Miss. Helen BORTHWICK

Helen (born 30 Aug 1825) came with her father, Adam Borthwick (born 20 Jun 1796, from Moffat, Dumfries, Scotland) and her mother Isabella Kerr (born 1793, from Tweedsmuir, Peebles, Scotland) on the Duchess of Northumberland in Dec 1839. Hellen was the eldest of 6 children. Her siblings were: Thomas (b. 21 Jan 1827), William (b. 26 Dec 1828), Mary Anne (b. 12 Mar 1831), Isabella (b. 2 Jun 1833) and Margaret (b. 25 Apr 1839). Helen married Peter McNeil who came from the Isle of Barra, Home of the McNeil clan. In 1838 most of the inhabitants of Barra were expelled by the Rodney McNeil the 40th Chief of the McNeil Clan (not a nice bloke it seems). The marriage took place in Pirie, St Adelaide on 09 Dec 1842 with Peter being 30 and Helen 17 years of age. Peter and Helen lived in a few places in the Kapunda area of Suth Australia before they settled at Bundaleer Springs station which Peter managed for a Mr John Taylor. Helen had seven children Isabella (b. 17 Dec 1843 Kapunda), John (b. 21 Aug 1845 Kapunda), Adam (b. 16 Aug 1848 Bundaleer) Peter (b.31 Jul 1851 Bundaleer), James (b. 30 Apr 1854 Bundaleer) Thomas (b. 19 Apr 1856 Bundaleer) and Ellen (b. 2Feb 1865 Bundaleer). Peter McNeil died as a result of a bushfire on 19 Dec 1867 on Bundaleer station and was buried in Clare Presbyterian Cemetary. The church was demolished in 1978 and the site redeveloped with no possibility of determining Peters grave site. Helen moved to Dunedin New Zealand in to be with members of the Borthwick family as her father had died in 1868 so potentially to be with her mother. Helen was accompanied by Adam, who would have been in his early twenties as well as Thomas who would have been entering his teen years, and Ellen who would have been a young child of 5 or so. Helen died in Dunedin New Zealand on 27 Apr 1905 aged 80. She is buried in the Southern Cemetary Dunedin New Zealand.