Pearson James Ford
| Type of person | Individual |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 Dec 1858 |
| Place of birth | Eccles, (near) Manchester, England. |
| Date of arrival | 1881 |
| Date of death | 30 May 1913 |
| Place of death | North Adelaide Private Hospital |
James Ford Pearson, born at Eccles, near Manchester, England, December 1, 1858.
Entered Beyer Peacock’s locomotive shops, Manchester, in 1873, and remained for six years, three of which were spent in the drawing office. After three years in London gaining experience, he came to South Australia in November 1881. In the same month entered the drawing office at the Government Locomotive Shops, Adelaide.
After twelve months he went to the Phoenix Foundry, Ballarat, and in July 1883 was-in-charge-of a bridge yard in Sydney. A few months later he was at Mort’s Dock, Sydney, but in 1885 was an engineer for the New South Wales and Queensland Smelting Company in Sydney, and for the Intercolonial Smelting Co. in Melbourne.
He went to W.A. in November 1886, to erect smelters at Geraldton. Returned to Melbourne in 1888, and was consulting engineer in that city until the following year, when he was appointed engineer for the British Broken Hill Proprietary Co., and designed and erected their smelters at Port Pirie; was also Inspecting Engineer for the Broken Hill Proprietary Co. during the construction of their first refinery at the same place.
Went to Broken Hill early in 1890 as engineer for the Broken Hill North Co. and at the same time was engineer for the Pioneer Mine at Thackaringa. Subsequently took over as well the work for the British Broken Hill Proprietary Co. at the Barrier and was constructing engineer for the Broken Hill Proprietary Company. In 1895 came to Gawler as works manager for James Martin & Co. Ltd. Left here in 1905 to fill a similar position for Walker Brothers, Limited, Maryborough, Queensland, where he remained until the beginning of the present year, when he was appointed general manager of Messrs James Martin & Co.
Was a member of the Council of the Gawler School of Mines for several years before his departure to Queensland, and was reappointed on his return. Mr J Ford Pearson left Gawler for Adelaide in 1909 and resided at Malvern. He died at a Private Hospital in North Adelaide on 30 May 1913. A widow, Grace Alice Pearson nee Murray, 2 daughters and 2 sons were left to mourn his passing.
Researched by Margaret Howse.
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Related Articles
References
- 1. Coombe Ephraim Henry & Gawler Institute 'History of Gawler 1837-1908' Gawler Institute Gawler
- 2. Bunyip 'Local and General Topics.' (6 June 1913) p. 2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article97561653
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