[1] The Sydney Herald of 23 September 1833, noted the arrival of 'the ship Sir John Rae Reid' from 'London, and Hobart Town, on Tuesday last' and among the 'passengers from England' was 'Mr.

[3] In possession of letters of introduction to Thomas Mitchell, then Surveyor General of New South Wales, Russell was employed by the Survey Department as an 'acting assistant' on 22 October 1833'.

In response, the Imperial authority in London authorised William Lonsdale to lead a party to establish an official settlement the following year.

Russell recalled that after disembarking from the Stirlingshire his 'party of three' commenced 'surveying the shores of Port Phillip Harbour' but this work was interrupted when: "On one occasion we found our horses not quite ready for the trip into the bush and decided to spell them for a week.

At Hoddle's death in 1881 The Argus published an article which set out the reasons why it believed 'a gentleman so intimately associated with the foundation of Melbourne as to deserve the honour of a civic funeral'.

[7] Two days later a 'Letter To The Editor' appeared: "Sir, – Permit me to correct a small mistake in your narrative of this date concerning the late Mr. Robert Hoddle.

Darke, D'Arcy, and Russell, at one time were hard at work defining the outlines, fixing the boundaries, and marking the corners of the streets" of Melbourne.

"[8]In 1899 at the age of 91, he gave a lengthy interview to The Argus explaining the circumstances of his and Hoddle's work on the first plan of Melbourne in great detail.

The original plan of Melbourne which I prepared, and which I looked upon as my own property, as I was merely filling in time, was sent to my father in England, who had it printed, and some of the copies were afterwards supplied to the Public Library.

"[10] The question continued to spark debate in newspaper letters pages[11] and at meetings of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria[12] years later.

[17] In 1969, the Victorian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects named their St. Kilda Road property 'Robert Russell House' in recognition of his work.