James Chisholm MLC (1806 - 1888)

Born 5 Nov 1806 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Margaret (Kinghorne) Chisholm — married 9 Jun 1829 in New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 24 Jun 1888 at age 81 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

James Chisholm was born on 5th November 1806 at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

In Jul 1818 James travelled to Calcutta in the care of Captain Siddons, a friend of his father (and later the lighthouse keeper at South Head). While in India James was in the care of his father’s business associate there, John Campbell (JC) Burton, Esquire.

James was educated at the Reverend Dr Halloran's school, one of the first in the colony, highly regarded and provided a service much valued by the more prosperous folk of the colony.

After his schooling at Dr Halloran's establishment, and as an extension of his education, James served several years as clerk in the Commissary Department. He worked there from the end of 1823 to at least 22 November 1825, in order to be schooled in the trade of commerce. It was also a useful means of gaining an awareness of government bureaucratic processes, and making useful contacts. One of his colleagues at the Commissary Department was a W.P. Faithful, who became his life-long friend.

He married Elizabeth Kinghorne in 1829 in St Andrew's Scots Presbyterian Church, Sydney, New South Wales. ^[1]

They settled at Gledswood, the homestead at the St Andrews property at Lower Minto.

James was known to travel into Liverpool with his young wife, Elizabeth, in a carriage with a high spirited, well-groomed horse. It was one of the most fashionable carriages in the district of Camden.’ On one such occasion, James and Elizabeth were stopped by three well-armed bushrangers. They were the notorious Jack Donohoe and his gang. They robbed James, but did not try to steal from Elizabeth. Donohoe was reputed to be a gentleman and never harmed women. ‘When Donohoe enquired as to the name of his victim and James identified himself, the bushranger apologised and immediately returned everything. "I always heard" he said "that Mr Chisholm was a good master to his men. If I had known that you were on the road you would never have been molested".’^[2] Two weeks later, on 1 September 1830, Bold Jack Donohoe, the Wild Colonial Boy, was shot dead at Bringelly, close to "Gledswood"

‘Kippilaw’ homestead built at Goulburn by James Chisholm

James and Elizabeth, with their large family, moved to their new house at "Kippilaw” early in 1837. Also in 1837, upon the death of his father, James inherited "Gledswood" and 1150 acres of the St Andrews property upon which the homestead stood. They were to return to "Gledswood" many times during the winters of later years to escape the icy winds of Goulburn. It was from "Kippilaw” that James began to extend his land holdings over the second Breadalbane Plain and then on to the Third Breadalbane Plain and beyond. This was accomplished by a series of land grants from the government, by auction, and to a lesser extent, purchases from smaller settlers.

On the now smaller ‘Gledswood’ property James planted grapevines that over the years produced fine wines, it being on the Winamatta shale belt. On occasions, he was loaned six vinedressers from a friend and neighbour, James Macarthur of Camden Park. James Macarthur had gained government permission to bring these vinedressers from the Rhine Valley, Germany in 1839. In 1847, James imported two vinedressers of his own.
Elizabeth and James Chisholm had nine sons. As their children grew up with the children of his tenants, James built a school on the Kippilaw property and engaged a tutor for them.
Elizabeth spun her own wool and made knitted socks and garments for her large family. During the shearing season she was extra busy, supervising the meals for the many shearers employed. Elizabeth tended her gardens with loving care, both at ‘Gledswood’ and ‘Kippilaw’

In 1841, livestock was in great demand in the Adelaide colony and James Chisholm undertook to fit out an expedition to send four thousand sheep from his two properties ‘Gledswood’ and ‘Kippilaw’. Mr. Dashwood in the Adelaide colony agreed to purchase on delivery. Such a pioneering journey in those days was an especially challenging prospect, for much of the country had only recently been explored by Sir Thomas Mitchell. The natives were known to be both hostile and treacherous.
All went well with the expedition to Adelaide until it reached the banks of the Murray River, where it was attacked by large groups of Aborigines. After a desperate fight in which a few white men were seriously injured, the whole of the stock and equipment fell into the hands of the natives. They drove the flocks of sheep into the most inaccessible part of the country, where they slaughtered a number of them. When news reached Melbourne, a relief party was dispatched and a few natives were shot, but not a single trace of the stock and equipment was ever recovered.

James and his gardeners laid the foundations of the extensive old-world gardens comprising five acres gracing the homestead. They had their own butcher shop, the meat being stored in wire cages of fine mesh and the hooks for hanging the carcasses can still be seen in the ceiling today. They had a great orchard and house cows that provided them with milk and cream from which they made their butter and cheese. ‘Gledswood’ at this time was one of the finest rural properties of Camden District.

James Chisholm had a great market in England for his fine wool, where it brought the highest price on the market. He had a good industry. Bales of fine wool were stacked on horse drawn drays and sent to Sydney from "Gledswood" and "Kippilaw" from where it was shipped to England. The yearly wool-clip had made him a very wealthy man.’

In 1849, Darby Durack and family, arrived in Goulburn from Ireland and were provided employment at "Kippilaw". The Durack’s were to become known for their heroic cattle drive to Australia’s northwest, and as pioneers of the Kimberleys.

The Latter Years of James
James had political ambitions. ‘He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council on 1l June 1854, by Charles Nicholson, the Speaker of the House at Macquarie Street, Sydney, along with his life-long friend, James Macarthur. He thus earned the right to the title, the Honourable James Chisholm.

In 1857 James was made Magistrate of the Territory.

On 13 August 1859 James acquired an additional 1253 acres on the Northern side of the Wollondilly River - An area subsequently to become known as ‘North Kippilaw’. In the early sixties the entire ‘Kippilaw’ station is said to comprise in excess of 7000 acres.

Three to four miles farther west of ‘Kipplaw’ was James’ ‘Merilla’ station. It comprised land north and south of the Wollondilly and was managed by James’ second son, William Alexander. When the property was sold in November 1881 it comprised 6500 acres.

On the Third Breadalbane Plain, and more specifically west of the Parkesbourne-Breadalbane community lay a further Chisholm holding known as ‘Raeburn’. The property was to comprise over 8500 acres during James’ time.

Chisholm properties and Parkesbourne small holdings in their midst c1898

South west of ‘Raeburn’ was another extensive Chisholm property called ‘Lerida’. The headquarters was located on the top of the Cullerin Range. The station property comprised the eastern slopes of the Cullerin Range and extending from the southern outskirts of the town of Collector. ‘Lerida’ encompassed some 11700 acres.

‘Mummell’ property, two miles to the west of ‘Kippilaw’ was occupied by James’ half brother, John William Chisholm. John W acquired the very substantial ‘Wollogorang’ property from Henry Edenburough in 1854, thus bringing about the Chisholm family encirclement of the Parkesbourne community for many years to come.

James’ involvement in the Parliament of the Colony of NSW took on a different character in 1861, when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the member for Yass. While in parliament he enjoyed a continuous correspondence with Sir Henry Parkes on the subject of education, a topic of great interest to him all his adult life.

James fulfilled a long-standing desire to visit Britain in 1872.

Elizabeth and James celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in 1879. They went by horse and carriage, driven by their coachman, from ‘Kippilaw’ to Goulburn Railway Station and from there they travelled by train to Sydney for a celebration at their son's home at Mosman.

Death

CHISHOLM.—June 24, at his residence, Kippelaw, near Goulburn, the Honourable James Chisholm, aged 82.
- The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) Sat 30 Jun 1888

He is buried in the vault beside the small country Church of St James that he had built by convicts.

According to the obituary in the Goulburn Herald James was the father of nine boys, seven of whom were still alive in 1888. ^[3].

An article in The Australian Financial Review of 5 November 2012, p44, was headed ‘$2m price cut on 1832 residence’. The ‘vendors had substantially updated the interiors since paying $2.6 million for it in 1997.’ ‘The property is on a working farm of more that 161 hectares.’ ‘The property has 6 bedrooms, bathrooms, a wine cellar, library, tennis court and pool. Other structures include an original stone coach house and stables and a machinery shed.’ ‘There is also the Kippilaw school house, which has been converted to a two-bedroom apartment.’

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #103/1829 V1829103 73A
2. ↑ History of Gledswood – A House Alive Today.
3. ↑ Obituary, "Death of the Hon. James Chisholm, MLC" Goulburn Herald, Tuesday 26 June 1888, p2, Article Link

• NSW Births Deaths & Marriages
• Family Tree, http://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/treeview/15705
• Industry & Perseverance A History of David Brown (1750 – 1836) and Family
• History of Gledswood – A House Alive Today, by Josie Ashley-Riddle, February 1987.
• 'Chisholm, James (1806–1888)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/chisholm-james-15705/text26903, accessed 6 January 2024.
• https://billiongraves.com/grave/James-Chisholm/84508552
• Find A Grave: Memorial #174119549

Acknowledgements

This profile was commenced by Andrew Hunter on 10 Oct 2017.