Part 1
Badenoch, Invernesshire, in which lies Alvie, onetime home of the Robertson brothers
Within a rather quirky publication entitled The All-Time Australian 200 Rich List appear the names of Daniel Robertson and William Robertson, at 75 and 141 respectively. The book’s scant biographical details do not even recognise them as brothers. Yet they and two other brothers emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) from Dunachton in the parish of Alvie, Inverness-shire, all achieving undreamt success. Their oldest brother, Duncan, remained in the Highlands to eke out a living as a poor tenant farmer. Nothing better illustrates the opportunities of emigration – and these brothers were far from the only Alvie residents to make their mark in Australia, for over the next three decades 70 members of the Robertson family emigrated, not including their equally successful McBean and Mackintosh relations.