Rosewood History

James BAMBURY and Eliza FETCH

Name: James BAMBURY
Occupation: Labourer (1851); Farmer
Birth: 16th November 1834, Norton-under-Hamdon, Somerset, England
Baptised: 25th December 1834, Norton-under-Hamdon, Somerset, England
Residence: 1841 Stock Under Hamdon, Somerset
Residence: 1851 Norton Sub Hamdon with his maternal grandparents.
Immigration: 30th July 1855, the Cambodia arrived Moreton Bay, New South Wales from Plymouth 21st  April.
Death: 6th October 1877, Rosewood, Queensland aged 42 years.
Burial: 7th October 1877, Ipswich General Cemetery
Religion: Methodist Uniting Church B, Grave number 1617
Father: William BAMBURY (Stone Mason)
Mother: Joan SALISBURY (Glover)
Marriage: 25th June 1867, Queensland

Spouse: Eliza JONES née FETCH
Birth: 23rd February 1840, Brigstock, Northamptonshire, England
Immigration: 15th July 1863, the Rockliff to Moreton Bay from Plymouth 11th April
Land Purchase: 14th June 1871, Lot 446 76 acres Parish of Walloon
Death: 1st March 1879, Ipswich, Queensland aged 39 years.
Buried: 2nd March 1879, Ipswich General Cemetery
Religion:  Methodist Uniting Church B, Grave number 1617
Father: Thomas FETCH
Mother: Martha HAYES

1st Spouse: George JONES
Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1861)
Birth: 7th March 1836, Brigstock, Northamptonshire, England
Residence: 1861 Little Brigstock, Northamptonshire
Immigration: 15th July 1863, the Rockliff arrived Moreton Bay, Queensland from Plymouth 11th April
Death: 27th May 1866, Queensland
Buried: Old Free Ground Ipswich General Cemetery
Father: Samuel JONES
Mother: Elizabeth FETCH
Marriage: 29th November 1860, the Parish Church, Brigstock, Northamptonshire, England

Children: 2
Samuel JONES (1862-?)
Martha JONES (1864-1879)

The Cambodia bought James Bambury to Moreton Bay, New South Wales in 1855. Altogether there were 326 Government immigrants on board. The Surgeon Superintendent of the ship was Dr. Phillip Beale, who five years prior, saved the lives of the passengers and crew of the Jenny Lind when she was wrecked on Kenn’s Reef. Mr. Beale contrived a way, with the aid of an old cistern and some lead piping, to distil fresh water from the sea, thus supplying everyone involved until a boat was built, on which they were able to get to Moreton Bay.

The immigrants of the Cambodia were all healthy, and were landed by the new river steamer Bremer on the morning of the 4th August. James was recorded as a Labourer, his religion was Church of England and he could read but not write.

Eliza and her first husband George Jones and their infant son Samuel came in 1863. Two infants died on the voyage of the Rockcliff. Samuel may have been one of them. However, I haven’t been able to find a death registration to verify that, or any other records identifying Samuel to date, so his fate remains a mystery. 

George and Eliza lived in Ipswich near his older brother William Jones, who had arrived in 1851, and was a dairy farmer at the old Racecourse estate (Raceview). 

George and Eliza had a daughter Martha in 1864. They lived in Ipswich for almost three years before George died in 1866. A year later Eliza married James Bambury.

On the 25th June, at the residence of the bridegroom, Racecourse, Ipswich, by the Rev. W. Hill, James Bambery, of Somerset, bachelor, to Eliza Jones, widow, of Northamptonshire. 

In February 1868, at the Police Court in Ipswich, James Bambury and another man pleaded guilty to entering the enclosed lands of James Ivory without permission, but stated that they didn’t know they were offending. Mr. Batho, speaking on behalf of Mr Ivory, said he didn’t want to to press for a penalty; he really just wanted to use the case as an example to others. Mr. Ivory was fed up with his stock being frequently disturbed, and on one occasion had five valuable rams killed by dogs belonging to the persons who were trespassing. The two accused men were let off on payment of 14s. costs each.

In 1871 Eliza Bambury bought 76 acres in the parish of Walloon where she, James and Martha settled and began to establish their farm. See Land Purchase

James Bambury died in tragic circumstances in 1877. While he was out clearing and burning off scrub, a branch from a dead tree fell and struck him on the head, either killing him instantly or paralysing him so that he was unable to move away from the fire burning around him. When he didn’t come home for dinner, Eliza went looking for him with a couple of neighbours. A shocking scene lay before Eliza when they found James with the branch lying across his body, and his legs and arms severely burned, and still burning. Locally James was known as a quiet and industrious man. The news of his untimely and violent death was received with sorrow in the community.

Eliza sold the farm (later owned by Francis Albert Perrin) and moved to Ipswich. She purchased a property there. (1 rood subdivision 16 of section 3 of eastern suburban allotments 119 and 120, parish of Ipswich.)

Seventeen months later Eliza died. She left her estate to her teenage daughter Martha, who died just four days after her mother. Eliza’s estate then passed to Martha’s Uncle William Jones. William Jones had seven daughters and 3 sons and was a member of (and several times Chairman) the Bundamba Shire Council for 23 years. These events remind me just how different one person’s life can be to another’s. William Jones lived his life in stark contrast to the lives of his younger brother George, his niece Martha and Eliza and James Bambury.

The subjects of this story hardly left a trace in their new country. In fact they all died at young ages. George Jones was 30, James Bambury was 42, Eliza Bambury was 39 and Martha Jones was only 14. Even so, James and Eliza Bambury can still be considered to be pioneer selectors in the Rosewood district.

© Jane Schy, 2024

References:
Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914
England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936
England 1841 Census
England 1851 Census
Queensland, Australia, Immigration Indexes, 1848-1972
Queensland Registry Births, Deaths, Marriages
Trove- National Library Australia