Hawkesbury Independent IND 161 October 2023 | Page 10

HAWKESBURY HISTORY

with Michelle Nichols & Jonathan Auld

The story of James and Mary Melville

In Windsor ’ s Mileham Street , there is a small rundown cottage called Woodside . We wondered who built this place and thought the story behind it would make an interesting article . The house was built for the Melville family and was completed by 1857 .

James Melville was born in 1814 near Holywood in County Down , Ireland . He was the son of John Melville , a builder and bricklayer from Scotland , and his wife Elizabeth nee Woodside . James learnt his father ’ s trade .

In Belfast in 1838 , James married Mary Gavin , daughter of Robert and Eliza Gavin . The family were from Scotland , associated with milling . Mary was born in 1815 in Renfrewshire but had moved to Belfast to manage a linen mill when Mary was a small child .

Shortly after their marriage , James and Mary migrated on the Mandarin to Australia . After a four-month journey at sea , they arrived in Sydney at a time of prosperity , fifty years of European settlement and prior to the ending of transportation of convicts , and the financial depression of the early 1840s . James and Mary came to New South Wales as assisted immigrants . James ’ trade was in high demand and both could read and write .

James and Mary ’ s immigration papers record was bought out by government and he was engaged by the Colonial Architect in Sydney . The Colonial Architect at the time was Mortimer Lewis who was in that role from 1835 to 1849 .

According to descendants of the Melville family , one of his first jobs was to construct the vault for Samuel Terry

Windsor Presbyterian Church , 1879 . Courtesy State Library of NSW .

in the Devonshire Street Cemetery in Sydney . Terry was an emancipated convict who became a wealthy landowner and merchant .

After a few years in Bathurst , the family settled in Windsor and it was around this time that James was one of the successful tenderers engaged to work on the Presbyterian Church on the corner of George and Christie Streets , Windsor . This plain , compact church officially opened in early 1843 .

In the 1840s , James worked on Toxana , a residence for William Bowman , who was elected in 1843 to the first NSW Parliament . Constructed at 157 Windsor Street , Richmond , this impressive historic two-storey building still stands . George Marlin , a skilled carpenter , was also known to have worked on Toxana .

There was insufficient incentive for building in the Hawkesbury around 1850 , so James “ sought fields and pastures new ” and ended up in Brisbane where he erected a number of buildings . Missing his family , he returned to Windsor after being away for about two years .

On his return he purchased land in Windsor ’ s Mileham Street in 1854 , and by 1857 , the brick house was complete and was called Woodside after his mother ’ s family . It was not a large house by any means but stood on a sizable block , and housed James and Mary , plus their large family . The house still stands but is in disrepair . It went to auction in 2016 .

During the 1850s and 1860s , James was kept busy on a number of projects including churches , halls and residences . During the latter years , he was given assistance from son Robert , who was a bricklayer by trade .

Woodside in Mileham Street , Windsor . Photo : M . Nichols , 2023 .

James built Hebe Cottage between Schofields and Riverstone . This is acknowledged as one of the oldest surviving buildings in the Riverstone district , and was built sometime in the late 1850s or early 1860s . The house was originally built as the retirement cottage for engineer Richard Dawson and his third wife , Louisa formerly Bliss who married in 1850 .

On Macquarie Street , Windsor , just around the corner from the Uniting Church in Fitzgerald Street , stands a hall constructed in 1861 by James , and used as a Wesleyan day school . Around this time , James fell from a ladder when he was working on the hall and was badly injured . Later , this same building , miraculously survived the Great Fire of Windsor in 1874 , when most of the commercial area of Windsor was destroyed by fire . James and Robert were also involved with building the Wesleyan Chapel , built of sandstock bricks and shingled roof , which was erected in Wilberforce and opened in 1862 .

The Melvilles raised a large family and between 1839 and 1858 Mary gave birth to at least eleven children .

As well as having a strong interest in the building game , James was passionate about horses stated a carrying business on the side , possibly in the 1860s . His son James , along with George Gamble , who was fostered by the Melville family , were

engaged in transporting explosives in 1865 from Penrith , on behalf of a railway contractor , for work being conducted as part of the extensions to the Great Western Railway .

Gamble was only nineteen and was driving a “ double shaft dray with seven horses ” with a load including 100kgs of blasting powder plus other goods . The kegs were leaking gunpowder and a nearby vehicle ’ s wheel , “ caused a spark of fire which ignited the trail of powder .” Gamble was killed instantly and six horses also died . One horse recovered from the ordeal .

The sons spread their wings and moved away from Windsor whilst most of the daughters remained in the Hawkesbury with some descendants still residing in the district .

James Melville died in his 65th year , in November 1879 . Mary died several years later , in January 1887 aged 71 . The couple are buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Church Street South Windsor . Their son Samuel , died as an infant in 1856 and is also recorded on the headstone .

Although several buildings constructed by James have disappeared , a number of properties have survived in the Hawkesbury , built by James , a notable craftsman , that remain important examples of 19th century construction , some containing notable heritage features .

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