Martin (Mayor) Hon James
| Type of person | Individual |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1821 |
| Place of birth | Foundry, Cornwall, England |
| Date of arrival | 1848 |
| Principal occupation | Manufacturer |
| Date of death | 1899 |
Mayor 1861-64, 1868, 1877-78 and 1887
George E.Loyau. "The Gawler Handbook" p52 James Martin "...left Cornwall, of which he is a native, in his 25th year, and arrived in Adelaide July 1st, 1847. He worked in the metropolis for eleven months, when he went to Gawler, and hired a blacksmith's shop from Mr. Henry Calton."
Derek Whitelock "Gawler" p63 "The young millwright [James Martin] who could turn his hand to anything met Henry Calton of the "Old Spot" who arranged to rent a workshop in Murray Street. He thought Calton "a very fine fellow....who owned a great deal of Gawler."
An alderman on Gawler’s first council in 1857, James Martin is regarded as the father of Gawler, and his statue, made of white marble, proudly stands tall in Whitelaw Terrace. Born at Foundry in St. Stithians, Cornwall, England on April 23, 1821, to John and Jane Martin, he had little education when he began work to help his widowed mother raise seven children.
Suffering from Asthma, James migrated to South Australia in 1847 on the “Belle Alliance”, and arrived in Gawler on June 15, 1848 with a dray containing his young wife, some furniture and a few tools, and commenced business in the town. Possessing a natural ability with anything mechanical, James built his business up to such a degree that at one time he employed around 700 men on a property that covered 18 acres. Starting with farm implements, he then produced mining machinery and finally railway locomotives and rolling stock.
James Martin seemed to have a hand in almost every Gawler venture, and beside his eight years as Mayor, he was the Member for Parliament for the Barossa from 1865-68 and a Member of the Legislative Council from 1885 until his death on December 24, 1899. One of the founders of the Institute – he donated some of the land for the building – he laid the foundation stones of the Gawler Primary School (April 12, 1877), and the Town Hall (April 16, 1878).
Before settling in Gawler, James married Christiana Fox on March 28, 1848. They had a son, John, in 1850, but unfortunately Christiana passed away in 1852. James then married Ann Lock 11 months later, but she died later that year. On August 2, 1858, James married Charlotte Vickerstaft Bradley, who survived until 1894.
Gawler’s most famous “father”, James Martin served the town well, and helped establish Gawler after the hard times, when, after only six men were left in the town through the 1850s goldrush, his enterprise gave work to many people to help build a thriving community. Besides the marble statue in Whitelaw Terrace, an oil painting of Mr. Martin, which was presented to the Institute in the 1860s, remains in the Gawler Library.
Please click here to read reference to James Martin on pages 10 and 11 in Gawler's Cemeteries, researched by Anne Richards.
Click to read more information about James Martin on the Town of Gawler website:
Please click here to see photos of James Martin.
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References
Memories of Martin (Mayor) Hon James
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