He fell in love with Hector Ann McGeachie.
In 1844, John MacMillan and Hector Ann McGeachie, of Collie Creek, were
married by the visiting Anglican clergyman, the Rev. John Morse, in the
courthouse at Murrurundi.
They traveled on horseback up the Cunningham`s
Track to Mrs. Macmillan’s run near Warialda where she was one of the
first white women in the district.
In the tropical land, MacMillan was greeted
by Monsoon forests; Lush woodlands; Lily Lagoon’s; Billabongs (dead
rivers); along with Aborigines. The worst were the fifteen foot high
ant hills and the heavy rains between October and March.
MacMillan took it all as an adventure
and once was badly speared by a black on the MacIntyre River near Pine
Ridge Station. He later took up a homestead on the Jones River, a tributary
of the Weir, but abandoned it after his shepherd was murdered and badly
mutilated. But Jones MacMillian overcame all and became a very rich
sheep farmer in the land he named "Oregon". No sheep station had their
land or boundaries fenced in and often led to the loss of the beasts
(sheep) of to the murder and suffering of those ranchers.
It all ended when the Aborigines learned
of Macmillan’s kindness to one of their injured men. No more injury
came to MacMillan or his men and no more beasts were slaughtered on
the "Oregon".
MacMillain had obtained a free hand to
build his shepherding empire. Gold also played a major role in his wealth;
this was shortly after the Australian gold rush. So many men were struck
with gold fever that when Bully Forbes landed the Marco-Polo on her
initial voyage to Australia in 1852 , he had the crew charged with insubordination
so they would not desert him and the ship for the gold fields down under.
In praise and thanks for his good
fortune MacMillan donated a very large sum of money to the Free Presbyterian
Church in Singleton. He was considered to be an excellent horseman but
he always admitted one fault, "I dinna care for rock nor crag, but I
canna crack a bullock chap (bull whip)."
Today, the Aussie's credit John MacMillan
for not only defending all who lived in the N-West; but they also gave
him credit of being the driving force behind opening and developing
the territory.
Upon his death, his estate was valued
at well over a million dollars.