Obituaries Australia

Robert Massie, n.d.

Mr. Robert George Massie, whose death occurred last week, was a scion of a highly respectable Cheshire family, where the eldest brother still holds the family estate. He was born in 1815, and came to Australia in 1839 with Mr. Christopher Rolleston, C.M.G., with whom he has been intimately associated ever since. After his arrival he became engaged in pastoral pursuits at the Hunter, and afterwards in New England and Queensland with varying fortune. He was one of the first members of the Queensland Legislative Council after separation, and was elected for New England in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for one Parliament. For many years he founded and resided in a beautiful home in the suburbs of Sydney called Chesterfield on the heights of Waverley. About two years since he removed to Hunter’s Hill, Parramatta, where he died through effusion of blood on the brain. Mr. Massie married one of an estimable family of ladies, a daughter of Major Sylvester Browne, who was the founder of Stanmore, now a popular suburb of Sydney, and consequently he was a brother-in-law of the Hon. F. M. Darley, Q.C., and of Major-General Scratchley. R.E. He leaves seven children, besides Mrs. Massie, for whom the deepest sympathy is felt. One of his sons is Mr. Massie, the famous cricketer.