James Campbell (1830–1904) was a Scottish merchant of timber and other building products based in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. He founded the hardware firm

James Campbell and Sons James Campbell and Sons was a family business which manufactured and sold building materials in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. As timbergetters and sawmillers, they pioneered new areas in Queensland. It was established by James Campbell and one of ...

Early life

James Campbell was born on 6 March 1830 at Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. His parents had hoped he would become a

Church of Scotland minister A Church of Scotland congregation is led by its minister and elders. Both of these terms are also used in other Christian denominations: see Minister (Christianity) and Elder (Christianity). This article discusses the specific understanding ...

, but he apprenticed himself at an early age to a

plasterer A plasterer is a tradesman or tradesperson who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been ...

and worked at that trade for some years. Having decided to emigrate, he was influenced by John Dunmore Lang to travel to Queensland. He married Mary Isabella Mitchell at Callander, Perthshire, in February 1853 and they arrived in

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

on 23 June 1853 on the ''John Fielden''.

Business

In Brisbane, Campbell established a business in George Street initially selling building materials imported from Sydney. Although that first venture failed, he started a new business City Lime, Cement and Plaster Stores on the corner of Creek and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

Streets. Eventually he was providing many of the materials needed for constructing buildings, including timber, bricks, cement and pottery which were made locally, along with imported items. From the early 1860s, Campbell was operating lime kilns at

Breakfast Creek The Breakfast Creek ( Aboriginal: ''Barrambin'') is a small urban stream that is a tributary of the Brisbane River, located in suburban Brisbane in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Course and features Rising as the Enoggera Cre ...

and Lytton using shells and coral collected from Moreton Bay. Around 1880, he established the Langshaw Marble Lime Works at

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,542 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

. James Campbell had a sawmill at Creek Street in Brisbane. Logs were cut in the

Blackall Range The Blackall Range is a mountain range in South East Queensland, Australia. The first European explorer in the area was Ludwig Leichhardt. It was named after Samuel Blackall, the second Governor of Queensland. The Blackall Range dominates the ...

and upper

Caboolture River The Caboolture River is a small river in South East Queensland, Australia. Location and features Formed by runoff from the D'Aguilar Range, the Caboolture River rises below near and flows generally east, joined by two minor tributaries and ...

and hauled to Mellum Creek from where they were rafted down the

Pumicestone Passage Pumicestone Channel, also known as the Pumicestone Passage, is a narrow waterway between Bribie Island and the mainland in Queensland, Australia. The northern extent of the passage is at Caloundra, while at the south is Deception Bay. The ...

to the Creek Street sawmill. In 1881, James Campbell decided to establish a sawmill on the Coochin Creek near the confluence with Mellum Creek, from where the sawn timber was transported to Brisbane, initially via sailing cutter and from 1883 by paddlesteamer. The township of Campbellville () of around 100 people developed around the sawmill. There was a wharf with cranes and a provisional school and cemetery. Campbellville lasted until 1890 when the mill closed down. By that time, the North Coast railway line had made it easier to transport logs and timber by rail than by ship. Eventually Campbell owned sawmills at a number of locations in South-East Queensland and had a number of ships to carry the timber to his wharf and warehouse at Creek Street. Campbell purchased a white sandstone quarry at Albion, Brisbane from

John Petrie John Petrie (15 January 1822 – 8 December 1892) was a Scottish-born politician, architect, stonemason and building contractor in Brisbane who became the city's first Mayor. Private life John Petrie was born 15 January 1822Toowong Cemetery ...

and built a brick and pottery works immediately north of Crosby Park.

Politics

Campbell served as an alderman on the

Brisbane Town Council The Town of Brisbane was a local government area for Brisbane in Queensland, Australia from 1859 to 1903. History The Municipality of Brisbane was gazetted on 25 May 1859 and proclaimed by the Governor of New South Wales on 7 September 185 ...

and also as a council member of the Ithaca Shire. Although he did not serve in the

Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral st ...

, he took a strong interest in politics and was one of those who persuaded

Charles Lilley Sir Charles Lilley (27 August 1827 – 20 August 1897) was a Premier and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He had a significant influence on the form and spirit of state education in colonial Queensland which lasted well into the ...

to contest the seat of Fortitude Valley. His son

John Dunmore Campbell John Dunmore Campbell (19 April 1854 – 19 June 1909) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Campbell was born in Brisbane, Queensland, the son of James Campbell (Australian timber merchant), James Campbell, a timbe ...

served in the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

as the member for

Moreton Moreton may refer to: People Given name * Moreton John Wheatley (1837–1916), British Army officer and Bailiff of the Royal Parks Surname * Alice Bertha Moreton (1901–1977), English sculptor, draughtsman and artist * Andrew Moreton, a p ...

Family

All of his five sons (John Dunmore, James Mitchell, Henry Edwin, George Peter and Charles William) became members of the business which was renamed

in 1882. Campbell was also well-connected through his daughters' marriages: Isabella Annie to William Aplin (Member of the

Queensland Legislative Council The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

), Jessie Banister to

Robert Philp Sir Robert Philp, (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908. Early life Philp was born in ...

(

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

), and Helen Morrison to James Forsyth (Member of the

for Carpentaria,

and Murrumba).

Later life

Campbell died on 11 April 1904 at his home ''Camona'' in Kelvin Grove, Brisbane aged 74 years. He died four or five months after failing to recover from an attack of influenza. He was buried at

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest ceme ...

on 12 April 1904. He had requested that there be no religious service. However, his employees decided to congregate at the

Normanby Fiveways The Normanby Fiveways is the intersection of five major roads to the north-east of the Brisbane central business district, Queensland, Australia. Geography The intersection consists of: * Musgrave Road to the north-west towards Red Hill and be ...

from where they joined with the funeral party to the cemetery, where his friend Samuel Wood Brooks, a journalist, delivered a eulogy at the graveside. His wife Isabella died on 24 February 1918 and was buried with him on 25 February 1918.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, James (Australian timber merchant) Businesspeople from Queensland 1830 births 1904 deaths Queensland local councillors 19th-century Australian politicians People from Perth and Kinross Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Businesspeople in timber 19th-century Australian businesspeople