This portrait attracts a lot of attention, chiefly perhaps because its subject, Miss Macadam, has the look of an earlier era. Her hairstyle and clothing date back to the look of the 1830s, making her look a little ‘old-fashioned’ alongside her neighbours. Janet was also a bit unusual in pioneer Dunedin as a single independent woman who never married. Macadam is a name made famous by the family of Scottish engineers who invented the ‘macadamising’ process that revolutionised road-building in the 19th century. It is not clear whether Janet is closely connected to her famous namesakes but she was born about 1809 in the United States where Macadam engineers were making a significant impact at the time.
Janet arrived on the Mooltan in 1849 with her half-sister Jane Todd and the latter’s large brood of children. As a spinster aunt, Janet settled near her sister’s family in Andersons Bay and remained there until her death in 1875 aged 66. She was not prominent in public affairs but she maintained an independent life from her home ‘View Park’ and was considerably wealthier than most early settlers. When she died a notice appeared in the newspaper inviting all her friends to attend the funeral. She is buried with members of the Todd family in Dunedin’s Southern Cemetery and left her substantial estate to her nine nieces and nephews in equal shares. The oil portrait, painted in Glasgow in her younger days, was handed down through the family before being donated to the Museum in 1951.
Miss Janet Grahame Caroline Macadam