The Mayor of the City of Sandhurst place a notice in the Bendigo Advertiser on the 6th of July 1886, and reads –
“CITY OF SANDHURST HALF DAY HOLIDAY – I hereby request and invite the citizens of Sandhurst to observe Wednesday of the 7th instant, from 12 noon, as a half holiday out of respect to the memory of the late Hon. Angus Mackay. S. H. McGowan, Mayor. Town Hall 5 July 1886.”
After the interment of Angus Mackay a monument on his place of burial, in the Presbyterian Section D3 of Bendigo Cemetery, was erected by Public Subscription, inscribed as follows :–
“Erected in the memory of the Hon. Angus Mackay one of the foremost pioneers of Bendigo. An able journalist and patriotic citizen. A faithful representative form many years of the City of Sandhurst in the Legislative Assembly, the author of the Regulations of Mines Statute and one of the fathers of the Education Act and the Minister of Mines, under whose administration the supply of water to Sandhurst from Malmsbury was raised in grateful remembrance by the people of Bendigo. The Hon. Angus Mackay was born at Aberdeen 26 January 1824. Died at Sandhurst 5 July 1886.”
A patriotic man who shares his birthday with Australia Day. He would be proud.
To learn more about this remarkable man and other pioneers of Scottish Heritage who are interred in the Presbyterian section of Bendigo Cemetery, you are invited to attend the Scottish Heritage Tour, Sunday 12th February 2017, at 10am. Please wear sturdy footwear and a hat.
Written by Greta Balsillie
Edited by Jodi Fuller
Sources: The Bendigo Advertiser
Remembrance Parks Central Victoria – Records of Burial
