James Oatley Snr (c. 1769–1839) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
-born
colonial Australian watch and clock maker and one-time
convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...
. Oatley, allegedly from
Stafford and aged 44, was sentenced to
penal transportation for life at
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
Assizes on 7 March 1814. Oatley had a number of convictions, dating back to 1806, when he had stolen one ton of cheese. He was sent to Australia for stealing shirts and bedding.
Life in colonial Sydney
Oatley arrived in
Sydney, New South Wales on 27 January 1815 on board the ''
Marquis of Wellington''.
On 25 October 1821, he was given a conditional pardon. In this record, Oatley is mentioned as a "native of Warwickshire", and a physical description is also provided; he is described as being pale, with dark brown hair, grey eyes, 5'5", and "stout" (with the remainder of the instrument of pardon being difficult to read).
Oatley was awarded several land grants; in 1831 and on 30 October 1832, 24 December 1833, 23 January 1834, and 27 July 1835. Areas covered by these land grants include Snugborough (in the vicinity of the modern Moorefields Road,
Kingsgrove
Kingsgrove is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Kingsgrove is south of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Bayside Council and the Geo ...
), which he farmed, and Needwood Forest (now
Hurstville Grove). In total, the land approximately covered is similar to that now bounded by Canterbury Road,
Belmore, to the north, King George Road to the west, Kingsgrove Road to the east, and the
Georges River to the south.
Death
James Oatley died on 9 October 1839. His death notice in the ''Sydney Monitor'' gives his age as 72 years;
the Parish record of his burial gives James' age as 70 years.
Oatley was buried on his property, ''Snugborough''.
Legacy
Oatley and his family's and his son salah legacy has been reflected via geography. In 1903, the
southern Sydney
Southern Sydney is the southern metropolitan area of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
Southern Sydney includes the suburbs in the local government areas of Georges River Council and part of Bayside Council (collectively know ...
suburb of
Oatley was named after the family. Prior to that, the area west of the railway line was known as New Oatley's, which was a sub-district of Hurstville, and Oatley Platform; east of the railway line was known as Oatley's, which was a sub-district of Kogarah. In 1905, Frederick Street, Oatley, named after Frederick Stokes Oatley, was constructed as the main street of the new suburb.
Oatley Street,
Woollahra
Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woolla ...
, lying between Ocean Street and Edgecliffe Street, existed in the 1850s and early 1860s. Frederick Stokes Oatley resided between Ocean Street and Oatley Street, Woollahra.
Oatley Lane, Oatley Street, and Oatley Road, all of which were named after James Oatley Jnr, existed in East Sydney. Oatley Road extended into
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...
. A remnant of Oatley Road still exists in Paddington, running beside the
Victoria Barracks.
The original Oatley land between Moorefields Road and the railway line through Kingsgrove Station remained largely as open paddocks until it was subdivided for housing and industry in the early 1970s. A street off Kingsgrove Road was named after James Oatley. Just north of Moorefields Road are Robert Street and Eleanor Avenue.
Personal life
The personal life of James Oatley was well documented in the 1825 Muster of New South Wales,
and in his will.
Oatley married twice. In England, he married Sarah Bennett. Little is known about this marriage. James than had a de facto relationship with Mary Stokes, his housekeeper.
Mary was the mother of his three sons, James Stokes Jnr,
Frederick Stokes,
and George (1820–1821) shown as James' children in the 1825 Muster,
and each described in James' will as "my adopted son".
Mary arrived in Sydney on 8 June 1815 on board the ''Northampton'', with her son, then called James
ut later renamed Robert born during the voyage.
The 1825 muster clearly indicates that Robert was Mary's child, but not James' child.
Robert was described as "an adopted child" in James' will.
After Mary's death, Oatley married Mary Ann Bogg in 1833.
Children
*Marianne/Marion Oatley (c1808-22 March 1866): died as Mrs Borrett.
*
James Oatley (1817–1878) was a coach builder and engineer by trade.
James Stokes Oatley Jnr assumed responsibility for running the family farm after Oatley Snr's death.
The farm was later sold and James became an innkeeper (also described as licensee and victualler)
until he entered the
NSW Parliament as a Member of the
Legislative Assembly in 1868.
James married Eleanor Johnson (also known as Ellen, Helena, and Emily), with whom he had eight children. After Eleanor's death, James married Margaret Curtis, with whom he had one daughter
*Frederick Stokes Oatley (1819–1890) was a watchmaker and Inspector of Abattoirs.
Frederick married Jane Weedon, with whom he had twelve children.
James Snr gave to Frederick his watchmaking business in George Street, Sydney, and Needwood Forest.
By the 1860s, Frederick had given up the watchmaking business; and, in 1881, he sold of Needwood Forest.
*Robert Oatley (1815–1876) was adopted by James Oatley, but not his biological child.
Robert, a cooper by trade, was born at sea ''en route'' to Sydney and was initially named James.
After his name change and legal adoption by James Oatley, Robert was baptized about a year after his arrival in Sydney.
Robert did not marry.
Other descendants of Oatley Snr
*Gwen Ruth Oatley (1918–24 December 2000) was the granddaughter of James Oatley Jnr's second son, Frederick.
Gwen was awarded a
Medal of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
in 1978 for services to the Australian film industry.
*Frederick "Dudley" Weedon Oatley (1884–28 March 1919) was the grandson of Frederick Stokes Oatley.
Frederick was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the
Australian Imperial Force and served in World War One.
When he died, Frederick was given a funeral on 30 March 1919 with
full military honours.
Frederick actually died from a massive hydatid cyst in his thoracic cavity, compressing his heart and lungs and resulting in widespread gangrene (Death Certificate).
See also
*
Oatley, New South Wales
Oatley is a suburb in Southern Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Oatley lies in the local government area of Georges River ...
References
External links
Kogarah Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oatley, James
1760s births
Convicts transported to Australia
1839 deaths
People from Sydney
People from Warwickshire (before 1974)
Australian watchmakers (people)