author

Marshall MacDermott

d. 1877

A former British Army officer who later became a public figure in colonial South Australia, he left behind a lively memoir of military service, migration, and early Adelaide life. His 1874 autobiographical sketch offers a firsthand glimpse into a long 19th-century career that stretched from imperial campaigns to civic life.

1 Audiobook

A Brief Sketch of the Long and Varied Career of Marshall MacDermott, Esq., J.P. of Adelaide, South Australia

A Brief Sketch of the Long and Varied Career of Marshall MacDermott, Esq., J.P. of Adelaide, South Australia

by Marshall MacDermott

About the author

Marshall MacDermott was the author of A Brief Sketch of the Long and Varied Career of Marshall MacDermott, Esq., J.P., of Adelaide, South Australia, a memoir printed in 1874 for private circulation among relatives and friends. In it, he explains that he wrote from memory late in life, which gives the book an intimate, personal tone.

According to that autobiographical sketch, he entered the British Army at an early age and served with the King's Regiment of Foot, including overseas service in Nova Scotia and the West Indies during the Napoleonic era. He later settled in Adelaide, South Australia, where he became known as a justice of the peace and a public citizen.

MacDermott's writing is most valuable today as a firsthand record. Rather than a polished literary work, it reads like the recollections of someone who had seen war, travel, and colonial society up close, making it especially interesting for listeners drawn to memoir, military history, and early Australian life.