John Simson & Hector SimsonPrint Page

The obelisk which is part of a lookout commemorates pioneer settlers, John Donald Simson and Hector Simson. Stones from their original homestead are built into the memorial. he foundation stone of the cairn was laid in 1939 and the cairn was unveiled in 1940. 

White settlement in the Maryborough area first occurred in 1840 when the Simson brothers established their 'Charlotte Plains' sheep station in the district. The settlement was originally known as Simsons, but later changed to Maryborough by the gold commissioner James Daly, after his Irish birthplace.

MARYBOROUGH. Monday - At Primrose Hill this morning the foundation stone of the Simson Memorial Cairn was laid by the Mayor (Councillor J Roscholler). Addresses were given by Messrs. G. Frost. M.L.A. and H. Chaffey (president of the Former Residents' Association), and Miss Catherine Simson, representing the Simson family. The cairn which perpetuates the memory of John, Donald, and Hector Norman Simson, the three first settlers at Maryborough, will be completed and unveiled at Easter, 1940 when the centenary of white settlement in the district will be celebrated.
The Argus (Melbourne), 11 April 1939. 

One hundred years of white settlement in the Maryborough (V.) district were commemorated on Sunday, when an elaborate cairn, perpetuating the memory of John, Donald, and Hector Simson, three brothers who first arrived in June, 1840, was unveiled by Mr. Frost, MIA., in the presence of a large gathering, including nearlv 400 former residents from Melbourne. The cairn has been made from the ruins of the old bluestone homestead on the banks of the Deep Creek at Carisbrook. It overlooks the whole area, originally known as Simsons* Run. Descendants of the family present were the Misses Geraldlne, Kathleen, and Jessie Slmson (Melbourne), Miss Elsie Simson (Western Australia), granddaughters; Mr. Donald Simson and Mrs. Jarrett (Melbourne), granddaughter; Mr. Hector Simson and Donald, Norman, and Bruce Reid (Melbourne), great-grandsons: and Mr. Hector Simson. The Minister for the Army (Brigadier Street) was also present. In his speech, Mr. Frost said that the Simson brothers were men of vision who dreamed that they were laying the foundation of a thriving, prosperous community.
Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW), 26 March 1940. 

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