Curtis - p-. 42 - The Watsons of Doonholm - 'Jim Watson with his wife Nell and brother Andrew arrived in Kenya in January 1908. The family were Scottish building contractors from Ayr. Jim brought with him a comprehensive set of his tools, and when the box was being unloaded in Mombasa Old Harbour from the small boat that brought them ashore it proved too heavy for the porters, who sank with it to the bottom. Fortunately the water was not too deep and both porters and tools were recovered. Not long after they reached Nairobi the Watsons bought 5000 acres of grazing land on the Athi plains some 7 miles south-east of Nairobi. Needless to say there was a tick problem because of the teeming game. The brothers' intention was to raise cattle and sheep, the nucleus of the herds being bought from the Masai. Jim duly established a building business and among the early buildings he put up, using pre-cast and cement blocks for walling, were the Post Office on 6th Avenue and the Old St. Andrew's Church, completed in 1910. Andrew Watson, by profession an accountant, took a job with the Agricultural Dept. to help raise capital for the development of the farm. He lived at Doonholm and commuted to and from his Nairobi office on a mule. To overcome the tick problem the brothers built the first cattle dip in Kenya in the year 1910, the opening of which was attended by the Governor. Once the ticks had been controlled the Watsons imported Ayrshire cattle from Scotland, and their younger brother Bertie brought them out with him in 1913. These cattle formed the nucleus of the Doonholm Ayrshire Herd, which later won many prizes at Agricultural shows.

Gazette - 7/4/15 - Liable for Jury service, Nairobi District - B. Watson, J.K. Watson and Co.