DOOLAN Keron


In 1678, Charles Erskine, Earl of Mar, raised the regiment to help put down unrest within the Presbyterian (Covenanter) Scots churchmen. In 1688, as a fusilier regiment, it moved from the Scottish to the English establishment and was named for its various Colonel’s names. In 1707 the regiment was named the North British Fuzileers, not popular within the Regiment since it was bestowed in honour of the Union of England and Scotland.

The regiment maintained its ‘North British’ name in various forms throughout the 18th and early 19th century, fighting against the Jacobite rebellion including Culloden; engaging in the Seven Years War, the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars.

The 21st (Royal North British Fuzileers) Regiment first arrived in Australia in 1832 to 1833 as guards on board convict ships to New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land. The regiment’s HQ was established in Hobart but soon a detachment was sent to the Swan River Colony to relieve the 63rd Regiment’s detachment which had arrived with Captain James Stirling some four years earlier. Most of the troops arrived on Jane in September 1833, but others arrived on Caroline (February 1835) and Sir John Rae Reid (July 1835). Most left the Colony on Runnymede in July 1840 to serve in India.

The troops of the 21st Regiment detachment bore the brunt of the clash of cultures between the settlers and the aborigines. Two corporals and eight privates were thought to have been present at the Battle of Pinjarra; three troops were killed by natives in other incidents in Beverley, Murray River and Upper Swan.

A total of 152 officers and men served in Western Australia between 1833 and 1840 and 21 of them took their discharge and settled there. One of them was this man featured on the right. Nineteen troops died while serving in the Colony.

It was not until 1877 that the regiment received a title befitting its origins when it became the 21st (Royal Scots Fusliers) Regiment of Foot.

The Colours of the 21st Regiment
NAME: Keron DOOLANName variations: Kavin, Keeran, Keeron, Kieran
Birth Date and Placec. 1806 [deduced].
Baptism Date and Place
Marriage Date and Place27 Feb 1841 Perth, Western Australia [FSLDS Reg. 48].
SpouseMary DALY.
ChildrenKearin b.1842 Western Australia – not verified [BLKB p.141].
James b.1843 Wonnerup, Western Australia [WABDM Reg. #162].
William b.1844 Wonnerup, Western Australia [WABDM Reg. #463].
Maria b.1846 Dardanup, Western Australia [WABDM Reg. #794].
Anne b.1848 Dardanup, Western Australia [WABDM Reg. #1196].
OccupationsManservant – see additional details below [BLKB p.140].
Farmer.
Land Acquisition in WA12 Oct 1846 –  Granted Lot 14 Wellington District, 25 acres – not verified.
18 Dec 1862 – Granted Pre-emptive Claim Tillage Lease No. T654 Wellington District, 40 acres .
16 Jun 1865 – Purchase Lot 227 (out of T654) Wellington District, 40 acres [WASRO Acc. 660].
Depasturing Licence 1848 (Sussex) and Timber Licence 1850 (Bunbury) [Government Gazettes Feb 1848, Oct 1850].
Death Date and Place1886 Dardanup, Western Australia.
Burial Date and Place1886 Dardanup Pioneer Cemetery, Dardanup, Western Australia [Oz Burials].
Death, Funeral, Obituary NoticesNone.
Will and ProbateNone.
BRITISH ARMY
Regiment21st (Royal North British Fuzileers) Regiment.
Soldier No. and Rank#522 Private.
Medals, Clasps and BadgesNone.
Arrival Australia: Ship and DateMary. Embarked Deptford, London 6 Aug 1832 [WO25-3503].
Dep. London 4 Sep 1832; arr. Port Jackson, NSW 5 Jan 1833 [DPS & TROVE].
Norval. Dep. Sydney, NSW 16 Jan 1833; arr. Launceston VDL 30 Jan 1833 [TROVE].
Arrival Western Australia: Ship and DateJane 9 Sep 1833 from Hobart [TROVE].
Military Postings within Western AustraliaPerth HQ 9 Sep 1833 to 31 Dec 1835.
On Detachment (Military Post unknown)1 Jan 1836 to 30 Sep 1837.
Perth HQ 1-31 Oct 1837. Four days in the regimental hospital in Perth.
Cruses Mill (formerly Coulston) 1-30 Nov 1837.
Leschenault 1 Dec 1837 to 30 Sep 1838.
Perth HQ 1-31 Oct 1838.
Leschenault 1 Nov 1838 to 31 Mar 1840.
On Detachment Swan River 1 Apr to 30 Jun 1840.
Perth HQ 1-31 Jul 1840 with remark ‘Left in WA to be discharged’.
[All sourced from WO12-3802 folio 106 to 3809 folio 64].
Courts Martial in Western AustraliaNone.
Discharge Date and Place31 Jul 1840 Perth, Western Australia [WO12-3809-64].
Age at Dischargec. 34 years [deduced].
Length of ServiceAt least eight years [deduced].

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Private Keron Doolan was Captain Richard Daniell’s manservant until his death 7th August 1835. Daniell died of Apoplexy (a stroke) at the age of 44.

Doolan farmed in the Wellington and Sussex counties of Western Australia. Wellington County was one of the 26 counties of Western Australia that were designated in 1829 as cadastral divisions. It was named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1828-1830. It approximately corresponds to the Wellington Land District which forms the basis for land titles in the area. Lieutenant-Governor James Stirling named Sussex in honour of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, the sixth son of King George III.

Click to enlarge images relating to Doolan’s land in the Wellington District.  Note that John Hertnan, another 21st Regiment soldier was on an adjacent property.

Pre-emptive Claim for Tillage Lease in December 1862
Purchase in June 1865 of part of the larger adjacent lease