New book about the MacKays

Family settled in French River in 1800s

Based on the true story of the MacKay family who settled in French River, Prince Edward Island, a new book called “This Land Is Ours” has just been published.

In 1806 William and Jane MacKay and their six children emigrated from the Scottish Highlands to P.E.I. A reluctant Jane had finally realized that her family, even though they held a prominent position in the clan MacKay, could expect no loyalty from their venal chief as the temptation of the Clearances drew nearer to Strathnaver, the ancient MacKay country.

In P.E.I. they prospered by trading up and down the American coast in their ship as far as Jamaica, but mysteriously decided to leave P.E.I. for Sydney, Australia by 1839.

Before that they made money from smuggling, along with Sam Cunard, the founder of the shipping line, into the US during the 1812 War. An alcoholic epidemic in Pictou, Nova Scotia proved a ready market for Jamaican rum.

Challenges facing the family included freezing cold summers, a plague of mice, shipwreck and the tenants’ revolt - the escheat movement.

Jessies Cove on St. Paul Island is named after the family’s large ship which was driven ashore on its maiden voyage.

In Australia, the family’s colourful life continued on the colony’s frontier. Political intrigue, bush rangers, gold rush, Queen Victoria’s second son, Prince Alfred and the bloody resistance of indigenous Australians to the invading British settlers all feature.

In 1877, Duncan Forbes MacKay, who was born in P.E.I. and was one of the grandsons of William and Jane MacKay, built one of Australia’s grandest mansions, an enormous 45-room Italianate ‘palace’ in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, which cost $30 million CAD in today’s money.

Rush said when his mother died in 2013 at the age of 101, her aunt gave him a copy of the family’s history.

“But her tales were frustratingly vague,” he said. “Why did they leave P.E.I. for Australia? How did they become so rich in Australia?”

A major theme running through the story, as it unfolded in the three continents, was the anger and hatred caused by disputes over land ownership. Scottish clansman against their clan chief, tenants versus absentee landlords in P.E.I., and indigenous Australians fighting the invading British settlers, Rush said.

“The MacKays’ success illustrates how anybody with enough courage and determination can triumph against the odds.”