Breaking through the Brickwall

The Mystery of Neil Campbell

Born around 1836 in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Neil Campbell has been my most challenging ancestor to track.

His death certificate sketches a nomadic life: eighteen years in New Zealand, fifteen months in NSW, eighteen months in Western Australia, six months in South Australia, and a final eight months in Victoria before his death in 1891.

The brickwalls are daunting. Parents barely named, a marriage to Annie Green that leaves no record, and no passenger list into either Australia or New Zealand that is conclusive that I have found ‘my’ Neil Campbell.

In 1886, after visiting the Kimberley goldfields, Neil relocated his entire family aboard the ill-fated barque Rapido, which was wrecked off the Western Australian coast. All survived, eventually making their way to Fremantle before his final move to Melbourne, where he died at just 49.

Another question that remains is his relationship to the larger Campbell community in Nova Scotia and their connection to the Highland Scots who migrated first to Australia, then New Zealand under Norman McLeod's leadership. Was Neil part of this migration? Research with archivists at the Waipu Museum, suggests that he didn't. Although I haven't discounted it totally.

Follow the link to unravel the full mystery of this fascinating ancestor whose story defies easy answers.