James Bath (c. 1830 – 20 May 1901) was head of a school attached to

Christ Church, North Adelaide Christ Church, North Adelaide is an Anglican church in North Adelaide, South Australia. History Acre 745 was the original name of the plot between Jeffcott Street and 36-40 Palmer Place, , a suburb immediately north of Adelaide city centre. The ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, before founding his own school. He later joined the colonial public service, eventually serving as secretary to a succession of Ministers for Education.

History

Bath was born in England, and was educated at a school near

Malmesbury, Wiltshire Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

, at which school he served for a few years as assistant master. Influenced by George Blakiston Wilkinson's book ''South Australia: its advantages and resources'' and J. C. Byrne's ''Twelve Years Wandering in the British Colonies'', he emigrated to South Australia aboard the ''Asia'', arriving at Port Adelaide in September 1851. He had only been in the colony a month when he was appointed headmaster of the (Anglican) Christ Church school in

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

. Shortly after, the great

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia, approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony and an influx of population growth and financial capi ...

began, leaving South Australia with a shortage of adult male workers and a collapse of the local economy, and Bath was left to cope with 100 students with little assistance.

James Shakespeare James Shakespeare (c. 1840 – 4 October 1912) was an organist in the early days of the colony of South Australia. History Shakespeare was born in Birmingham, England, the oldest child and elder son of Joseph Shakespeare, an engineer who claimed d ...

was one ex-student who assisted for a year or two. After ten years Bath founded his own school, the "North Adelaide Classical and Mercantile Academy", in nearby Ward Street. The school ran until 1867, when he successfully applied for a position as Secretary to the Central Board of Education, which in 1877 was replaced with the Council of Education, Bath again serving as Secretary. In 1883 he was appointed Secretary to the Minister of Education, and served in that capacity under fourteen Ministers, one of whom, William Copley, was once one of his students.

Family

James Bath married Mary Hardy (d. 29 March 1887) in England. Their children included: *Emily Bath (1852–1917) married Edmund Chauntrell Hughes in 1883 *Alice Isabella Bath (b. 1854) *Hubert Bath (b. 1856) *Louisa Mary Bath (1858–1882) *Matilda Evelyn/Evelyn Matilda Bath (1860–1921) *Elsie Mabel Bath (b. 1867) married Harold Whitfield Williams in 1888 *Helena Ethel Bath (1869 – 7 June 1909) married James Gordon Stewart (c. 1870 – 19 June 1899) in 1896. She married again, to Andrew Adams on 28 April 1909 and died a month later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bath, James 1830s births 1901 deaths Australian headmasters British emigrants to Australia Heads of schools in South Australia