The unfortunate Dr Mileham
Mileham Street extends from Windsor to South Windsor and was named after the assistant surgeon who lived in Windsor in the early 1800s . Mileham ’ s life was filled with one calamity after another and bad luck seemed to follow him around .
James Mileham was born around 1763 and came from France . He moved to England as a result of the French Revolution , a period of extreme social and political conflict which began in 1789 and lasted for about a decade . In 1796 he was offered a commission in the colonies , as assistant surgeon , and arrived on the Ganges the following year . At first he worked in Sydney and Parramatta and then in 1799 , he relieved Thomas Jamison on Norfolk Island , who had been there since 1788 . Mileham remained on Norfolk until 1802 , as the second assistant surgeon .
Throughout his life , Mileham experienced financial difficulties , often outside his control , which resulted in him having to sell off many of his assets , including some of the land he acquired , to appease creditors . He never recovered financially .
Mileham returned to Sydney in
1802 and continued to carry out his responsibilities , but in 1803 he took surgeon Jamison to court for assault , however , the charge was deemed selfdefence . Mileham was assigned to Castle Hill early in 1804 and several months later was appointed to Newcastle , travelling on the Lord Nelson , to carry out his duties in the Hunter . He arrived back in Sydney after only five months , having been reprimanded by Lieutenant Charles Menzies for disobeying orders to attend a patient .
Shortly after this violation he was found guilty for “ refusing to attend a woman in child-birth ” and for this he was publicly reproached . Mileham supported Jamison when Bligh was overthrown in 1808 and he received a large grant of 500 acres at Upper Nelson , perhaps for his support of the rebellion ? He acquired a number of properties throughout his time in the colonies .
In 1808 Mileham was appointed as the senior assistant surgeon in Windsor and experienced some stability , staying in the area until his retirement many years later . He was often recorded in the newspaper , attending fatal accidents , treating victims
Original headstone , Devonshire Street Cemetery , Sydney ca . 1900-1914 by Mrs . Arthur George Foster . Courtesy Mitchell Library , State Library of NSW . of snakebites , viewing corpses at inquests , or being called to poor Mary Ezzy who was struck by lightning and died on her wedding day .
He was involved in a number of charitable organisations providing relief while residing in the Hawkesbury , acting as treasurer of the Hawkesbury Benevolent Society and Vice President of the Windsor Bible Society .
With Richard Fitzgerald , he collected money for the Waterloo Fund in 1816 . He was also appointed as a Justice of the Peace and a Magistrate in 1811 , sitting on the Windsor Bench . Shortly after his arrival in Windsor , he reported the most common diseases were dysentery , syphilis and ophthalmia .
With Elizabeth Price , he had a number of children including Lucy who was born in 1799 . Sadly none of the other children survived . It is not known if the couple ever married . When Elizabeth died in Windsor in 1818 , she was buried as Elizabeth Mileham in St Matthew ’ s Church of England cemetery , but no headstone survives . The Sydney Gazette reported her death , “ after a long and painful illness , which she bore with Christian fortitude ”.
Just twelve months later in Windsor Mileham married Susannah , daughter of Henry and Susannah Kable , emancipated convicts . Susannah was at least thirty years younger than her husband , they had no children . A few months after the marriage Mileham ’ s daughter Lucy married Samuel Otoo Hassall , son of preacher Rowland Hassall in Parramatta .
Macquarie was dissatisfied with the colonial surgeons during his administration , and attempted to restructure . Their obligations and responsibilities to administer to general public , were not clear cut , and he “ was scathing of the professional and intellectual capacities of several of the surgeons ” including Mileham . Macquarie refused to support Mileham ’ s “ appointment as principal surgeon in succession to D ’ Arcy Wentworth on the grounds that his medical knowledge was defective , he was old and his eyesight was failing .”
Mileham retired in 1821 in poor health and Macquarie granted him leave on full
Portrait of Dr James Mileham by unknown artist . Courtesy State Library of NSW .
Signature of Dr James Mileham , from Colonial Secretary ’ s correspondence . Courtesy State Records .
pay . He died in 1824 , aged 61 , and was buried in the Devonshire Street Cemetery in Sydney . His remains were reinterred at La Perouse following the closure of Devonshire Street . It appears he has a different headstone at La Perouse .
For almost sixty years , his widow Susannah received an annual pension from the Government of £ 100 . She died in 1885 just prior to her 90th birthday and was buried at The Oaks cemetery .
It was written at the time of his death that “ Dr Mileham will long survive in the remembrance of his numerous friends ” and today , he is still remembered with a street in Windsor bearing his name .
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