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Contributor
- Background
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Margaret Campbell (she has no recorded middle name) was born at "Dumgree" Station, near Gladstone, on 1st June 1874, the firstborn child of John & Elizabeth Campbell. Not long after her second birthday, Margaret became very ill, and after about 10 days her conditioned worsened (she had a fever, reportedly) and she died from convulsions on 7th July 1876. She was laid to rest in a small grave at "Dumgree". This photo shows Campbell descendants Heather Stewart (nee Campbell), Ailsa Creed (nee Campbell), Ivan (partner of Rosemary) and Rosemary (nee Campbell) placing a plaque on Margaret's grave.
Family re-locate Margaret's grave at Dumgree
Many years later in the 1950s, Leslie John Campbell (grandson of John & Elizabeth, and son of William Campbell) was living at Dumgree with his wife Catherine Patricia (Pat), and their children Dianna, Ailsa, Rosemary & Alan. The children were fascinated by the idea of their Great-Aunt Margaret's grave being nearby, and tried to find it, but by then any obvious markings on the grave were gone.
Dumgree changed hands many times over the years, but Margaret's story wasn't forgotten, and Dianna, Ailsa, Rose & Alan wanted to find and mark the grave of the first Australian-born Campbell.
Gordon Campbell's daughter (and grand-daughter of John & Elizabeth) Heather Stewart located Margaret's grave in 1988, and marked the site with a temporary post, but again, changes of property ownership meant the marker was once more lost!
The current owner of Dumgree, Bev, found Margaret's gravesite by chance one day, and thanks to good co-operation, and organising by Ailsa, Rose & families, a plaque was made for Margaret, and a day set to meet at Dumgree to place it. This occurred on Sunday 10th August 2019.
