James Josey : The Father of Redbank Plains (1821-1903)

James Josey : The Father of Redbank Plains

(1821-1903)

James Josey

Image courtesy of Findagrave.com ¹

One of Ipswich’s early pioneers, James Josey was known as the “Father of Redbank Plains”.²

This is by virtue of him being the largest landowner in the district, and his engagement in developing the Redbank Plains district.  His is the classic rags to riches story, having arrived in Australia as a convict from England.

Arrival in Australia

James Josey was born in Aldworth, Berkshire, England on 12 August 1821, the second son of Richard Josey (a sawyer by trade) and Elizabeth Nichol.³  

He arrived at Port Jackson, NSW on 18 November 1840 on the ship “Eden”, after being convicted earlier that year.  The ship’s record showed he was 26 years old when he arrived but according to his birth date he was only 19.  James was convicted of robbing a wagon and sentenced to 15 years of “penal servitude” plus two more years for another crime.  According to the ship’s records James was a protestant labourer, who could read but not write. He was described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, of sallow complexion, with brown hair and eyes, and tattoos on his arms.⁴

About 6 months after his arrival at Port Jackson, James Josey was sent to the District of Moreton Bay where he served 6 years in the Agricultural Department at Limestone (Ipswich).  During this time James received 35 lashes as punishment when he “allowed the Blacks to steal about three or four bushels of corn” while on duty as watchman on 13^th February 1842.⁵

He received his ticket of leave 6 years after arriving in Ipswich, on 12 April 1847, although his sentence was not due to expire until 1855. Receiving his ticket of leave entitled him to take up any occupation he wished.⁶

James Josey, Pioneer Sawyer and Builder

In May 1842 the Governor of NSW, Sir George Gipps, proclaimed the whole district of Limestone, later to be known as Ipswich, open for free settlement.⁷

As a free settlement Ipswich became a very busy place in the 1840s, and this was how James Josey made his fortune.  Anticipating a high demand for residences, James and another sawyer named Crouch took the opportunity to start operations cutting timber in the Pine Mountains.   Theirs was the first timber-getting industry in the Redbank district.  They were later joined by a carpenter named William Vowles (who built the first wooden house “The Red Cow” in Ipswich on the site of the present Caledonian Hotel in Bell Street).⁸

The three men erected many of the early cottages in Ipswich. The houses were generally built of pine slabs, with shingled roof, and wooden doors or shutters. ⁹   Many houses were built especially in the area between Wharf and Nicolas Streets, and between Brisbane Street and the Bremer River frontage, which led James Josey to jokingly say that he “built” Ipswich.  The three men must have been much sought after in the early days when the principal mansions were also built of split/sawn timber.¹⁰

First Marriage

James Josey was 28 when he married Harriet Katherine Harris on 22^nd December 1849.¹¹   As a convict James had to have the permission of the Governor of New South Wales to get married.

James built a cottage on Brisbane Street where he and Harriet resided. His proud boast was that his was the finest residential property in Brisbane Street in the early 1850s. Subsequently he became the owner of another property at Woodend.¹²

Harriet, born 1 May 1833, was 16 when they married.¹³ She was the eldest child of John and Harriet Harris of Woodend, Ipswich.  James and Harriet went on to have seventeen children, thirteen (five sons and eight daughters) of whom survived infancy. 

Harriet Josey

Image courtesy of findagrave.com¹⁵

James and Harriet were married for almost 40 years, until Harriet died at the age of 55 on 15 January 1889, after a short illness.¹⁵

Harriet’s tombstone

Image courtesy of findagrave.com¹⁶

James Josey, Pastoralist

As James became more affluent, he purchased 1000 acres around Opossum Creek, with George Faircloth in 1859.   This was when he started dairy farming and grazing.  He added another 5,700 acres to his holding and became owner of the largest estate in the neighbourhood. In addition, he also owned 106 acres at New Chum on the Six-mile Creek, and 420 acres on Redbank Plains which he called “Paradise Hill”.  This is where he built his homestead Eden Station, and grazed over 400 head of cattle.  By the 1870s he owned approximately 27km2 (2700 hectares) in the district.¹⁷

Although he was reported to have had many occupations, it was his engagement in pastoral pursuits that he is most well known for.  Before starting his own operations, James Josey superintended the Booval Estate under the Ipswich Cotton Company for two and a half years. This was 350 acres of cultivated land comprising cotton, maize and vegetable.  He also secured 500 acres of excellent quality land at Redbank Plains where cotton, sugar, etc were most successfully grown. He was known to let out land to tenants looking for experience, equipping them with a good stock of tools and a team of bullocks.¹⁸

Although bluff in his manner, James Josey was thoroughly respected as one of the pioneers of the district. He was a member of the Purga Divisional Board (which provided local administration and public services) from 1883, and he took a very keen and intelligent interest in its affairs.¹⁹

Eden Station

James Josey was not the first landholder in the Springfield area, but he was the first to clear large tracts of wild forest and build a house.  Eden Station was the name given to the main property on which James and his family resided. He initially worked cattle, sheep and timber at the station.  He started the first timber-getting industry in the Redbank district. The timber along Opossum Creek was considered to be of the best quality with native species such as Hoop Pine, Red Cedar, Black Bean and Bumpy Ash being logged.²⁰ The timber used in the flooring and ceiling of the premises of Cribb & Foote was said to have come from his estate.²¹

Paradise Hill, where he built his homestead, was a massive landholding of 13 lots parcelled together which he and Harriet acquired and operated.  The property consisted of 6000 acres, 1000 of which was purchased from the New South Wales government, and the other 5000 was initially leased land.²²

Their beautiful homestead, was the result of a lot of hard work, reducing the wild forest to a state of excellent order. Eden Station was named after the ship Eden on which he travelled to Australia as a convict. It was situated in what is now Springfield, adjoining Redbank Plains, about nineteen km from Ipswich and twenty five km to Brisbane.

Eden Station had a well-arranged garden with a large orchard which included orange trees, grape vines and fig trees (which still exist today).  For many years he was favourably known as a successful dairy farmer, also breeding horses, cattle and sheep.  He later dabbled in sugar and cotton.  The operation was considered so successful that the Governor took visitors to Eden Station to show how convicts could succeed in the new colony.²³

Eden Station had a two-storey sandstone house (60ft by 30ft) with 26 rooms and with verandahs and balconies all round.  The site of the house commanded a picturesque view of the surrounding country as far as the watershed which separated the Waters of Oxley and O’Possum Creek, and then on to Mount Flinders.  “The natural setting of the place was described as magnificent and that which crowns the whole was a lagoon in the front of the building from the edge of which the land rose gently to the summit of the mountain.”²⁴

In 1875 James Josey’s daughters won local and state prizes for cheese making.²⁵ Subsequently, his grandchildren worked as beekeepers, cheesemakers, hay sellers and horse breeders.

When James died in 1903 the house passed to his trustee, Thomas Cribb.  Saw-miller C.A. Kruger & Sons bought the land from Moreton Shire Council in 1937.  After milling all the good timber, the Kruger sawmill sold it in 1953 and Associated Forest Holding Pty Ltd had owned it by 1956.²⁶

Timber of the Springfield area was important, but the land was also very rich in iron-stone and coal and many companies had prospected the area before the land was finally purchased by the Springfield Land Corporation in 1991.²⁷

Second marriage

After the death of Harriet, James Josey married again.  His second wife was Margaret Jones.

Margaret Jones was a remarkable woman with experiences unusual for a woman born at that time.  Born in March 1842 in north Wales, Margaret started out at 14 as a nurse girl to a Welsh reverend and travelled with the family to Paris, then Jerusalem.  She subsequently became a missionary herself, travelling and lecturing in Morocco where she became familiar with French and Arabic.  She also travelled to America before returning to Wales, published a book, and moved to Ipswich in 1889.  She was appointed town missionary for the Congregational Church in Ipswich, and married James Josey on 16 Jan 1890.   They had been married for 12 years when Margaret died in 1902, aged 60.²⁸

Margaret Jones Josey (circa 1875).

Image courtesy of ylolfa.wordpress.com²⁹

Margaret Josey’s tombstone In the Ipswich Cemetery

Image courtesy of findagrave.com³⁰

Death

Just a year later James Josey died on February 21, 1903 at his residence at Possum Creek, aged 81.³¹ It is understood that he left behind around eighty descendants.³²

James was buried in the Ipswich Cemetery. The funeral was held at St Paul’s Anglican Church, attended by many prominent businessmen and others who honoured one of the oldest settlers in the district. The Church of England rector from St Paul’s read the burial service.  James Josey was widely respected as having made a valuable contribution to the city and the surrounding areas of Ipswich.³³

Headstone of James Josey

Image courtesy of Ancestry.com³⁴

His Legacy

With Eden Station located within modern-day Springfield, James Josey and his family have been honoured as pioneers of the region.  Their names are commemorated in various developments throughout Springfield, gracing street and park names as well as businesses, forming a lasting legacy:

• James Josey Avenue at Springfield Lakes
• Harriet Court, Springfield Lakes
• Harriets Park, Springfield Lakes
• Eden Crescent, Springfield Lakes
• Eden Station Drive, Springfield
• Edens Park, Springfield Lakes (playground)
• Eden’s Crossing, Redbank Plains (land development)
• Eden Brewhouse (a restaurant in Redbank Plains)

Greater Springfield is Australia’s largest master-planned city, developed by master developer Springfield Land Corporation (now Springfield City Group) in the early 1990s.³⁵

Information taken from :

1. James Josey. Find A Grave – Millions of Cemetery Records. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134811368/james-josey
2. Queensland Times, Thu 31 Oct 1901, p. 11, Glimpses of Early Ipswich.
3. “Josey Family”. Queensland: Yarrow Centre for Local Heritage and Environmental Studies, 2000.
4. “James Josey,” Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 October 2021) – New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842 for James Josey, page 81 of 118
5. ??(Yarrow Centre?  The Book of Trials (1835-1842, page 290-291. Also from ICC website – Six Mile Woogaroo and Goodna Creek
6. ??(Yarrow Center - From “The Book of Trials” (1835-1842) – page 290-291). Also from ICC website – Six Mile Woogaroo and Goodna Creek. 
7. Queensland Times, Thu 31 Oct 1901, p. 11, Mr James Josey, of Redbank Plains. Sixty-One Years in Australia.
8. Queensland Times, Thu 31 Oct 1901, p. 11, Mr James Josey, of Redbank Plains. Sixty One Years in Australia
9. Queensland Times, Mon 11 May 1925, p. 6, Early Ipswich.
10. Queensland Times, Thu 31 Oct 1901, p. 11, Mr James Josey, of Redbank Plains. Sixty-One Years in Australia
11. "Harriet Katherine Harris" Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.au/discoveryui-content/view/949050:60528 : accessed 20 October 2021) - Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950.
12. Queensland Times, Thu 31 Oct 1901, p. 11, Mr James Josey, of Redbank Plains.  Sixty-One Years in Australia.
13. “Harriet Katherine Harris” Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.au/discoveryui-content/view/949050:60528 : accessed 20 October 2021) – Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950.
14. “Josey Family”. Queensland: Yarrow Centre for Local Heritage and Environmental Studies, 2000?
15. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, 2005, accessed 20 October 2021, (https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/238946802/)
16. Find a grave, accessed 14 October 2021, (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134813730/harriet-catherine-josey)
17. https://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/about_council/initiatives/environment/waterways/Six-Mile-Woogaroo-and-Goodna-Creek
18. Queensland Times, Tue 4 April 1876, p. 3, A Home in the Bush
19. The Brisbane Courier, Tue 24 Feb 1903, p. 4. Personal.
20. https://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/about_council/initiatives/environment/waterways/Six-Mile-Woogaroo-and-Goodna-Creek
21. The Brisbane Courier, Tue 24 Feb 1903, p. 4. Personal.
22. Queensland Times, Tue 4 Apr 1876, p. 3, A Home in the Bush.
23. https://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/about_council/initiatives/environment/waterways/Six-Mile-Woogaroo-and-Goodna-Creek
24. Queensland Times, Tue 4 April 1876, p. 3, A Home in the Bush.
25. The Queenslander, Sat 1 May 1875, p.5. A Queensland Homestead
26. Luke Keogh – “Returning to Eden”/ Journal : Crossroads: an interdisciplinary journal for the study of history, philosophy, religion, and classics. Vol 111, Issue 1, 2008 (ISSN: 1833-878X)
27. Luke Keogh – “Returning to Eden”/ Journal : Crossroads: an interdisciplinary journal for the study of history, philosophy, religion, and classics. Vol 111, Issue 1, 2008 (ISSN: 1833-878X)
28. Queensland Times, Tue 21 Oct 1902, p. 6. Death of Mrs Josey
29. https://ylolfa.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/margaret-jones-the-welsh-lady-from-canaan/
30. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185505136/margaret-josey
31. James Josey.  Find A Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134811368/james-josey
32. Queensland Times, Sat 28 Feb 1903, p. 500. Social Gossip.
33. James Josey - Stories behind the tombstones. Bremer Echoes, Vol 34, No. 3, Nov 2016. Ipswich Genealogical Society.
34. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134811368/james-josey
35. http://www.greaterspringfield.com.au/greater-springfield-named-australias-best-master-planned-development/

Additional Sources :

1. https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/research-collections/family-history/convict-queenslanders/james-josey-convict-queenslander
2. Josey Family Vol. 1/ Yarrow Centre for Local Heritage and Environmental Studies, Josey Family Vol. 2 (LH 929.2 JOS)
3. Josey Family Vol. 2/Yarrow Centre for Local Heritage and Environmental Studies, The children of James and Harriet Josey (LH 929.2 JOS)
4. The Children of James and Harriet Josey/ Yarrow Centre for Local Heritage and Environmental Studies
5. The Welsh lady from Canaan/ by Eirian Jones (BIOS 920.72 JONE)
6. Bremer Echoes July 2012, vol. 3 no. 2 p4
7. Greatest Springfield: Australia’s Newest City/ by King, Madonna and Fagan, David. University of Queensland Press, 2018.