James "Nobby" White (c. 1820 – 20 August 1890) was a pastoralist, land agent and politician in the colony of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

History

James White arrived in South Australia in 1845. His first occupation was as overseer at C. H. Bagot's head station "Koonunga". He headed for the diggings in 1851 during the Victorian gold rush, and returned a year later and purchased his first block of land at Bagot's Gap, the first of many pastoral properties in the

Kapunda Kapunda is a town on the Light River and near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance ...

region and elsewhere in the colony, and became quite wealthy. He was a partner in station agents and auctioneers, first with W. Brewer around 1859, then with

Jenkin Coles Sir Jenkin Coles (19 January 1843 – 6 December 1911) was a South Australian politician. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1875 to 1878 and 1881 to 1911, representing the electorates of Light (1875–78, 1881–190 ...

as Coles and Goodchild, later Goodchild, Duff, & Co., which business was taken over by Elder, Smith & Co. in 1889. He was elected MHA for the seat of

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

after the resignation of Edward Hamilton, and served August 1871 to December 1871 and from February 1875 to April 1881, his associates being

David Nock David Nock (20 September 1828 – 16 June 1909) was a member of the South Australian Parliament, remembered for introducing a Bill ("Nock's Act") forcing licensed premises to close on Sundays. History Nock was born on 20 September 1828. He arrive ...

and

Randolph Isham Stow Randolph Isham Stow (17 December 1828 – 17 September 1878) was an English-born Australian Supreme Court of South Australia judge. Early life Stow was born in Framlingham, Suffolk, England and baptised at Water Lane-Independent, Bishops S ...

. He stood for reelection in 1881 and 1884 and the 1888 Legislative Council election, but was unsuccessful on each occasion. He was convicted under the Fraud at Auctions Act in 1876, and urged to resign his commission as

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

but refused, on the grounds that would constitute admission of guilt. An appeal to the Supreme Court resulted in the controversial overturning of this verdict. Alexander Hay added to his woes by publicly refuting some of his courtroom statements. A year later he was re-appointed J.P. He had a property, "Albert Vale", around two miles from Kapunda on the Eudunda road, which he sold in 1894 to David James, and became his celebrated property "Coalbrook Vale". White was a taciturn man and never made many friends. He was buried at the Church of England cemetery, Kapunda.

Family

James White married Rebecca Bridget Goodchild ( – 6 May 1888) and married again, to the widow Bessie Read on 3 November 1888; they lived at "Albavale", Kapunda. They had no children. Abraham White (c. 1828 – 15 May 1885), brother of James, was a farmer and railway contractor of "Illawarra",

Bagot's Well Bagot Well (previously Bagot's Well) is a locality around 6 km north-east of Kapunda, South Australia on the road to Eudunda and was named for Captain C. H. Bagot, who owned a great deal of property in the area. Bagot Well as a place bega ...

. He was married to Mary White née Wharton ( – c. 1931). They moved to nearby Kapunda then Western Australia, where most of their children had settled. Their children included: *

James Wharton White James Wharton White (17 February 1857 – 30 January 1930), often referred to as "Wharton White", was an auctioneer, pastoralist and politician in colonial South Australia. He spent the latter half of his life in Western Australia. He was born t ...

, (17 February 1857 – 30 January 1930) married Sophie Agnes Geyer. He was MHA for Light 1890–1896, moved to

Esperance, Western Australia Esperance is a town in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The urban population of Esperance was 12,145 at June 2018. Its major in ...

. *Lilla Rebecca Wharton White (1858 – 15 January 1934) married engineer Edward H. V. Keane (August 1844 – 9 July 1904) on 27 May 1879. He was a noted WA politician. *Frances Ellen Wharton White ( – 17 September 1944) died at

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

. *William St. Clare Wharton White (c. 1862 – 29 December 1946) married Penelope Annie Buchanan (c. 1862 – 2 March 1935) on 29 April 1886, moved to

Cottesloe, Western Australia Cottesloe is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, within the Town of Cottesloe. Cottesloe was named for Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe, a prominent Tory politician and the brother of Admiral Sir Charles Fremantle for whom the ...

. Penelope was a daughter of Alexander Buchanan, overseer of

Anlaby Station Anlaby or Anlaby Station is a pastoral lease located about south east of Marrabel and north of Kapunda in the state of South Australia. History The locality was first explored by Europeans in March 1838 by the party of Hill, Wood, Willis, ...

. *Edward Wharton White (c. 1864 – 10 January 1949) married Alice Kate Buchanan ( – 21 December 1941) on 10 December 1887, moved to

. Alice was another daughter of Alexander Buchanan, of Anlaby Station. *Blanche Elizabeth Isabel Wharton White ( – 3 November 1931) moved to

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner-Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. H ...

. John White (c. 1855 – 1 February 1929) of "Thadmore", Bagot's Gap married Mary Slattery (c. 1827 – 13 December 1887), and had a large family. John was a son of one Patrick White, and may be unrelated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, James Australian pastoralists Australian auctioneers Australian real estate businesspeople Members of the South Australian House of Assembly 1820 births 1890 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople