John Angus McVicar

The twelfth child and fifth son of James and Janet was born 18th February 1879 at Mountain Hut, and registered (61) at Amphitheatre, when the next youngest in the family, Janet, was already 6 years and one month old.  Because Neil, the next and last child, lived only a day, John was always the baby of the family. Where he went to school after the Mountain Hut School closed in June 1885 is unknown. It is presumed that he rode to Amphitheatre, initially with Janet.  

Family lore has it that John was injured while jockeying for his brother James in a race in Adelaide on 1st January 1898, and that he died of pneumonia in the Adelaide Hospital on the 7th. The South Australian record (H248 355) lists that he was residing at what is now the Adelaide suburb of Dry Creek, that he was 19 years of age (he wasn’t quite), and that no relatives were recordable at the time.  

Family lore also has it that he had promised his mother that he wouldn’t ride again for his brother James, and that his mother, in the 17 remaining years of her life, was never told that this last ride was in breach of that promise. To date, searches have not identified his burial place.

Next page: Neil McVicar