Son of James Eather (1811-1899)and Mary Ann Hand (1815-1899)

John was born in Richmond 25 December 1837 and in 1874 at Narrabri, married Ellen Mary Spencer b:1853 in Surrey, England. She arrived with her parents Richard and Eliza Spencer on the ship 'Dorigo', 13 April 1860.
They had 12 children. 9 boys and 3 girls.

Until 1899, John Eather owned the Mountain View, a property of some 1100 acres situated 2 1/2 miles from Narrabri, where during the 1880s he conducted the Mountain View Hotel.

On selling the property, he moved his family to the Inverell district where his activities during the first years of the new century included farming and keeping the Royal Hotel at Bundarra.

Several of his sons remained in Inverell where they made their name a well established one in the business life of the town.