James Chisholm (merchant)
James Chisholm | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Mid Calder, Scottish Lowlands |
| Died | March 31, 1837 (aged 65) |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant, banker, landowner, military officer |
| Years active | 1791–1837 |
| Known for | Co-founder and director of the Bank of New South Wales; major landowner in New South Wales; pioneer settler of Australia; political reform advocate |
James Chisholm (23 January 1772 – 31 March 1837) was a pioneering figure in colonial Australia, making significant contributions to commerce, banking, the Presbyterian community, education, democratic movements, and pastoral enterprises. Recognized as the inaugural Chisholm settler in Australia, he is considered the founding ancestor of the Clan Chisholm on the continent. Advancing from private to sergeant within the New South Wales Corps, he emerged as a leading merchant in Sydney, co-founded and directed the Bank of New South Wales, championed democratic reforms, supported humanitarian causes, and became one of the largest landowners in New South Wales.
Early life and military service
James Chisholm was born in Mid Calder in the Scottish Lowlands as the third offspring of John Chisholm and Isabel Wilson. At age sixteen, he joined the 29th Regiment of Foot with endorsements from local aristocracy and transferred to the New South Wales Corps in 1790 serving as a private tailor. After settling in New South Wales, he maintained correspondence with influential figures.
Master tailor of the New South Wales Corps (1791–1810)
Chisholm reached New South Wales in 1791 aboard the Third Fleet, assigned to the New South Wales Corps responsible for convict security. Attached to Major Francis Grose's Headquarters Company, he participated in surveying town plots along what would become George Street in Sydney and secured his own allotment there, residing on it until 1821–22. By 1798 he had been promoted to Corporal and served as the Corps’ master tailor.
In 1806, he wed Mary Brown, daughter of Scottish settler David Brown; their son James Junior was born that same year. Initially illiterate at marriage, Chisholm acquired reading and writing skills by 1808 with Mary’s assistance. Although not a central participant in the 1808 Rum Rebellion that ousted Governor Bligh, he sided with officers opposing the rebellion’s leaders and gained Governor Macquarie’s approval for his allegiance.
Distinct from many officers engaged in rum trading prior to 1808, Chisholm initially refrained from private business but soon acted as an agent for real estate and mortgages. He secured his first rural land grant at Eastern Farms and engaged in agricultural trade. In 1809 he purchased adjacent town lots and obtained a license to sell wine and spirits at what became known as the Crown and Thistle, retaining this license until 1822.
Merchant of Sydney (1810–1823)
Following Colonel Lachlan Macquarie’s appointment as Governor of New South Wales in 1810, James Chisholm requested discharge from military service after twenty-one years and did not return to either army duty or tailoring. With backing from Colonel Foveaux, Macquarie renewed leases on Chisholm’s George Street property (formerly Spring Row). Despite restrictions on rum trading at that time, Chisholm secured one of only twenty liquor licenses granted in February 1810. He then established himself as an importer and retailer of wine and spirits, supplied provisions to the Commissariat, acted as trustee for estates and mortgages, and operated as a land agent and developer. His commercial activities made him an early proponent of monetary reform and colonial currency systems.
Chisholm accumulated extensive real estate holdings valued at approximately £12,000, owning about 23,000 acres spanning from County of Cumberland to the Southern Tablelands. By the late 1820s he ranked among New South Wales’ six largest landowners; by the 1880s his descendants possessed over 3,125 square miles across Australia. His Sydney assets included more than one acre fronting George Street, Sydney’s principal artery. His diversified enterprises enabled him to endure the economic downturn between 1812 and 1815, securing his status as a prosperous and influential merchant.
After Mary’s death in 1817, their son James Junior was sent to Calcutta under business associate John Campbell Burton’s supervision for education and employment. In 1818 Chisholm married his second wife Mary Bowman (1796–1878), daughter of free settlers John and Honor Bowman.
In 1817 Chisholm was among key merchants invited by Governor Macquarie to establish Australia’s first trading bank. By June 1822 he sold his spirits license to Mary Reiby and leased his Crown and Thistle inn premises to the newly formed Bank of New South Wales, which operated there until 1853. He was an original shareholder and joined its board as a director in 1826. Between 1821 and 1822 he constructed Calder House on his 57-acre Newtown Farm estate in what is now Redfern—this served as his principal residence until his passing. The property later became home to the Eveleigh Railway Workshops. In 1823 he built a three-story stone townhouse at 85 George Street adjacent to the Bank of NSW building.
Religion, education, public service, politics and later life (1823–1837)
James Chisholm played an active role in supporting both public and private charitable organizations, many connected to the Presbyterian Church, while also endorsing the establishment of the first Roman Catholic chapel in Hyde Park. He was instrumental in founding Scots Church in Sydney in 1826 and endorsed Reverend John Dunmore Lang’s religious and social reform efforts. Chisholm became a founding trustee of Dr Laurence Hynes Halloran’s Sydney Public Free Grammar School in 1824, joined its governing committee the following year, and was among the original governors of Sydney College in 1830. Additionally, he held shares and served as a councilor at Lang's Presbyterian Australian College starting in 1831. His involvement extended to acting as committee member and treasurer for Lang’s Emigrant’s Friend Society from 1832.
In the financial sector, Chisholm was an early investor in the Bank of New South Wales and a founding shareholder of the Bank of Australia in 1826. He later took on the role of trustee for the Savings Bank of New South Wales, which commenced operations from his three-story residence located next to the trading bank in 1832.
Chisholm occupied significant positions within New South Wales’ colonial judiciary between 1822 and 1837, including an appointment to the Governor's Court by Governor Macquarie from 1822 to 1823, and he acted as Foreman for the grand juries at Quarter Sessions in 1824. Politically, he aligned with reformist agendas championed by William Charles Wentworth, promoting trial by jury, tax reforms, and representative government through participation in the Australian Patriotic Association established in 1835. While supportive of both Lang and Wentworth, his political stance remained moderate relative to contemporary standards.
Balancing business pursuits with public duties, Chisholm notably provided financial guarantees for William Douglas Campbell during a legal dispute involving Campbell’s business partner Garnham Blaxcell between 1823 and 1827. In 1827, he was granted 2,118 acres at Smithfield—originally named ‘Chisholm’s Bush’.
Following a legal dispute over his land on George Street in 1834, Chisholm successfully obtained freehold titles for leases situated between Hunter and King Streets. He subsequently developed commercial stores and residential tenements on these parcels, generating rental income. Although a portion of this property was sold in January 1836, his family retained ownership of most of the land until the 1880s.
Death
In March 1837, James Chisholm traveled to his eldest son’s estate, Kippilaw, near Goulburn, New South Wales, where he contracted a cold that progressed into pneumonia. He was then brought back to his Sydney residence, Calder House, where he passed away on 31 March at age 65. Survived by his second wife and their seven children—including Edwin, born eight months before his death—as well as his eldest son James Junior from that marriage, Chisholm was initially interred at Newtown Farm following Presbyterian customs. In 1867, his remains were relocated alongside those of his first wife to St Stephen's Church of England Cemetery in Camperdown, New South Wales. The inscription on his gravestone commemorates his 47 years living in the colony and honors his enduring reputation for honesty and modesty.
Legacy
The legacy of James Chisholm as a prosperous merchant, advocate for political reform, and substantial landowner was carried forward by his descendants. His widow Mary Chisholm emerged as a prominent pastoralist and entrepreneur. His eldest son James became a pioneer in sheep breeding and wool production; he served as an elected representative for King and Georgiana from 1851 to 1856, supported the enactment of the 1864 Constitution Act which established responsible government in New South Wales, and held a seat on the Legislative Council from 1865 until 1888. Alongside James Junior’s sons and their half-brother John William, they expanded family landholdings across the Breadalbane Plains and further afield throughout the nineteenth century, ultimately managing two million acres within Australia.
Sources
- Chown, Carolyn. The Clan Chisholm in Australia, 1790–1990. St Ives NSW, 1989. ISBN 0731690559
- Maxwell, Chis & Pugh, Alex. The Merchant of Sydney: James Chisholm (1772–1837). Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781925333282
- Statham, Pamela (ed.). A Colonial Regiment, NSW Corps 1789–1810. Canberra: Australian National University, 1992. ISBN 0646081101
- Papers of Miriam Chisholm, 1817-1981. National Library of Australia. MS6207 [Series (S) 1 to 8, Folders (F) 1–103; 19 document boxes (B), 3 Folio boxes], 1817
- Evatt, H V. Rum Rebellion: A Study of the Overthrow of Governor Bligh by John Macarthur and the New South Wales Corps. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1938
- National Archives of the United Kingdom. Description and Succession Books for the NSW Corps, 1808–1816. War Office Records (WO) 25/642, WO25/643
- National Archives of the United Kingdom. Muster Books, Muster Rolls and Pay Lists of the 102nd Foot (NSW Corps) (1810–1812). War Office Records (WO) 12/11018 (1791), WO 12/9904 (1807–09), WO12/9905
- National Archives of the United Kingdom. General Muster Books and Pay Lists of the 29th Foot 1st and 2nd Battalions (1784–1797). War Office Records (WO) 12/4494
- State Records of New South Wales. Colonial Secretary Papers, 1788–1825. http://colsec.records.nsw.gov.au/default.htm
External links
- Colonial Secretary's papers 1822–1877, State Library of Queensland – featuring digitised letters and correspondence from Chisholm to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales