William and John Kerr
William (?) Kerr, the father of John Kerr, emigrated from Scotland to Australia in about 1848. According to Donald, in about 1852, when his son John was six years old, William (?) Kerr was captain of the ship Victoria Tower. The ship was piloted out of Port Phillip Bay (the Melbourne, VIC, AU harbor) and then turned over to Captain Kerr. Under Kerr's command the ship foundered and the captain refused a tow (he was likely drunk). The captain was locked in his cabin, and the ship's carpenter took over. The anchors had been lowered by order of the carpenter, and then when the tug connected the two ropes and began to tow, the lines snapped. Five of the crew were drowned in a capsized lifeboat and the rest were rescued by the Queen's Cliff Life.
Later, William (?) Kerr was employed at King's Street, Melbourne, VIC, AU as a sailmaker in a company that he owned. John worked there for his father, and later John was employed by the Post Office in Melbourne in charge of canvas manufacturing. John married and had seven children, of whom Harold was the youngest. Harold was an inventor, and founded what became an international company manufacturing dairy processing equipment.
