Theodore Napier facts for kids

Theodore Napier was a Scottish Australian who lived from 1845 to 1924. He was important in a movement called the Neo-Jacobite Revival. He also helped bring back Scottish pride and a desire for Scotland to have more control over its own affairs.

Theodore Napier's Early Life

Theodore Napier was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1845. His parents were from Scotland. His father, Thomas Napier, was a builder who moved to Australia in 1832. Thomas married Jessie Paterson, who was also a Scottish immigrant, in 1836. They had 10 children, but only two lived to be adults.

Theodore went to school in Tasmania for three years. In 1859, he moved to Scotland to finish his schooling. He then studied to become a civil engineer at the University of Edinburgh. Theodore returned to Australia in 1865. He lived in Queensland for two years. After that, he studied Medicine at the University of Melbourne for five years. In 1877, Napier married Mary Anne Noble. They had two daughters and one son.

Theodore Napier's Scottish Pride

Theodore Napier was very proud of his Scottish heritage. He often celebrated the anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. This was an important battle in Scottish history.

After his father passed away in 1881, Theodore inherited a large amount of money. This allowed him to focus on his love for all things Scottish. He was well-known in Melbourne for his traditional Scottish clothes. People described him as a very unique person. He wore a brown jacket with special cuffs and collar. His plaid was an old Scottish pattern called Appin-Stewart tartan. He also wore old-style leather shoes and a bonnet with a white flower and a special saying: 'For King and Country'.

In 1892, Napier started the Scottish National Association of Victoria. This group was for Scottish people living in Australia. It worked to promote the idea of Scotland having its own government, known as "home rule." In 1893, a big dinner was held for him in Essendon. This was before he left for a two-year trip to Scotland.

Time in Scotland

In 1893, Theodore Napier moved to Scotland. He quickly became involved with the Neo-Jacobite Revival movement. This group wanted to bring back the old royal family of Scotland, the House of Stuart. Napier became the Scottish secretary for the Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland. This was the main Neo-Jacobite group at the time.

Napier strongly believed that the Stuart family should rule again. He also wanted to undo the Acts of Union 1707. These acts had joined Scotland and England into one country. He hoped for a loose union of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, all under a strong Stuart king or queen.

Many people thought Napier was a bit unusual. He always wore full traditional Scottish Highland clothes in public. He disliked modern ideas like liberalism, socialism, and republicanism. During the Second Boer War, he supported the Boers. He felt their defeat was similar to what he saw as the defeat of the Scots.

In 1896, he started an annual event to remember the Battle of Culloden. This battle was a sad moment in Scottish history.

After Queen Victoria died in 1901, Napier did not agree with her successor, King Edward VII, becoming king. Napier believed that no King Edward had ever ruled Scotland. So, he thought the new king should use a different name. When his request was ignored, he planned to go to the coronation. He even said he would challenge the King's champion to a fight!

Napier Park in Essendon

Theodore Napier is also remembered for a generous gift he made in 1920. He donated 10 acres of natural bushland to the Essendon Council. This land is now called Napier Park. It is part of the City of Moonee Valley.

The gift required that the land stay as natural bushland. Because of this, the park shows what the land in Strathmore looked like before European settlers arrived.