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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains names, images, and voices of deceased persons.

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Robert Henry Antill (1859–1938)

Mr. Robert Henry Antill was buried yesterday in the family vault, on the top of a hill overlooking Picton, in which his grandfather, Captain Henry Colden Antill, A.D.C. to Governor Macquarie, was buried in 1852. 

After luncheon at the old home, Jarvisfield, the relatives, some of whom had come from as far as Narrandera, followed the hearse up the steep hill towards the family vault. The road was too steep for the cars, and the mourners alighted and walked slowly up the hill in the sunshine. At the vault a service was conducted by the Rev. F. A. Shaw, rector of Picton, who was assisted by the Rev. F. Reeve and Rev. J. Boardman. 

Mr. Antill, who died on Wednesday, aged 70 years, was unmarried. He was the eldest direct descendant of Captain Antill, who came to Sydney with Governor Macquarie in 1809, aboard H.M.S. Dromedary. 

Captain Antill was the Governor's close confidant and friend, and gave many years of faithful service to the colony. He was awarded 2,000 acres of land at Picton as a military grant. 

At Governor Macquarie's request, he named the property Jarvisfield, after Macquarie's first wife, Miss Jarvis. The Governor was a frequent visitor to Jarvisfield, and his easy chair, where he would sit in the quiet evenings looking over the lonely countryside, is still in the home. 

Captain Antill had six sons and two daughters. His eldest son was John Macquarie Antill, who had three sons—Major-General J. M. Antill, who died in Sydney last year: Mr. Guy Antill, who now lives at Bondi: and the late Mr. R. H. Antill.

Original publication

Citation details

'Antill, Robert Henry (1859–1938)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/antill-robert-henry-16328/text28282, accessed 19 March 2024.

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