The Menzies Family of Minamurra House, Jamberoo

In January 1839 a young Scottish couple – Dr. Robert Menzies and his recent bride Margaret (nee Tindell) - arrived in Sydney aboard the Earl Durham. Like so many other free immigrants of the time, they had journeyed to New South Wales with the intention of settling on a farm and making a future for themselves and their family there. They had high hopes of perhaps even acquiring a small fortune within a decade or so, selling up at a profit, and retiring to their beloved family and friends back home in Scotland. However, such was not to be the fate of the Menzies', and their residence of a mere two decades in the Colony was to end in tragedy, despite an initial period of adventure and promise of a prosperous future.