James Grey Moseley CMG (April 1848 - 10 July 1937) was an Australian politician who represented the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

seat of

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

from 1910 to 1933. He was part of the Liberal Union,

Liberal Federation The Liberal Federation was a South Australian political party from 16 October 1923 to 1932. It came into existence as a merger between the rival Liberal Union and National Party, to oppose Labor. Encouraged by the overwhelming success of the ...

and

Liberal and Country League The South Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), and often shortened to SA Liberals, is the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. It was formed as the Lib ...

History

Moseley was born in

Gawler Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the st ...

, a son of Alice Moseley, née Maynard (c. 1819 – 25 April 1895) and Henry Jackson Moseley (c. 1819 – 6 July 1894), who emigrated with two brothers aboard ''Tam O'Shanter'' which arrived in 1836 as part of the

First Fleet of South Australia In 1836, at least nine ships carried the first European settlers from England to the south coast of Australia for the establishment of the City of Adelaide and the province of South Australia. Although not all of the ships sailed together, the ...

, and is remembered for building the

Pier Hotel, Glenelg The Pier Hotel was a public inn in Glenelg in the British colony, then Australian state, of South Australia. History The foundation stone for "Moseley's Pier Hotel", as it was originally named, was laid by the Mayor, R. B. Colley, on 7 June ...

. He was educated at J(ames) Mordey Mitchell's Glenelg Educational Institution, and on leaving was drawn to pastoral development, and around 1867, with his brother Thomas (1845–1896) left home with a combined capital of £800, which they put into a property, which might have been Coondambo Station, some north-west of Port Augusta. They were defeated by drought and lost everything, and returned to Adelaide. Minutes of Evidence in the report of the 1927 Royal Commission into the Pastoral Industry, taken Monday June 14, 1926 (Parliament House, Adelaide) state that James Moseley said that he and his brother had an interest in the establishment of the opening of Wilcherry, north of Kimba, South Australia, and that we spent £800 on it, but prices were so low that we could not carry on, and we went to work again. The next venture was Coondambo.''' For a time he managed Yadlamalka and Black Point stations, and in 1880, having raised sufficient capital, returned to Coondambo, and went into partnership with the owner Robert Bruce (c. 1835 – 4 November 1908). They were the first in northern South Australia to employ wire netting to keep out wild dogs and the rabbit pest, which they exterminated by fencing off the watercourses and waiting for a

heatwave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

. He was also the first to sink a well in the north-west country. They sold Coondambo by auction at

White's Rooms White's Rooms, later known as Adelaide Assembly Room, was a privately owned function centre which opened in 1856 on King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia. It became Garner's Theatre in 1880, then passed through several hands, being know ...

in 1879, realizing a substantial profit, then Moseley took up Yadlamalka Station, of , which he purchased in 1888. Shortly after 1900 Moseley took over the neglected Yardea, Paney, Pondana, Yarloo and Carcuppa stations in the Gawler Ranges, turning them from degraded land overrun with rabbits into a profitable sheep run. He ringed the properties with of wire netting fencing, in conjunction with Andrew Tennant's adjacent Thurlga Station, which he later purchased. Within twenty years had disposed of them at a substantial profit. He was also the first pastoralist to pipe water into the sheep runs. In 1910 he left the land and was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Flinders, which encompassed

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

, which he knew well, and was regularly returned until he retired 22 years later. He was known as a stalwart fighter for the "man on the land", particularly those in the outback. He was known as the father of the Tod River scheme for his promotion of that reservoir. His remains were interred at the Mitcham General Cemetery.

Family

Moseley married twice and had a son James Moseley of Keith and four daughters. They had a home at Prescott Terrace, Rose Park.

Recognition

*His name is commemorated in the geographical areas of Moseley Knob; Lake Moseley, Mount Moseley and the Hundred of Moseley; and in Moseley Square, Glenelg. *He received the C.M.G. in the New Year Honors list of 1937.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moseley, James 1848 births 1937 deaths Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Liberal and Country League politicians Australian pastoralists Companions_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George