Jessie Robertson (1835–1849) was the eldest of the seven children of pastoralist and businessman, William Robertson (1798–1874), and his wife Margaret (née Whyte, 1811–1866). Robertson, a Scottish farmer’s son, had arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1822 and took up land before establishing an emporium in Hobart. By 1835, he had amassed sufficient capital to join a number of other investors in a scheme to expand pastoral activities to the Port Phillip district. These investors – the Port Phillip Association – helped finance John Batman’s explorations of Port Phillip in 1835, during the course of which Batman made a so-called ‘treaty’ with the local Aboriginal people that became the basis for his land claim. Robertson travelled to Port Phillip in 1836 and 1837, selecting land near present-day Sunbury and, later, Colac. Robertson married Margaret, the daughter of Scottish free settlers, in September 1834. Jessie, the first of their seven children, was born the following year. In early December 1849, Jessie died in Hobart, aged fourteen, a memorial notice in the Colonial Times referring to her having suffered ‘a long and severe affliction.’
