Lot 16, Section 1, Abermain, NSW, Australia
299 Main Road, Abermain, NSW, Australia
Major source: NSW Land Titles Office, Volume 3620, Folio 175
On 6 June 1911, the date of the Crown Grant, Henry DONKIN, night watchman and colliery ranger, of Abermain, purchased the property at a public auction, for 23 pounds 10 shillings. He held another property, Lot 5, in the same section.
On 14 December 1912, DONKIN sold the property to Samuel Turner LAMB, miner, of Kurri Kurri [Instrument T694533].
On 12 February 1919, LAMB sold the property to David HUNTER (ca 1875-1948), miner and his wife Alexzina HUNTER nee BELL (1875-1963), of Abermain, as joint tenants [Instrument A441930]. A year later on 14 February 1920, their son, James Bell HUNTER (1899-1960), grocer and newsagent, married Daisy May JAMES (1897-1962), daughter of David William JAMES (1873-1950) and Margaret Ann JAMES nee WILLEY (1873-1951).
On 8 July 1924, the HUNTERs sold the property to William Arthur JAMES (1871-1948), colliery deputy, of Abermain [Instrument B104024]. He was brother of Charles Edmund JAMES (1868-1944) and David William JAMES (1873-1950). William Arthur JAMES, his wife Agnes JAMES nee DAVIES (1878-1956), and their six children had arrived in Abermain in November 1922 from South Wales. The children were:
- John Gwilym JAMES (1902-1935)
- Blodwen JAMES (1904-1987) – later Mrs GREENWOOD
- Agnes Madeline JAMES (1907-1990)
- William Charles Edward JAMES (1913-1983)
- Daisy Margaret Louvain JAMES (1915-2003) – later Mrs HOLLINGWORTH
- Ivy Edith Cavell JAMES (1915-1999) – later Mrs ELLIOTT (twin of Daisy)
On 22 July 1924, William Arthur JAMES took out a mortgage with William RITTLE of West Maitland, commercial traveller [Instrument B121377]. It seems that the JAMES family never settled this mortgage, and that the mortgage eventually passed to a Miss Irene POULTON (1888-1977) of Maroubra, formerly of West Maitland (although it is not clear how it was transferred from RITTLE to POULTON).
About 1925, there are a few photographs of James family members taken at the house.
3808: sisters Blodwen JAMES and Agnes Madeline JAMES, looking sad, sitting on the front steps, with a black umbrella, their brother William Charles Edward JAMES peeking over the top of the umbrella.
3809: sitting on the front steps, back row, left to right, Agnes Madeline JAMES, Charles Edmund JAMES jr, Daisy Evilyn JAMES, front row, Daisy Margaret Louvain JAMES, William Charles Edward JAMES, Ivy Edith Cavell JAMES.
3810: Sitting on cane chairs on the front veranda, Agnes JAMES nee DAVIES, William Arthur JAMES (smoking his pipe and reading a book).
3814: At the side entrance, left to right, William Charles Edward JAMES, Ivy Edith Cavell JAMES, Charles Alfred JAMES, Charles Edmund JAMES jr, Daisy Margaret Louvain JAMES.
On 23 June 1926, at St Paul’s Church of England, Kurri Kurri, Agnes Madeline JAMES (1907-1990) married her cousin Charles Alfred JAMES (1904-1971) and they moved into their new home at 60 Melbourne Street, Abermain.
On 25 May 1927, at the Registry Office, Kurri Kurri, John Gwilym JAMES (1902-1935) married his cousin Daisy Evilyn JAMES (1907-1935) and they moved into their new home at 2 Goulburn Street, Abermain.
For the years 1928 to 1934, the Water Board rates books describe the property at 299 Main Road as follows:
W A James, wood house, lot 16 section 1, Abermain, unimproved capital value 40 pounds, assessed annual value 32 pounds. [Hunter District Water Board Charges and Payments, Newcastle Public Library Local History Archives].
In 1930, the electoral roll shows, with the address “Main Road, Abermain”:
JAMES, William Arthur, colliery deputy JAMES, Agnes, home duties JAMES, Blodwen, home duties [Commonwealth Division Hunter State Division Cessnock SD Weston p36-7].
The remaining members of the family (Bill 17 years, Daisy and Ivy both 15 years) were under the voting age of 21 years.
Photograph 034 was taken about this time, and shows, left to right, Daisy, Ivy, William, Agnes, Bill and Blodwen, standing in the back yard.
On 31 Dec 1930, at the Methodist Church, Weston, Blodwen JAMES (1904-1987) married John GREENWOOD (1895-1974) and they resided in Weston.
Photograph 4, taken about 1932, at the front steps of the house, shows William Arthur JAMES (right) with his granddaughter Gwendoline JAMES (later WILLIAMS), and an unknown man. The family dog, a Jack Russell terrier, is also in the photograph.
Photograph 3958, taken at the same time, shows William Arthur JAMES standing on the front steps, holding a baby, probably his granddaughter Agnes Madaleine JAMES (“Marlie”).
Photograph 47, taken about this time too, shows Charles Alfred James, Blodwen Greenwood nee James and John Greenwood.
Photograph 46, taken at the same time, shows sisters Blodwen and Madeline. In both photographs, Mount Tomalpin (“Tumblebee”) and the colliery can be seen in the background.
Early in 1934, Charlie and Madeline JAMES moved to Nundah near Singleton, to live on the site of the family’s colliery venture. They leased their house at 60 Melbourne Street to the Department of Education, and the Abermain Public School headmaster, Nicholas CORISH, who started on 5 December 1934, rented the house.
On 13 June 1935, at West Maitland, Daisy Margaret Louvain JAMES (1915-2003) married Harold James HOLLINGWORTH (1914-1968) and they made their home at Undercliffe in Sydney.
In September 1935, the family’s colliery venture at Nundah failed, and Charlie and Madeline and family returned to Abermain. However, with their house at 60 Melbourne Street still occupied by the school headmaster, under lease to the Department of Education, they had to find other accommodation. They first lived at 155 Main Road (formerly the property of William P JAMES 1843-1924, and recently available due to the death of his widow, Margaret JAMES formerly FENWICK nee ANDERSON on 1 July 1934, and probably now owned by David William JAMES 1873-1951).
In October 1935, the tragedy of the unsolved murder of Daisy Evilyn JAMES and the suicide of John Gwilym JAMES rocked the family. The death certificate of John Gwilym JAMES states that he died of the “effects of a bullet wound in his head wilfully inflicted by himself at his father’s residence in Main Road, Abermain”.
In 1936, the electoral roll shows, with the address “Main Road, Abermain”:
JAMES, William Arthur, colliery deputy JAMES, Agnes, home duties JAMES, Ivy Edith Cavell, waitress [Commonwealth Division Hunter State Division Cessnock SD Weston p37-8].
By this time, William Charles Edward JAMES had left Abermain and was employed as a teacher at Guyra.
After the birth of their son John Edmund JAMES in September 1936 at 155 Main Road, Charlie and Madeline, now with six children under 10 years, needed a bigger home. William and Agnes’s home at 299 Main Road was an ideal size, and now too big for William and Agnes. It seems that a deal was struck, and William and Agnes moved out to make way for Charlie and Madeline and family. William and Agnes didn’t move far. Two doors away, the house at 295 Main Road (lot 14), was owned by William’s nephew, John Willey JAMES (1895-1955), obtained through the War Service Homes Commission in 1928. But John Willey and his wife were keen to move to Hamilton, if they hadn’t already moved, and rented their Abermain property to William and Agnes, who, in turn, rented their house to Charlie and Madeline.
On 11 May 1938, at Wickham, Ivy Edith Cavell JAMES married Sydney Mathora ELLIOTT and lived in Newcastle and Sydney.
On 22 May 1939, Charlie’s mother, Ada Rosetta JAMES nee WRIGHT died, and as informant on the death certificate, he stated that his address was Main Road, Abermain.
On 29 November 1939, headmaster Nicholas CORISH’s appointment at Abermain Public School came to an end, and Hugh LLOYD-OWEN replaced him. This released 60 Melbourne Street from use by the Department of Education, and Charlie and Madeline and family were finally able to move back to their own home.
In November 1941, Charlie JAMES gained his Third Class Certificate of Competency, which states that he was of Melbourne Street, so it seems that the James family had vacated the Long House before then.
On 11 Mar 1942, John Willey JAMES discharged his mortgage on 295 Main Road and five weeks later sold the property to John and Jane Eliza BAUS of Sawyer’s Gully. William and Agnes then moved to Avoca Street, Randwick. William died at Lidcombe in 1948 and by July 1953, Agnes had moved back to Abermain, to live with Charlie and Madeline at 60 Melbourne Street.
Sometime between 1939 and 1953, probably soon after Charlie and Madeline moved back to Melbourne Street, the large family of Ronald Hector McDONALD moved into the Long House, renting from William and Agnes (and from just Agnes after William’s death in 1948). For some unknown reason, it seems that Agnes was unable to service the mortgage debt, in spite of receiving the rents. Apparently, she fell behind in the mortgage repayments, and the mortgagee, Miss Irene POULTON acted to protect her investment by exercising her right to sell the property. The sale was dated 22 December 1953 when the property was transferred to Ronald Hector McDONALD [Instrument F787569]. Miss POULTON immediately acted as mortgagee again, this time to McDONALD [Instrument F787570].
Agnes JAMES nee DAVIES moved to Blacktown to live with another daughter and died in September 1956.
On 5 October 1956, Ronald Hector McDONALD discharged his mortgage [Instrument G585966]. His wife Nellie died 18 June 1969, and he died on 16 January 1971.
On 26 February 1973, the property was temporarily transferred to the Public Trustee during the administration of Ronald’s estate [Instrument N109166] and then transferred to Ronald’s son, Noel McDONALD, labourer of Abermain [Instrument N109167]. Noel is the current owner and occupier of the Long House.
(c) 2010, Peter J Williams, Grad Dip Local & Applied History
