The Enigmatic Allan Deuchar

Allan Deuchar was born in 1867, a son of influential pastoralist John Deuchar and his wife Eliza of “Glengallan” near Warwick in Queensland.¹

As a young man, Allan worked in NSW before marrying and moving to Western Australia. He set up in business as a real estate agent and auctioneer. However, in 1900 he was accused by his business partner of obtaining money by false pretences. Although the charges were dismissed, it was time to move on.²

By 1902 Allan was living in Victoria, but again fell foul of the law so, by 1910, he had moved to Kempsey, NSW, where, yet again, he became involved in a business dispute.³

In early 1913, Allan began working in Taree as an auctioneer for stock and station agent, G A Robinson.⁴ The discovery of oil at Diamond Head, which he was eagerly investigating, turned out to be a hoax, and, while busy promoting the sale of the West End Estate in Taree, he was once again in trouble with the law. This time for selling alcohol without a licence for which he was fined £30.⁵

Finally, in October 1914, Allan was convicted of embezzling money from George Albert Robinson and was sentenced to 12 months in Goulburn gaol.⁶

Allan died in Victoria in 1947.⁷

Author: Penny Teerman