5. Donald Munro (1802)

The parish of Tongue is west of the parish of Farr and east of the parish of Durness, lying between the two. Donald and Georgina lived in the parish of Tongue for a while where their first son, John Munro, was born in 1826 and first daughter, Jane Scobie Munro, was born in 1829. However, by the 1830's they had moved to the parish of Eddrachillis which is to the south of the parish of Durness. While in the parish of Eddrachillis, Donald Munro was a tenant of the Duke of Sutherland at a place named Glen Dubh. Donald is also recorded as the ferryman at a place named Kylesku. It is recorded in two records held by the National Records of Scotland that Donald Munro who was the ferryman at Kylesku had a licence to serve alcohol in 1834 (REF:JP32/3/16) and 1835 (REF:JP/32/3/17), although the parish location is given as Assynt which is the other side of the kyle to the parish of Eddrachillis. Their next two children, James Munro (1832) and Johan Munro (1833), were born in the parish of Eddrachillis. James would go on to be the 15th Premier (Prime Minster) of Victoria, Australia, which I'll come back to soon.

According to both Australian Representative Men, 2nd Edition, (published by Wells and Leavitt, 1887) and Burke's Colonial Gentry (published in 1891) in 1835 Donald Munro and his family removed back to Armadale, parish of Farr (part which had become separate parish of Strathy in 1833) where he was born. However, the actual petition written by Donald Munro to the estate factor to move to Armadale is dated March 1836. Donald's father, Alexander Munro of Armadale, had died in the winter of 1834/1835. In Armadale, Donald and Georgina had three more children, all daughters: Lexy (1836), Kitty (1838) and Janet Mckay Gordon (1840). Donald and Georgina's seven children by their full names were:

1. John Munro (b. 1826 in the parish of Tongue. Probably named after his mother's father. Married his cousin, Anne Morrison, and had one son and two daughters).

2. Barbara Jane Scobie Munro (b.1829 in the parish of Tongue. Probably named Barbara after her paternal grandmother Barbara Mackay)

3. James Munro (b.1832 in the parish of Eddrachillis. Spelt "Monro" on parish birth record. He was probably named James after his uncle. He was later to become Premier of Victoria, Australia. He had four sons and two daughters).

4. Johan Mckenzie Munro (b. 1833 in the parish of Eddrachillis. Her middle name is her maternal grandmother's maiden name).

5. Alexandrina (Lexy) Munro (b.1836 in Armadale, parish of Strathy - which detached from Farr in 1833)

6. Catherine (Kitty) Munro (b. 1838 in Armadale, parish of Strathy. Named after her maternal grandmother).

7. Janet Mckay Gordon Munro (b.1840 in Armadale, parish of Strathy. The name Mckay is her mother's maiden name and her paternal grandmother's maiden name but it is not yet fully confirmed where the middle name of Gordon comes from. It could have been from William Gordon husband of Janet Mackay, sister of Barbara Mackay who was Donald's mother, in Armadale).

James Munro, 15th Premier of Victoria

Donald Munro (1802) is found on the 1851 census with his family living in in Edinburgh. Living with him is a "brother" named John Munro who is a "journeyman wood sawyer". Both of their places of birth are given as Sutherlandshire, Armadale, Farr. In 1854, Donald, with all of his family except for his second son James, emigrated to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. James followed in 1858. Donald Munro's death is recorded in 1869 in the district Pahran, colony of Victoria and his parents are given as Alexander Munro a boat builder and Barbara Mckay.

James Munro entered the Parliament of Victora as member for North Melbourne in 1874, and was called to office as minister of public instruction in 1875. After being returned in 1877 for Carlton, in 1881 for North Melbourne, and in 1886 for Geelong, he was again called to office by the governor, Lord Hopetoun, as prime minister and treasurer in 1890. He resigned these offices in 1892 on being appointed to the office of agent-general for the colony of Victoria in London, which he resigned the following year. It is a long story but James Munro has in fact gone down in history as one of the most notorious of the corrupt Victorian politicians of the Land Boom period. However, in fact it was never proved that he was personally guilty of corruption – unlike four other members of Parliament who eventually went to jail. After being discharged from bankruptcy, James Munro finished his days as an estate agent in Armadale, Victoria, Australia - which brings me to another point of note: James Munro named his mansion in Australia "Armadale House" after the village in the north of Sutherland, Scotland. Today the suburb that the house sits in is also called Armadale. This is not the only instance of members of the family naming their homes after the village of Armadale in Sutherland, Scotland.