Between Land and Sea

It was a proud and decisive moment, probably in the early 1850s, when the young William Cochrane grasped this fancy hand painted tin canister, slid open its hinged lid and carefully inserted his folded university documents inside its compartment. That day, William’s whole life was ahead of him – he had two degrees and further studies in hand from the University of Glasgow and the world was open to him.

William had the choice of many paths to follow. What he did next was typical of many young single men of his time. William emigrated to Australia. It was well known as a land of opportunity, and the colonial government had just announced that gold had been discovered!

Born in Londonderry, Ireland, William Graham Cochrane (1823-1895) was a bright scholar who moved to Scotland as a teen and graduated from university in 1844. This canister was meticulously painted for him then. Its elaborate design with crowned harp, flanked by a garland of thistles, clover and roses represents Scotland, Ireland and England, and its winged Irish ‘merrow’ mermaid is symbolic of movement between land and sea.

Bearing the latinised version of William’s name in gold leaf lettering, ‘Gulielmus G. Cochrane’, the design boldly announces his importance as an educated man. The ‘A. B.’ indicated his Bachelor of Arts degree, while ‘Concordia Vincit’ referenced his family motto meaning ‘harmony conquers.’

Upon his arrival to Australia, Cochrane settled in a town named Tambaroora, on the traditional country of the Wiradjuri people and named with their word for ‘place of the ibis.’ Just north of Hill End, the area was booming due to the gold being found there. William married Mary Jane Wardman in 1864, and he worked as the local postmaster, while Mary took care of their children.

Despite his intellectual interests, William seems to have preferred the outdoors and later becoming a successful farmer at Georges Plains. With this canister and its precious contents in his possession, Cochrane honoured the symbolism of the merrow, travelling across land and sea to change the course of his life.