Alexander Stuart
| First name | Alexander |
|---|---|
| Last name | Stuart |
| Country of Origin | Scotland |
| Date of Birth | 19-09-1894 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1923 |
| Submitted by | James Stuart |
Story
Emerging alive from WW1 as an engineer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highland Division [as did both his brothers, George and Charles, who were wounded in France] , it was a case of looking for an opportunity for a better life. Alexander [Sandy], aged 28, was engaged to Caroline Hunter Ogilvie, from Elgin. To him, Australia, as a federation of states, was not much younger than himself and offered the promise of that dream.
His brothers stayed in Scotland, but the Ogilvies came along as a job lot. Caroline’s father, George, her brother, Stewart, and sisters Emily and Lilias, all came.
The Ogilvies were bakers and set up shop, first in at Cronulla, and later at Mosman.
Sandy and Caroline married in Sydney on 18th July, 1923.
They moved to the new frontier of Canberra by early 1925, living in a tent for a while before getting government housing at 101 The Causeway. Sandy had a good job as a plumbing supplier for The Dept of Works. The Ogilvies followed and Ogilvie’s Bakery at Kingston was an old Canberra icon.
Sandy and Caroline were pioneers in Canberra, proactive in the formation and development of The Burns Club and The Canberra Racing Club. They were also busy fundraisers for the WW2 war effort, their first 2 sons, Robert and Ray doing active service.
In 1946, now with a third son, Dugald, Sandy left government emploment to buy into Goldenholm Dairy at Fyshwick – another prominent Canberra landmark for decades to follow. This marked a return to his boyhood occupation as the son of a farmer in Tomintoul.
The family name, horse racing, Scottish culture and tradition continue to flourish in the Canberra region in the footsteps of old Sandy.