Family background
Donald McLachlan was born 16 January 1823 in the Scottish village of Knock, the son of Duncan McLachlan and Janet McKinnon. Donald McLachlan married Margaret Cowan 11 June 1852 at Barony, Lanark, Scotland.
Donald and Margaret plus two children immigrated to Australia, arriving at Sydney on 21 February 1855, as assisted immigrants, by the ship Anna. Two more children were born in Sydney. The family lived at 56 Pitt Street, Redfern.
McLachlan died on 1 August 1896 at home in Redfern, aged 73 years, and was buried in the Old Presbyterian Section of Rookwood Cemetery. He left a will and his estate and assets were assessed at £1,742.
Occupation & interests
Donald McLachlan was listed in the 1841 Scotland Census as an apprentice joiner and in 1851 as a ‘House carpenter’. After his arrival in Sydney in 1855 he was a grocer in Redfern.
Local government service
Donald McLachlan was elected as an alderman for Belmore Ward in 1875.
References
‘Borough Councils’, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1875, p.2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28404357