James

DESCRIPTION

NameJamesDescriptionWilliam and Maria James (nee Kernick) arrived in Australia, from Cornwall, England, 8 June 1853, aboard the 'Australia'. William was 25 and Maria 21. They were assisted immigrants and paid 2 pounds for their passage and could read and write.

William was a stonemason and had designed and built 'Penrose' for the Evans family. He adapted this design for his own house 'Bravella'(after his home in Cornwell) and built it out of timber

William was a stonemason by trade and assisted in the building of many of the old buildings including Robert Wilson's flour mill, Presbyterian church and the first Church of England He settled at Dunmore purchased breeding stock from local farmer Andrew McGill and established the James dairy herd.

The James' built their family home c.1856 and called it 'Bravella' meaning hills and vales in Cornish. James Road at Dunmore is named after the family.

William and Maria had four children.
William (jnr) bn.1853 Dapto died 1927 Brunswick Heads he married Lydia Layton.
John bn.1856 died 1933 Shellharbour, he married Sarah Dunster.
Dorothy Ann bn 1858 died 1948 Sydney she married Henry Hicks.
James Kernick bn. 1861 Shellharbour died 1921 N.S.W.

Sadly, Maria died in 1863 when she was about 31 years old.

Later the same year, William married Elizabeth Sarah Wenham.

William and Elizabeth had four children:
Thomas b.1864 died 1931 Pennant Hills he married in 1890 Rachel Welbury Arnold.
George bn.1869
Francis bn.1871 Dunmore died 1959 Unanderra he married Matilda Ann Mison and then Ann Izard.
Mary Elizabeth bn. 1874 died 1954 Shellharbour she married Henry Thomas.

William was Mayor of Shellharbour Municipality 1870 to 1871, and an Alderman from the first Shellharbour Municipal Council in 1859 to his death in 1888.

William's son John built his home next to his father's and named it 'Kurrawong'. John married Sarah Dunster, from a neighboring farm in 1882.

William’s son Thomas James was also Mayor of Shellharbour 1925 to 1928 and Alderman 1920-1931. He took an active part in agricultural interests and the establishment of the Illawarra Dairy Cattle Association where he served as secretary for many years. Thomas married Rachel Arnold in 1890, and they built their home 'Rosemont' which still lies on the bends of the old Princes Highway at Dunmore.

Famous stained glass window maker John Radecki dedicated a beautiful window at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Wollongong, to William and Elizabeth James of Dunmore.

John Radecki arrived in 1887 at Wollongong to look for work. He and his father one evening were walking back from the Kiama quarry on night, where they had gone to apply for work. They were penniless migrants from Poland. William James who lived at Dunmore saw the two men on their walk back to Wollongong and showed them kindness, by giving them a meal and shelter and a small amount of money to help them out.

The stained-glass window at St Andrew’s was designed and made by John Radecki and shows the gratitude of the Radecki family to the James’, ‘The Good Samaritans’.

Sources:
Tongarra Heritage Society Files.
Land Between Two Rivers - Jim Derbyshire.
Shellharbour's Forgotten Cemetery and Selected Pioneers - W and T Nunan
Bayside to Blackbutt -Helen Parker.
Shipping Records.

External LinkFarewell Social Evening 1887Obituary William James 1888Obituary William James 1888Obituary Mrs W James 1899Messrs James Bros Prize Dairy Cattle 1902Dame Durden's Post Office - Letter by Eva James 'Rose Mont' 1908King High and Mighty's Competition Miriam James 1908Obituary Late William James Jnr 1927Obituary William James Jnr 1927The Early History of Shellharbour - James Farm 1931Obituary John James 77 Years 1933Obituary Mr Thos James 70 Years 1935Obituary Thomas James 1935New Presbyterian Church 1938Obituary Miss Vera James 1939Obituary Late Mr Walter James 1950

William James and family at Bravella, Dunmore, c.1870.

CONNECTIONS

CollectionFamiliesFamilyThomasRadeskiLocalityDunmoreOrganisationRed CrossPersonJames, ThomasJemima JamesJames, WilliamPlaceBravellaRosemontKurrawongJames Road Fig Trees Jemima Reserve Rosemont ParkRelated ItemEva, Miriam and Beatrice JamesSteam train hauling blue metal from Dunmore Quarry c.1930William James Snr 1825-1888William James Jnr 1853-1927William James & Family at 'Bravella'

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