From 1841, when brothers Robert and Peter McCracken sailed to Australia on the "Nimrod", the McCracken family has had a significant impact on the Essendon area.  They owned large properties in the area, operated a highly successful brewery in Collins Street Melbourne, were involved in the beginning of the first railway to Essendon, were the founders of the famous Essendon Football Club, as well as being highly involved in other areas of the community.        

Read about the family's involvement in the community, including:  McCracken Brewery, Essendon Football Club, Railway to Essendon.

Read some interesting excerpts from the McCracken Family letters held at the State Library of Victoria.

Sources Used:

ALDOUS, Grant, The Stop-over that Stayed, 1979.

CHALMERS, R.W., The Annals of Essendon (1850s to 1924), Vol. 1, Essendon Historical Society Inc., Essendon, Vic, 1998.  

HARRIGAN, L. J., Victorian Railways to '62, Victorian Railways, Vic, 1962.

MAPLESTONE, M., Flying Higher – History of the Essendon Football Club 1872-1996, 1996.

McCracken Family Letters, held at State Library Victoria.

Mercy Teachers’ College, Institute of Catholic Education, Ascot Vale Campus, Melbourne, Vic, 1984.  

PIKE, A.D., Lowther News - Souvenir Edition, Vol. 11, No. 1, Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School, Essendon, Vic, 1979.

VINES, M., A History of Essendon High School 1910-1932, Unpublished thesis