James Crimlisk
| First name | James |
|---|---|
| Last name | Crimlisk |
| Country of Origin | Ireland |
| Date of Birth | 1830 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1852 |
| Submitted by | Coral Seed |
Story
James and his new bride Mary left an Ireland still suffering from the effects of the potato famine, to escape the prejudices and institutonalised anti-catholocism that denied them opportunities to pursue their fortune and control their own destiny. The promise of a freer society and untapped gold fields drew them to Australia. James and Mary set sail from Belfast and arrived in Melbourne many months later. They were very proud that they had paid their fare to Australia, a not inconsiderable expenditure and far more than the cost of a berth to the United States, the more popular destination for Irish ŽmigrŽs. No doubt during this journey, James and Mary wondered about the wisdom of this decision as they described the journey as very difficult with terribly cramped conditions and appalling food. Australia proved to be all they had hoped for. Life on the goldfields of Ballarat & Bendigo was far from easy but they found some gold and the first of their 11 children was born in a tent on the goldfields. They spent 30 years in Victoria where James was a Blacksmith, Wheelwright & coach builder. They moved to Narrandera N.S.W. in 1881, where James opened his business “The Narrandera Coach Factory” employing eight blacksmiths to build coaches for Cobb & Co amongst others. James died in 1896 and Mary in 1922 leaving a sizeable family of Australians whose descendants have settled in all corners of the country.