In THE CAIRNS FAMILY OF BONEO, written by Peter Wilson (descendant of Walter Burnham), the late Ray Cairns (then a spring chicken in his seventies) thanked Peter for putting his (Ray's) information into a readable form and expressed the wish that somebody would expand the information contained in the book.

Family tree circles has enabled me to sort out the different White families on the southern peninsula (and Blooming/Bullocky Bob White of Red Hill, due to help from descendants of the lime burning Irish family and the Rosebud/ Red Hill family and help toolaroo write his book about the latter (which is connected to the Cairns family of Clackmannan in Scotland.) I have been also able to bring together family historians who were able to ease the work load and expand what they knew by sharing their knowledge.

Well, Ray's wish has been granted by Cameron Cairns. I hope somebody else is also researching the Cairns family and that person and Cameron can team up to not only expand what each has achieved but also solve those puzzles and dead ends which so often crop up. If this somebody is you,can you private message me with your email address and I will pass it on to Cameron. (P.S. We've already had a lengthy phone chat.) I apologise to Cameron for not reacting re his desire to discover a fellow Cairns researcher earlier; see bold type in the email.

Hi Ray,

Thanks for your reply.

I have spent today covering most of your journal entries which include references to the Cairns family in Boneo. Your work to date is very impressive, especially the rates and valuations. I recently obtained/downloaded the electronic copies of several of the parish maps available through the State Library of Victoria website

I have Peter Wilson and Ray Cairns' booklet (my second copy). I have been building on that book using the electronic records that would not have been previously available as a means to cross reference and expand the previous work. I have also managed to find a few elderly distant relatives who have been good enough to meet with me and in some cases provide me with copies of some valuable photos (including one of Mary Drysdale, Robert snr's wife, and another with 5 of Robert and Mary's oldest sons)

I grew up in Blairgowrie but now live in Brunswick. I still have family in Blairgowrie and Rye and will probably be down again in the next couple of months, if so it would be good to catch up to exchange notes if possible? Apart from that perhaps I could give you a call sometime in the next week if there was a suitable time and day for you? I would be interested to contact anyone you may know on the Peninsula who is currently researching Cairns family history.

I think I can help you with you the following post: "THE HALF BROTHERS OF THE CAIRNS FAMILY OF BONEO: "LYNDFIELD" IN THE PARISH OF LYNDHURST, VIC., AUST" The half brothers and the second marriage in Scotland is something I have been trying to crack which has been a little frustrating to say the least.

Look forward to keeping in touch

Regards

Cameron Cairns