Durundur Station
| Company type | Pastoralists, settlers |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pastoralism, exploration |
| Founded | 1834 |
| Founder | William Archer (father) |
Area served | Queensland, Australia |
Key people | Charles Archer, John Archer, David Archer, William Archer, Archibald Archer, Thomas Archer, Alexander Archer, Colin Archer |
The Archer brothers were among the pioneer European settlers and pastoralists in Queensland, Australia. They were seven sons of William Archer, a timber merchant from Scotland, who spent different lengths of time in the colony of New South Wales, primarily in territories that later became part of Queensland. Several places across Queensland are named in their honor. The brothers included:
| Name | Birth – death | Period in Australia | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Archer | 1813–1862 | 1841 – unknown | Passed away in Norway |
| John Archer | 1814–1857 | 1839 – unknown | Resumed maritime career; lost at sea |
| David Archer | 1816–1900 | 1834 –1852 | Remained in Australia; father of federal MP Edward Archer |
| William Archer | 1818–1896 | 1838 – 1896 | Died in Larvik, Norway |
| Archibald Archer | 1820–1902 | 1860 – circa 1897 | Served in Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1867; died in Larvik, Norway |
| Thomas Archer | 1823–1905 | 1838–1849, 1854–1855, 1872–1880 | Queensland Agent-General (1881); awarded C.M.G. (1884); father of theatre critic William Archer |
| Alexander Archer | 1828–1890 | 1851 or 1852–1890 | Bank manager; perished alongside wife Mary Louisa (daughter of Queensland Premier Sir Robert Mackenzie) on RMS Quetta in 1890 |
| Colin Archer | 1832–1921 | 1853–1861 | Noted shipbuilder based in Norway |
Brisbane River valley
David Archer was the earliest of the brothers to arrive in Australia, landing in Sydney in 1834. William and Thomas joined him by 1838, with initial intentions to establish pastoral holdings on the Darling Downs. However, delays hindered their acquisition of prime land there. In 1841, David and Thomas, accompanied by their brother John, founded Durundur Station near what is now Woodford, situated on the upper reaches of the Stanley River, a tributary feeding into the Brisbane River. Durundur spanned approximately (). The station’s name is derived from an Indigenous word for the Moreton Bay Ash tree (Corymbia tessellaris).
The Archer legacy endures locally, with their name featured prominently on Woodford’s main street and at nearby Mount Archer. Charles Archer arrived in Australia in 1841 and joined his siblings at Durundur by 1843. The explorer Ludwig Leichhardt stayed at Durundur for several months until early 1844. Because Durundur’s conditions were unsuitable for sheep grazing, the brothers expanded westward in 1845 by acquiring two additional properties: Cooyar, a holding along Cooyar Creek near present-day Cooyar, roughly north of Toowoomba along the New England Highway, and Emu Creek, another Brisbane River tributary property.
Burnett region
In 1848, Thomas Archer took ownership of two pastoral runs along the Burnett River—Eidsvold and Coonambula. Eidsvold was named after the family’s ancestral estate in Norway called Eidsvoll; the adjacent town carries this name as well. Coonambula lies southward of Eidsvold on St John Creek, which flows into the Burnett River.
Close to Eidsvold Station is Tolderodden Conservation Park, connected to the Archers through Colin Archer’s birthplace—a residence named Tollerodden located in Norway. Although not positioned on the Burnett River itself, Maryborough functioned as the primary port for exporting wool from the Burnett area. St Mary's College in Maryborough commemorates the Archers by naming one of its houses after them.
Fitzroy River
The first European explorers to navigate and name the Fitzroy River were Charles and William Archer in 1853, paying tribute to Governor Sir Charles FitzRoy. They conducted surveys of the river valley and outlined potential boundaries for a new pastoral lease. By 1855, they had founded Gracemere Station along the Fitzroy River, naming it in honor of Grace, the wife of Thomas Archer. The homestead was constructed in 1858 close to a lagoon referred to as Padgole, Farris, or Gracemere. The settlement of Gracemere subsequently emerged around this station.
Archibald Archer became involved in 1860; while initially managing both cattle and sheep, Gracemere transitioned to exclusively cattle farming by the early 1870s. Present-day Rockhampton now occupies a portion of what was originally Gracemere’s landholding.
Near Rockhampton lies Mount Archer National Park, named after Charles and William Archer. In 1853, the Archer brothers also assigned names to the Berserker Range and Mount Sleipner, drawing inspiration from Norse mythology.
Gracemere in Google Maps
Google Maps locates Gracemere’s central point near the intersection of Lawrie Street (Gavial Gracemere Road) and Platen Street, approximately one kilometre south of where the Capricorn Highway meets Archer Road. Satellite views reveal a tree-lined driveway stretching westward for about two kilometres leading to the Gracemere homestead situated on the eastern bank of the lagoon.
Other details
During the 1840s, John Archer captained schooners named Letitia and Clarence before taking on management of Lucknow Station in Victoria. Between 1852 and 1854, he commanded the barque Fair Tasmanian on voyages between Hobart and Twofold Bay, later captaining the brig Retriever, which tragically was lost near New Zealand with him and his third wife aboard.
Archibald Archer held seats in the Queensland Legislative Assembly during two periods (1867–1869 and 1879–1895), serving as colonial treasurer and education minister from 1882 to 1883. He was a proponent of Central Queensland’s separation and briefly acted as Agent-General for Queensland before stepping down due to conflicts between this role and his separatist objectives. His successor was Richard Daintree in 1872.
Thomas Archer served as Queensland’s Agent-General twice (1881–1884 and 1888–1890) and was honored with a C.M.G. appointment in 1884. Throughout his service, he actively promoted Queensland through various published pamphlets.
In 1855, Colin Archer navigated the ketch Ellida up the Fitzroy River to what is now Rockhampton—a feat commemorated by a statue of Charles Archer on horseback within Rockhampton. Colin later gained prominence as a Norwegian shipbuilder, notably constructing the Fram, which explorer Fridtjof Nansen used during Arctic expeditions between 1893 and 1896. His ship designs influenced Jack Earl’s Kathleen Gillett, which participated in the inaugural Sydney to Hobart yacht race in 1945.