Thomas Napier

Born in Scotland, Napier emigrated to the Australia in 1832, first to Tasmania and then later to Melbourne. He was a builder and continued that trade in the colonies. He moved to Melbourne in 1837 less than two years after the first permanent settlement of the Port Phillip area. He purchased a half acre of land in Collins Street in the centre of Melbourne and built a house for himself and his new wife Jessie Patterson. In 1845, he moved out to the Strathmore area, building a house on the top of the hill in Woodland Street, in the area now occupied by the Catholic Church and School. He called that house 'Rosebank'.