Notes |
- Robert Greenshields, the original colonist (1829-1878), was born in Howgate, Carmichael, Lanarkshire on 11 December 1829, the second son of the six children of Thomas Robert Greenshields and Elizabeth, n?e Gold. He seems to have spent his early adult life farming in Argyll - he was a reasonably prosperous shepherd in the 1861 census. In 1855 he married Elizabeth Patterson and by 1865 they had six children Jane (b 1855), James (b1856), Robert (b 1858), Thomas (b 1860), Elizabeth (b 1862) and Margaret (b 1865). Greenshields had moved to England to farm at Grimsthorpe Park in Lincolnshire when he was engaged by the Falkland Islands Company on a five-year contract as part of a strategy to increase their investment in sheep-farming. At a board meeting on 22 February 1865 the directors of the FIC had resolved 'that a competent man be immediately engaged, at a salary not exceeding ?200 per annum, to proceed to the Falklands and take general superintendence & management of the Company's sheep and four or five qualified shepherds be engaged to accompany him.' At their meeting on 6 July the Managing Director 'read testimonials in favour of Mr.Robert Greenshields for the office of Flockmaster at the Falklands . the Managing Director reported having had a long conversation with this man and believed him to be a very suitable candidate'. At the following meeting on 14 July
'The Managing Director informed the Board that according to its desire Mr.Robt. Greenshields was offered and had accepted the appointment of Flockmaster at the Falklands and will sail in the 'Julie Tatham' upon the understanding sanctioned by the Board to receive a gratuity of ?20 for thus expediting his departure, his salary to be ?150 a year with the usual conditions as to House accommodation, Meat and Passages. And upon stipulation, which was conceded, of his receiving ?40 advance of salary for his Outfit and his wife being paid ?8 a month on account from his salary from 1st September till she is found a passage for Stanley'.
Greenshields sailed with his son James on board the Julie Tatham on 21 July 1865, arriving in Stanley on 22 September. In February of the following year his wife Elizabeth, accompanied by their remaining children, sailed from London on the ship Matilda, chartered by the Falkland Islands Company, arriving in Stanley on 27 April. The family went to live at Darwin Harbour and their seventh child, William, was born in 1867.
Greenshields had arrived at a difficult period in the Company's sheep-farming enterprise. The flocks were ravaged by scab and there were far too few shepherds to carry out the necessary work of looking after the animals. Losses were becoming unsustainable and Greenshields was expected to reverse the trend in a short time. In 1867 FE COBB arrived to replace James LANE as colonial manager for the FIC and was not impressed by Greenshields' management skills. 'His lenient way of treating the men, "softness" is the only word for it, is beginning to irritate me and I see it leading to an utter disregard of his authority among the rougher class in the Camp'. In April 1868 he proposed to the directors that Greenshields be replaced by William Wickham BERTRAND, newly-arrived from New Zealand, with experience of dealing with scab and moreover 'a sharp decided character, giving the impression that he would stand very little nonsense from his shepherds'. In fact Cobb shortly thereafter made the exchange without waiting for permission from London, allowing Greenshields 'to take the 2nd Corral (Salvador) on shares' by way of compensation.
However on parting from the FIC, Greenshields immediately took up a section of land north of the San Carlos River on his own account, signing the first 'licence to occupy' on 4 August 1868. In November 1869 Robert and Elizabeth Greenshields had a fifth son, John, by which time Robert had already built a house on the land and stocked it. By some curious provision of the law, he was also able to take out leases on further sections in the names of his sons James and Thomas, although they were still only 13 and 9 years old respectively. By 1871 he had the leases on seven adjoining sections of the North Camp, which he collectively named 'Howgate Station' after his birthplace, although it was later renamed 'Douglas Station' after another village near Carmichael. In the same year he also took a lease on land at Horseshoe Bay. His holdings eventually totalled some 130,000 acres. However a family tragedy marred their success, when their second son Robert died of consumption (tuberculosis) on 13 October 1871, aged only thirteen. They went on to have a further three children: Robert (b 1874), George (b 1875) and Alexander (b1877)
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