Jones (Mayor) Thomas Oliver
| Type of person | Individual |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1830 |
| Place of birth | Cornwall England |
| Date of arrival | 1853 |
| Principal occupation | Shoemaker |
| Date of death | 1909 |
| Place of death | Toronto, Canada |
Thomas Oliver Jones was first elected as Gawler Councillor for North Ward in 1857, and again in 1860 to 1863. He was elected Gawler Mayor in 1867, and elected Mayor again in 1871 and 1872.
Born in Cornwall, England, to James and Jane Jones, on September 24, 1830, Thomas Oliver Jones came to Australia on the ship “Samuel Boddington” in January 1849, and after an interesting career in the antipodes, returned to England late in life, where he died on September 17, 1909. He is a descendant of the Huguenots from his mother's side, and as a child, his earliest memory was of the Coronation of Queen Victoria, in 1838.
Thomas’ first visit to Gawler was in June, 1849, when passing through on his way to Mount Rufus to search for copper. The town must have made an impression on him, as after settling firstly at Pine Forrest (now Enfield), and spending some time at Castlemaine in Victoria (as a storekeeper), he returned to Gawler in 1853 and purchased some land. The following year Mr. Jones commenced business in the town as a boot and shoemaker, introducing the first machinery for the manufacturing of foot wear outside of Adelaide in the State.
Thomas married Sarah Jane Parker in July 1854. Together they had four children: Thomas Oliver, James Parker, Caroline and Annie Adelaide, Thomas Oliver died at age five, and then in 1878, Sarah died and was buried in Gawler. Thomas remarried an English woman in 1882 and soon after retired from his Gawler shoemaking business. An original councillor in 1857, Mr. Jones became Mayor in 1867, and in that role had the honour of receiving H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. He also was a JP, and for many years was involved with many Gawler activities.
A superintendent at St. George’s Sunday School for 27 years, Thomas was also a synodsman for over 20 years and a church warden for an extended period. He was a Vice-President and depositary for the Gawler branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and a vice president of the Institute. A chairman of several of the town’s friendly societies, he was also Sergeant-Major of the Gawler company of volunteers and chairman of a mining company. Mr. Jones was an agent and correspondent for several of the city’s daily papers, and before finally settling in England, travelled extensively.
Please <click here> to read Thomas Oliver Jones death notice as published in The Bunyip Newspaper Friday 5 November 1909.
Please <click here> to read Thomas Jones' Obituary as published in The Observer (newspaper) Saturday 2 October 1909, page 38.
Please <click here> to view the land title of 24 Lyndoch Road, Gawler East. the house built by Thomas Jones.
We thank Jim Taylor for his contributions.
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Memories of Jones (Mayor) Thomas Oliver
[[Rememberer::Jim Taylor ]] remembers: My grandfather Joseph Wood Creyghton bought the house in 1931 as can be seen on the CT.
The GOVT RD on the diagram is Lyndoch road and the eastern edge of PT 6 is now Hutchinson Road.
Land was acquired from the property in order to create Hutchison Road.
Where Hutchinson road is now was originally a single vehicle width track giving access to the side/rear of the grandfather's property and it continued on about twenty yards to give access to the old Clonlea home where Mr. and Mrs. Daniels lived.
Re the "olive hill" reference - circa 1950 there were still olive trees from about the crest of Lyndoch road to about Bella St.
I don't know if it was Thomas Oliver Jones who built the house but references to Jones and Olive Hill can be found in TROVE back to 1871.
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