Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Isabella Brough was born about 1837 in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland – the daughter of William Brough, a farmer, and Christian Drummond.
She married Alexander Walker, a miller, on 29 September 1858 in Comrie – they emigrated to Victoria, Australia in 1859 on the Greyhound.
Their first child was born on board, she died later that year, aged three months.
Their next daughter was born in 1860 - when they heard of the gold discoveries in Otago the family sailed for Dunedin on the Oriental.
They 'were able to get a lift “up country” on a bullock waggon' and while enroute to the gold diggings the waggon stopped at Tokomairiro.
They rested for a few days before walking to the diggings - they only stayed a week before returning to Milton.
For a while they lived in a tent by the river before building a 'clay whare in Queen street'.
Their second home in Milton was 'The Old Manse built from the first wood sawn out of the local bush.'
They had a further eight children, one who died in infancy, and when Isabella signed the suffrage petition they were still in Milton.
Alexander died in 1909 and Isabella died at her home 'Comrie House' in Milton on 9 February 1914, they are buried together in the Fairfax Cemetery, Milton.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
BDM Victoria https://online.justice.vic.gov.au
Public Record Office Victoria https://prov.vic.gov.au