Archer family.

Charles (1813-1862), John (1814-1857), David (1816-1900), William (1818-1896), Archibald (1820-1902), Thomas (1823 - 1905) and Colin Archer (1832 - 1921) were seven sons of William Archer, a Scottish timber merchant in Larvik, Norway, and his wife Julia, nee Walker. The Archer brothers successively came to Australia and became pastoralists in the Moreton and Burnett Districts and on the Fitzroy River near present-day Rockhampton.

David Archer arrived in Australia in 1834 and worked for his Walker cousins for a number of years. His brothers William and Thomas joined him 1838 and the three decided to look for pastoral land. Delays due to an outbreak of scab among their sheep delayed their arrival on the Darling Downs until 1841. David, Thomas and John Archer believed that the best land had been taken up and continued north and took up Durundur (or Durandur) in the Moreton Bay District near present-day Woodford.

On his first exploring trips Ludwig Leichhardt stayed at Durundur for several months in 1843-44. He arrived at Durundur in the company of Charles Archer who had arrived in Australia in 1841, worked in Sydney for two years, and had decided to join his brothers at Durundur. When the country there proved unsuitable for sheep, the Archers also established sheep stations at Emu Creek and Cooyar. Exploring further north in the coming years, they reached the Burnett River and took up stations named Coonambula and Eidsvold. From there they continued north as far as the Fitzroy River in 1855. The same year they took up Gracemere Station. Only a few of the brothers remained in Australia.

From the description of OM80-10 Archer Family Correspondence, 1825-1855. (Libraries Australia). WorldCat record id: 755760409