Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts (Barcaldine, Qld. : 1892 - 1922), Saturday 26 July 1919, page 16


A Bit of Ancient History.

"The Wild Scotchman."

His Marriage In Blackall

There are many in this district who, despite the lapse of time since he was on the roads, still remember the bushranger who went under the sou-briquet of "The Wild Scotchman," but whose real name was Alpin Mac-pherson. Thirty-seven or thirty-eight years ago he was married to an Isisford girl. The ceremony took place in a long since demolished old residence at the rear of Watkinson's Lyceum Picture stand, and Macpher-son's best man on the occasion was Mr. P. A. (Alec.) Aitken, of Blackall. Macpherson was born in Scotland, but was very young when his father brought him to Queensland. At school he was an exceedingly smart boy, and was subsequently apprenticed to the late Mr. Tom Petrie, stone mason, and father of Mr. A. L. Petrie, M.L.A., for Toombul. Macpherson had a pen-chant for debating, and was a really good speaker and a quick-witted de-bater. Macpherson ran away from Petrie's, and took to the bush. His

first bushranging exploit was to stick up Wills' Hotel on the Houghton river in North Queensland. "The Wild . Scotchman" got clean away,

and made for N.S.W., where he came into conflict with Sir Frederick Pot-tinger, a noted officer in hunting down bushrangers. Sir Frederick and a party of his troopers actually ex-changed shots with Macpherson, but again he showed a clean pair of heels and returned to Queensland. Eventu-ally, after attacking Mandurang sta-tion, near Gladstone, he was captured. He was shipped on the old steamer Diamantina, and when they called in at Mackay, although leg-ironed, he escaped, and sailors are supposed to have assisted him, and the boat was well out from Mackay en route to

Rockhampton before he was missed. Macpherson took to the bush again, stuck up a priest, but returned him his money. Near Maryborough later,

he was again captured. On September 13th, 1866, he was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment, but released after 8½ years. Macpherson made out this way, was married and subse-quently disappeared. Years after he was killed at Burketown through falling from a dray loaded with firewood.-"Barcoo Independent."