I have just starting researching this family for a friend of my mother's. She is the grand-daughter of Minnie Jessie Scott who was supposed to have been born in New Zealand, but I can not find proof.
When she married John Joseph Lane in 1885 she said that she had been born in Gertrude St, Fitzroy, Melbourne. Because she was 19 her mother Sarah Ann Brown had to give permission and so I presumed that this would be correct.
However when she died she is listed as being born in New Zealand. I can not find her birth in either birth indexes.
The family story goes that Robert Scott and family returned to Edinburgh, Scotland after their stay in New Zealand. When Robert died Sarah took herself and her children back to Melbourne. They must have been used to a comfortable life in Scotland, as it came as a rude shock to the children that they had to go out and work when they arrived in Melbourne.
Yesterday I found the Scottish death certificate for Robert. He died on 21st Jan 1879 in Edinburgh from delerium tremens. There is no mention of his first wife on his death certifcate. However on the marriage certificate to Minnie he did say that he had been a widower in April 1853 and had two deceased children and none living.
Ihave located their return to Australia. They arrived in June 1880 on "Liguria". Mrs S A was 38, Andrew 19, Robert 18, Sarah 16 and Minnie 12.
When Minnie was quite old she apparently found out that she had other half siblings but no-one ever found out who they might be. My friend believes that they were Scott children. However as Sarah Ann Scott remarried Henry Brown, they could have been his children, or step-siblings, that she was referring to.
Sue
