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James Ruse (9 August17595 September 1837) was a Cornish farmer who, at age 23, was convicted of
burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
and was sentenced to seven years' transportation. He arrived at
Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...
,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , e ...
, on the
First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...
with 18 months of his sentence remaining. Ruse applied to Colony Governor
Arthur Phillip Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 until ...
for a land grant, stating that he had been bred for farming. Governor Phillip, desperate to make the colony self-sufficient, allocated Ruse an allotment at Rose Hill (now Rosehill, near
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta Rive ...
), where he proved himself industrious and showed that it was possible for a family to survive in New South Wales through farming. Ruse received a land grant, from which he grew and sold 600 bushels of corn . Ruse was the recipient of the first land grant in New South Wales. Ruse would later exchange the Rose Hill grant for more fertile land on the
Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney ...
. later in his life, after almost losing his farm and thus going bankrupt because of flooding, Ruse found work as a seaman, and later, a farm overseer.


Early life

James Ruse was born at
Lawhitton Lawhitton ( kw, Nansgwydhenn) is a village in the civil parish of Lawhitton Rural, in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated two miles (3 km) southwest of Launceston and half-a-mile west of Cornwall's border with D ...
, Cornwall, England on 9 August 1759. In 1782, he was tried at the Bodmin
Assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
and sentenced to death for "seriously breaking and entering the dwelling house of Thomas Olive and stealing thereout 2 silver watches and other goods". He was reprieved and sentenced to
transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, a ...
for seven years. He was sent on the '' Scarborough'', one of the
First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...
, and arrived in Australia on 22 January 1788.


Pioneering farmer

In 1789, Ruse produced the first successful corn harvest in New South Wales. That harvest failed to yield sufficient corn to make flour for the colony, but Ruse produced enough seeds for the next year's crop, which was successful. Such was the colony's need for a food supply that Governor Phillip rewarded Ruse for his success with the first land grant made in New South Wales, along with a gift of pigs and chickens. In February 1791, Ruse declared to the authorities that he was self-sufficient, and two months later, in March, he was granted a further 30 acres. Ruse expected to reap about eight
bushel A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an imperial and US customary unit of volume based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel is equal to 2 kennings (obsolete), 4 pecks, or 8 dry gallons, and was used mostly for agricul ...
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. John Harris of the
New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying t ...
for 40 pounds. The property is now the
Experiment Farm Cottage Experiment Farm Cottage is a heritage-listed former farm and residence and now house museum at 9 Ruse Street, Harris Park, City of Parramatta, Sydney, Australia. It is one of Australia's oldest standing residences, being built in c.1834. It is ...
Museum of the
National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's In ...
. In 1794, Ruse moved further out, to the junction of the Hawkesbury River with South Creek, where he operated a less successful farm. Later, his source of income was wiped out by flooding, which was always a risk involved with farming in the Hawkesbury. Ruse seems to have been away from his family for some time and it has been assumed that he went to sea at the same time that he had his son James the younger indentured to Kable and Underwood. This left his wife, Elizabeth to take care of the family on her own. During this period, she had two children with convict James Kiss. These children were Ann Ruse Kiss (b. 1801) and William James Ruse Kiss (1806−1853). James Ruse was heavily in debt and it is suggested that the hard work of his wife Elizabeth saved him from bankruptcy. Elizabeth is shown in the records as supplying crops to the stores in her own right. From 1828, James was employed as an overseer of Denham Court. In 1836, James Ruse and James Kiss were received into the Catholic church together. Ruse died at Campbelltown on 5 September 1837 and is buried with wife Elizabeth and daughter Mary. Ruse's gravestone, parts of which he carved himself, reads:
"Gloria in Axcelsis SACRED TO THE MEMEREY OF JAMES RUSE WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE SEPT. 5TH IN THE YEAR OF HOURE LORD 1837 NATEF OF CORNWELL AND ARIVED IN THIS COLENEY BY THE FIRST FLEET AGED 78 MY MOTHER REREAD ME TENDERELY WITH ME SHE TOCK MUCH PAINES AND WHEN I ARIVED IN THIS COELNEY I SOWD THE FORST GRAIN AND NOW WITH MY HEVENLY FATHER I HOPE FOR EVER TO REMAIN"


Family life

James Ruse married Susannah Norcott in Cornwall, England in 1779. They had one daughter, Elizabeth (1779−1779) and one son, Richard (1780−1842). After being transported for his crime and creating a new life in New South Wales, Ruse married fellow convict Elizabeth Parry (1769 – 27 May 1836) on 5 September 1790. They had five children together – Rebecah (1791−1792), James (1793−1866), Elizabeth (1794−1875), Susannah (1796 – 1872), and Mary (1798−1871). Although the family history of James Ruse is well-documented, historical records never identified the parents of Ann Ruse Kiss (b. 1801) and William James Ruse Kiss (1806−1853), who were believed to have been adopted by the Ruse family. In 2019, genetic testing of their descendants indicated that they were in fact the children of Elizabeth Ruse and James Kiss. It is unknown whether James Ruse was aware of Kiss' involvement with Elizabeth.


Legacy

The memory of James Ruse is perpetuated in the naming of key locations in Sydney, including
James Ruse Agricultural High School , motto_translation = Deeds not words , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational academically selective and specialist secondary day school , educational_authority = NSW Departm ...
in Carlingford;
James Ruse Drive The James Ruse Drive is a urban freeway (North of Hassall Street/River Road West) and highway (south of Hassall Street) located to the east and north of Parramatta, in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road's southeastern term ...
, running from Granville to Northmead, near Parramatta; and Ruse, a suburb in southwest Sydney. A replica of his tombstone stands in the front garden of Barrengarry House, the administration block at James Ruse Agricultural High School. The original headstone, carved by Ruse himself, was moved by his descendants to a secure location after vandals damaged some headstones in the Old St Johns cemetery at Campbelltown. The headstone is now in the care of the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society at Glenalvon House in Lithgow Street, Campbelltown.Grist Mills Vol. 15 No. 3 CAHS Journal 2002 In 1980, the noted Cornish folk singer
Brenda Wootton Brenda Wootton (née Ellery) (10 February 1928 – 11 March 1994) was a British folk singer and poet and was seen as an ambassador for Cornish tradition and culture in all the Celtic nations and as far as Australia and Canada. Early lif ...
wrote and recorded the song "James Ruse" which uses as a chorus the last four lines of the headstone's inscription.


See also

*
List of convicts transported to Australia Penal transportation to Australia began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and ended in 1868. Overall, approximately 165,000 convicts were transported to Australia. Convicts A * Esther Abrahams (c. 1767–1846), English wife of Geo ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruse, James 1759 births 1837 deaths People from Launceston, Cornwall Convicts transported to Australia on the First Fleet Australian farmers Farmers from Cornwall Australian people of Cornish descent British emigrants to Australia