught her at one shilling a lesson. Under Mauleon she learnt how to draw in black and red chalkChalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
. He left her on 13 August 1813, the same date as her aunt, Margaret Graham, dying.
Graham had left Georgiana's mother £400. It was to be used for Georgiana having a home of her own. After having become ill in the winter of 1813, she studied music under novelist Fanny Holcroft. The need to control her future was emphasised by her father's second marriage.
In 1814, Georgiana studied under John Varley
John Varley (painter)
John Varley was an English watercolour painter and astrologer, and a close friend of William Blake. They collaborated in 1819–1820 on the book Visionary Heads, written by Varley and illustrated by Blake...
. At eleven, she was committed to a professional career, and as such, studied Greek
Art in Ancient Greece
The arts of ancient Greece have exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries all over the world, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models...
and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
statues
Statues
Statues is a popular children's game, often played in Australia but with versions throughout the world.-General rules:# A person starts out as the "Curator" and stands at the end of a field. Everyone else playing stands at the far end...
for fifteen hours a week. However, she thought portraits were her metier. She also studied with John Glover
John Glover (artist)
John Glover was an English/Australian artist in what is known as the early colonial period of Australian art. In Australia he has been dubbed the father of Australian landscape painting.-Life in Europe:...
and Dominic Serres
Dominic Serres
Dominic Serres , also known as Dominic Serres the Elder, was a French-born painter strongly associated with the English school of painting, and with paintings with a naval or marine theme...
. Abbé Huteau, a French priest, took charge of her general education from 1814-1820, and she received two proposals.
Overqualified to teach young ladies painting, and overspecialised to be a governess, Georgiana was unable to use her talents for money or be properly taught at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
. There were few successful women painters while she was training, except for Swiss painter Angelica Kauffmann
Angelica Kauffmann
Maria Anna Angelika/Angelica Katharina Kauffman was a Swiss-Austrian Neoclassical painter. Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.- Early years :She was born at Chur in Graubünden, Switzerland,...
, and Mary Anne Knight, who supported her family by making portraits.
Georgiana herself exhibited a view of a church in 1816, two Thames River scenes and two genre studies: a boy returning from market in winter, and a Margate cottage scene. In 1820, she won a silver medal from the Society of Arts for her portrait of her grandfather, Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon
Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon
Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon KT , styled Marquess of Huntly until 1752, was a Scottish nobleman, described by Kaimes as the "greatest subject in Britain", and was also known as the Cock o' the North, the traditional epithet attached to the chief of the Gordon clan.-Early life:Alexander...
. A year later she won the Society's silver palette with her Portrait of a French lady.
Love and suitors at Gordon Castle, and work in Edinburgh
When Jane Graham had an accident, her Gordon relatives took charge of Georgiana's life and so she lived at Gordon CastleGordon Castle
Gordon Castle is located in Gight, near Fochabers in Moray, Scotland. Historically known as the Bog-of-Gight, it was the principal seat of the Dukes of Gordon...
from the time she was sixteen. Her sense of history was greatly inspired. Duke Alexander Gordon died when she was twenty-two, and the Duchess took over the house.
When it came time for Georgiana to look for suitors, there were three possible candidates. Andrew McCrae was a solicitor and distantly related to the Gordons. Major McDonald who belonged to a Catholic family (and was never a serious possibility, even though he promised to convert) and Peter Charles Gordon, known as Perico, the heir of the Laird of Wardhouse. In 1828 the Wadehouse marriage looked favourable, and she tells it amusingly in 'Stray Leaves' (MS 12018 McCrae Family Papers).
After being separated from Gordon in 1829, she went to Wodehouse to paint again in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Her first patron was Charles Kilpatrick Sharpe, and she focused at this time on women and children, especially the then-fashionable art of miniatures
Miniature (illuminated manuscript)
The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment...
. By 1830 she made £250, however her art did not engross her as she was in love with Gordon.
Marriage to Andrew McCrae, passage to Port Philip and life in Argyle Cottage
On 30 January 1830 Andrew McCrae proposed to her, and she accepted some time during that month. They were married in September and she made her home in WestminsterWestminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. During their marriage, their fortunes were erratic and they lived in London until 1837. Georgiana painted many portraits of the McCrae family. While in London and in Edinburgh, they had four children, but during her married life she lost her first child, her mother and father.
In November 1838 McCrae was to sail for Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on the Royal Saxon. Georgiana was not allowed to sail because of birth complications, and waited in London. She painted portraits again while McCrae thought about settling in New Zealand. In January 1840 The Port Phillip Herald told Gordon that McCrae might be practicing law in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and in October of that year, Georgiana and the children were able to join him on the Argyle.
The Arygle arrived in Port Phillip Bay
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
on 27 February 1841, and anchored in Hobson's Bay on 1 March. They moved into Argyle Cottage in Little Lonsdale Street West
Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Little Lonsdale Street is located in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A part of the Hoddle Grid, it runs roughly east-west. North of Lonsdale Street and south of La Trobe Street, Little Lonsdale Street's eastern end intersects with Spring Street while its western end intersects with...
, Melbourne. She made good friends with Sophie La Trobe, and Governor Charles La Trobe
Charles La Trobe
Charles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...
tickled her interest in the flowers, native birds and animals. At the time the McCraes first settled there, Melbourne grew rapidly, and Andrew's brothers were successful within its institutions. Georgiana, meanwhile, enjoyed a professional and social life with a few close friends, and took her sons on walks, as she had done in London.
Debt on Mayfield and squattocracy in Arthurs' Seat
In December 1841, her first daughter Lucia was born, and they lived in a much bigger house called Mayfield on the corner of Church Street and Victoria StreetVictoria Street, Melbourne
Victoria Street is one of the major thoroughfares of inner Melbourne. Running east to west, Victoria Street touches the Hoddle Grid at the intersection of La Trobe Street and Spring Street, opposite the Carlton Gardens. It runs from its terminus at the intersection of Munster Terrace in North...
. However, McCrae borrowed a great deal and Nicholson took out a mortgage in July 1843.
When times in Port Philip grew hard, despite the Insolvency Act, Andrew McCrae wished to abandon Melbourne life, so he started a project to go to Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat may refer to:* Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, in Scotland* Arthurs Seat, Victoria, locality and hill in Australia* Arthur's Seat, Maharashtra, locality and plateau in India* Arthur's Seat a promontory on Otago Peninsula, New Zealand...
. Georgiana visited there in 1844. The Duchess did not wish to buy Mayfield, so in 1845 the McCraes prepared to move to Arthur's Seat, and sailed on the Jemina for nine hours. Andrew's plans to expand were at first hampered by the Purchase Regulations set up by Governor Gipps
George Gipps
Sir George Gipps was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales for much of this...
- but the leases were extended by seven years and McCrae held 21360 acres (86.4 km²) of Arthur's Seat. Andrew and Georgiana built a cottage at the foot of Arthur's Seat which was later named McCrae Homestead
McCrae Homestead
McCrae Homestead is an historic property located in McCrae, Victoria, Australia. It was built at the foot of Arthurs Seat, a small mountain, near the shores of Port Phillip in 1844 by Andrew McCrae, a lawyer, and his wife Georgiana Huntly McCrae...
.
Return to Melbourne - artistic and intellectual stimulation in the goldfields - exhibition of early work
Georgiana returned to Melbourne in November 1850 when Port Philip was separated from New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. The Bunurong
Bunurong
The Bunurong are Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who occupy South-Central Victoria, Australia. Prior to European settlement, they lived as all people of the Kulin nation lived, sustainably on the land, predominantly as hunters and gatherers, for tens of thousands of years...
people were part of the McCrae life at Arthur's Seat, and Georgiana learnt the language and painted portraits of Benbenjie and Eliza. They left Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat may refer to:* Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, in Scotland* Arthurs Seat, Victoria, locality and hill in Australia* Arthur's Seat, Maharashtra, locality and plateau in India* Arthur's Seat a promontory on Otago Peninsula, New Zealand...
by 1851, by which time Melbourne had been seized up by the gold rush
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
.
Andrew McCrae had become a Police Magistrate in Alberton
Alberton, Victoria
Alberton is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is located along the South Gippsland Highway, 6 kilometres south of Yarram and 216 kilometres east of Melbourne. Albert River passes through the town. At the 2006 census, Alberton had a population of 162....
, Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
, and Georgiana and the children lived in La Trobe Street West
La Trobe Street, Melbourne
La Trobe Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly from east to west and forms the northern boundary of the CBD ....
. Georgiana greatly enjoyed the intellectuals who were brought to her house by gold, especially the influence of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and William Howitt
William Howitt
William Howitt , was an English author.He was born at Heanor, Derbyshire. His parents were Quakers, and he was educated at the Friends public school at Ackworth, Yorkshire. His younger brothers were Richard and Godrey whom he helped tutor. In 1814 he published a poem on the Influence of Nature and...
, who wrote Love, Labour and Gold.
In 1854 she met Nicholas Chevalier
Nicholas Chevalier
Nicholas Chevalier was an Australian artist.-Early life:Chevalier was born in St Petersburg, Russia, the son of Louis Chevalier, who came from Vaud, Switzerland, and was overseer to the estates of the Prince de Wittgenstein in Russia. Nicholas' mother was Russian...
, one of the foremost painters of the Australian landscape. In 1856 she met Louisa Anne Meredith
Louisa Anne Meredith
Louisa Anne Meredith , also known as Louisa Anne Twamley, was an Anglo/Australian writer and illustrator.-Biography:...
who was a painter and poet, and they stayed friends until Georgiana's death. There was another female artist who came to Melbourne in 1852 - Julie Visseux. Despite the artistic and intellectual stimulus of gold-rush Melbourne, McCrae seemed to have done little of her own painting from 1851-69, except for a portrait of Meredith and two studies of Hewitt. In 1857 she exhibited with the Victorian Society of Fine Arts, and the Argus was greatly impressed. There were nine pencil/watercolour drawings and miniatures on ivory.
The belated professional stimulation and recognition was not to last, however, regarding the turmoil in her personal life caused her role on the perphirery of the Scottish aristocracy and her respectable life in the colonies technically with but in practice often apart from Andrew McCrae.
Death of the Duchess and separation from McCrae
On 31 January 1864, the Duchess died. She had been engaged in church politics and evangelical work. Unfortunately she left Georgiana McCrae and her children nothing, and McCrae had to claim her birth.McCrae had been disabled by a hip injury since 1859 which meant she could not visit Andrew who had been Police Magistrate in Kilmore
Kilmore, Victoria
Kilmore is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. Located north of Melbourne, it is contentiously claimed as Victoria's oldest inland settled town...
. In any case he was no support when he learnt Georgiana had been cut from the will, and the sons had to support themselves. Her eldest son, George
George Gordon McCrae
-Early life:McCrae was born in Leith, Scotland; his father was Andrew Murison McCrae, a writer; his mother was Georgiana McCrae, a painter. George attended a preparatory school in London, and later received lessons from his mother...
, went to Britain in 1864 after ten years in the Public Service, and his brother Sandy worked in Queensland. Georgiana coped by writing memoirs of the Gordon Castle and, more generally, the family history. She also copied out her journals from 1838 to 1845, with possible cuts and additions. It was around this time of frenetic activity, after his leavetaking in Kilmore, that Georgiana left McCrae after thirty-seven years of marriage. McCrae left for Britain in 1867 and stayed for seven years until 1874.
Legacy of the matriarch at Arundel Cottage and Cape Schanck
Georgiana then lived with George and Maggie, the only unmarried daughter. They were sociable and came to know great writers like Henry KendallHenry Kendall (poet)
Thomas Henry Kendall was a nineteenth century Australian poet.-Biography:Kendall was born near Ulladulla, New South Wales. He was registered as Thomas Henry Kendall, but never appears to have used his first name. His three volumes of verse were all published under the name of "Henry Kendall". His...
and Marcus Clarke
Marcus Clarke
Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke was an Australian novelist and poet, best known for his novel For the Term of his Natural Life.- Biography :...
and Adam Lindsay Gordon
Adam Lindsay Gordon
Adam Lindsay Gordon was an Australian poet, jockey and politician.- Early life :Gordon was born at Fayal in the Azores, son of Captain Adam Durnford Gordon who had married his first cousin, Harriet Gordon, both of whom were descended from Adam of Gordon of the ballad...
while still maintaining their privileged position in the Government House circle. In 1868 they moved to Arundel Cottage in Richmond
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
, and Georgiana travelled more frequently within Victoria than she had been able to do in the past, particularly in Cape Schanck
Cape Schanck, Victoria
Cape Schanck is a locality in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula and separates the wild ocean waters of Bass Strait from the slightly calmer waters of Western Port....
.
At the homestead of Barragunda she painted the Pulpit Rock. While her two daughters gave her trouble, she enjoyed a happy mother-daughter relationship with Edith Anderson. Andrew McCrae died on 24 July 1874, leaving the seventy-year-old Georgiana free to take on the role of matriarch, despite her increasing dependence on her children.
In her last years, beginning in 1886, she lived with her daughter and grandchildren, but occasionally visited and painted in Cape Schanck. She wrote frequently to Edith's daughter, and the letters give insight into her old age, as do the letters she wrote to friends in Scotland and her half-sister Susan Sordett. She lived to see Melbourne's half-century and the centenary of white settlement in Australia in 1888. She made her will on 6 May 1890 with a balance of £149 and her paintings and jewellery, and died on the 24 May 1890 in the presence of almost all her family who kept her possessions and records.
Her legacy includes the journals her grandson published in 1934, and her great-grandson George Gordon McCrae buying back the Arthur's Seat homestead in 1961. In 1969 after his death it went to the National Trust
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
from his son Andrew.
Sources
- Niall, Brenda. (1994) Georgiana: a biography of Georgiana McCrae, painter, diarist, pioneer. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
- http://www.nattrust.com.au/places_to_visit/mornington_peninsula/mccrae_homestead_galleries National Trust McCrae Homestead and Galleries