Daughter of Alexander Walker Scott (1800–1883) an entomologist and entrepreneur born in Bombay, India, on 10 November 1800, to Dr Helenus Scott and Augusta Maria Frederick. Educated at Bath Grammar School and Peterhouse, Cambridge, he abandoned law for commerce, arriving in New South Wales in 1827. Though his early ventures were financially ruinous, he settled on Ash Island in the Hunter River, developing industry and agriculture, including ironworks, salt production, and citrus farming.