James Ruse
Encyclopedia
James Ruse was a Cornish
Cornish Australian
Cornish Australians are citizens of Australia whose ancestry originates in Cornwall, United Kingdom, one of the six Celtic Nations. They form part of the worldwide Cornish diaspora which also includes large numbers of people in the US, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico and many Latin...
farmer who, at the age of 23, was convicted of breaking and entering
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
and was sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia. He arrived at Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
on the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
with 18 months of his sentence remaining. Ruse applied to Governor Arthur Phillip
Arthur Phillip
Admiral Arthur Phillip RN was a British admiral and colonial administrator. Phillip was appointed Governor of New South Wales, the first European colony on the Australian continent, and was the founder of the settlement which is now the city of Sydney.-Early life and naval career:Arthur Phillip...
(of the colony) for a land grant, stating that he had been bred to farming. Governor Phillip, desperate to make the colony self-sufficient, allocated Ruse an allotment at Rose Hill
Rose Hill, New South Wales
Founded on the 2 November 1788, Rose Hill in New South Wales was the first inland colonial settlement, established by Governor Phillip. On the King's Birthday in 1791 it was renamed to become the town of Parramatta, after the indigenous Aborigines of the region, the Burramatta people, a clan of...
(Parramatta), where he proved himself industrious and showed that it was possible for a family to survive through farming. Having done this, Ruse received a grant of 30 acres (121,405.8 m²), enabling him eventually to sell 600 bushels of maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
. He later exchanged the grant for more fertile land on the Hawkesbury River
Hawkesbury River
The Hawkesbury River, also known as Deerubbun, is one of the major rivers of the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its tributaries virtually encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney.-Geography:-Course:...
. In later life, having been almost bankrupted from his farm by flooding, Ruse found work as a seaman and later as a landowner's overseer.
Early life
Ruse was born at Launceston, CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England on 9th August 1759 or in 1760 (various sources put his date of birth in either 1759 or 1760). In 1782, he was tried at Bodmin
Bodmin
Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
Assizes and sentenced to death for "burglariously breaking and entering the dwelling house of Thomas Olive and stealing thereout 2 silver watches, value 5 pounds." He was reprieved and sentenced to transportation
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
for seven years. He was sent on the Scarborough
Scarborough (ship)
'Scarborough' was a transport ship of 430 tons, built at Scarborough in 1782. She formed part of the First Fleet, which commenced European settlement of Australia in 1788....
, one of the First Fleet, and arrived in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on 19 January 1788.
As a pioneering farmer
In February 1791, Ruse declares to the authorities that he is self-suffient, and two months later in March, he was granted a further 30 Acres.Ruse expected to reap about eight bushel
Bushel
A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
s (290 litres) to the acre. After Ruse's sentence expired in 1792, the title of his land was deeded to him, the first land grant in the colony. In 1793 he sold his land to Dr Harris of the New South Wales Corps
New South Wales Corps
The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment to relieve the marines who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. The regiment, led by Major Francis Grose, consisted of three companies...
. The property is now the Experiment Farm Cottage
Experiment Farm Cottage
Experiment Farm Cottage, in Harris Park, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, is one of Australia’s oldest standing residences. It is located at the site of Experiment Farm, Australia's first European farmstead, which was itself created by Australia's first land grant.In 1789, James Ruse was...
museum of the National Trust of Australia
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
.
In 1794 Ruse moved further out, to the junction of the Hawkesbury River with South Creek, and became a fairly successful farmer. He and Elizabeth raised seven children, two of whom were thought to have been adopted. Later, however, he was wiped out by flooding (always the risk of farming in the Hawkesbury) and had to find work as a seaman. He was heavily in debt and only the hard work of his wife saved him from bankruptcy. From 1828 he was employed as an overseer by a landowner at Minto
Minto, New South Wales
Minto is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Minto is located 48 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown and is part of the Macarthur region.-History:...
, south of Sydney. He died at Campbelltown
Campbelltown, New South Wales
Campbelltown is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campbelltown is located 51 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Campbelltown.- History :Campbelltown...
on 5 September 1837.
Ruse's gravestone, parts of which he carved himself, reads:
"Sacred to the memory of James Ruse who departed this life September 5 in the year of Houre Lord 1837.
Natef of Cornwell and arriv ed in this colony by the First Fleet, aged 77.
My mother reread thy tenderly
With me she took much pain
And when I arrived in this colony I sowed the first grains
And now with my heavenly father I hope for ever to remain."
A replica of this tombstone stands in the front garden of Barrengarry House, the administration block at James Ruse Agricultural High School
James Ruse Agricultural High School
James Ruse Agricultural High School is one of four New South Wales Government agricultural high schools. It is a selective, co-educational public high school located at Carlingford, New South Wales, Australia...
. The memory of James Ruse is perpetuated in the naming of key locations in Sydney, including the Agricultural High School, in Carlingford
Carlingford, New South Wales
Carlingford is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Carlingford is located 22 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of the The Hills Shire, Hornsby Shire and the City of Parramatta...
; James Ruse Drive
James Ruse Drive
James Ruse Drive is a main thoroughfare route around Parramatta, in Western Sydney. It stretches from Windsor Road, Northmead in the north to Great Western Highway , Granville in the south. It formed a section of the State route 55...
, running from Silverwater to Northmead, near Parramatta; and Ruse
Ruse, New South Wales
Ruse is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ruse is located 52 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown.-History:...
, a suburb in southwest Sydney.
In 1980, the noted Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
folk singer
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
Brenda Wootton
Brenda Wootton
Brenda Wootton was a Cornish poetess and folk singer and was seen as an ambassador for Cornish tradition and culture in all the Celtic nations and as far away as Australia and Canada....
, wrote and recorded the song "James Ruse" which uses as the chorus the last four lines of the tombstone inscription.