John Vans Agnew Bruce: Difference between revisions
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1843 December 11th. Married in Edinburgh to Margaret Macfarlane | 1843 December 11th. Married in Edinburgh to Margaret Macfarlane | ||
1851 Shown as a Grocer in Kelso.<ref>1851 Census</ref> | 1851 Shown as a Grocer in Kelso, with his wife, three children, mother-in-law plus.<ref>1851 Census</ref> | ||
Bruce gained his railway engineering experience in Scotland | Bruce gained his railway engineering experience in Scotland (?) | ||
1854 April 4th. Arrived in Victoria, Australia | 1854 April 4th. Arrived in Victoria, Australia | ||
Revision as of 09:08, 24 January 2016
John Vans Agnew Bruce (1822-1863) of Cornish and Bruce
1822 Born in Edinburgh the son of John Vans Agnew Bruce and his wife Catharina Robertson
1843 December 11th. Married in Edinburgh to Margaret Macfarlane
1851 Shown as a Grocer in Kelso, with his wife, three children, mother-in-law plus.[1]
Bruce gained his railway engineering experience in Scotland (?)
1854 April 4th. Arrived in Victoria, Australia
He partnered Peter Le Page at Gisborne in contracts for road construction contracts including the main Melbourne to Mount Alexander road.
From 13 September 1856 Bruce continued as a road contractor on his own becoming one of the largest employers in the colony by 1857.
1858 Joined William Crocker Cornish in a successful tender of £3,357,000 for the first thirteen sections of the Melbourne to River Murray Railway. Their line reached Sunbury ahead of schedule on 13 January 1859, but Cornish died in March and work was delayed by strikes on the northern sections: Woodend was not reached until 18 July 1861, and the line was opened to Bendigo on 26 October 1862.
On 3 March 1859 Bruce had moved to Castlemaine where the works could be more adequately supervised and where by 1860 he had established a large foundry turning out rolling stock and railway plant.
1863 April 5th. Died at Essendon, Melbourne, age 41.[2]
1868 October 4th. Death of his widow Margaret Macfarlane at Tintern, Toorak, age 47.[3]