James Tyson

James Tyson (8 April 1819 – 4 December 1898) was an Australian pastoralist. He is regarded as Australia's first self-made millionaire. His name became a byword for reticence, wealth and astute dealing.

For the NOAA Corps officer, see James C. Tison, Jr.

The Hon

James Tyson
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office
23 May 1893 – 4 December 1898
Personal details
Born(1819-04-08)8 April 1819
Cowpastures, New South Wales, Australia
Died4 December 1898(1898-12-04) (aged 79)
Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia
Resting placeToowoomba Cemetery
NationalityAustralian
OccupationPastoralist
Known forAustralia's first self-made millionaire

Early life

James Tyson was born about 1820 in the Camden district (then called Cowpastures) of New South Wales, the son of William Tyson and Isabella Marie (née Coulsen). There is disagreement over the date of his birth.[1] Some sources say 11 April 1823[2][3][4] while others say 8 April 1819.[5][6] At his death in 1898, he was described as being either 75 years of age[7] or 81 years of age,[8][9] suggesting an even wider range of possible birth dates.

His mother, Isabella, was a convict, sentenced to transportation for theft. His father, William, and his eldest brother, also William, came with her. Receiving a grant from Governor Lachlan Macquarie in the Narellan area, the Tysons set themselves up as small farmers, later moving with their growing family to East Bargo. As a youth James commenced work for neighbours such as Major Thomas Mitchell, and John Buckland who contracted him to take cattle to the north-eastern border area of the colony of Victoria. Then, with his brothers, he took up squatting licences in western New South Wales. Eventually they settled on land at the junction of the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee Rivers, in the reed-beds which had defeated John Oxley's exploration in 1837.

Business life

The legendary Tyson fortune was founded on success in butchering on the Bendigo goldfields.

It was extended by canny buying, knowledge of cattle and of stockroutes, pastoral lending and the judicious selection of enormous leaseholds to provide a chain of supply which stretched from North Queensland to Gippsland and which fed beef to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

His first property, Royal Bank Station, near Deniliquin was purchased in 1855, followed by Juanbong (along the Murrumbidgee River), then the Heyfield station at Gippsland.[10] Moving into Queeensland, he took up Felton station in the Darling Downs area. Going west he also picked up Tinnenburra cattle station which carried 20,000 head of cattle.[11]

In 1866 he purchased a group of pastoral runs: Wooroorooka, Rottenrow, Gordonsheet and Teckulman, all on the Warrego River and its tributary, Cuttaburra Creek.[12]

His other stations included Bangate, Goondublui, Tupra and Mooroonowa in New South Wales; and Glenormiston, Swanvale, Meteor Downs and Albinia Downs, Babbiloora, Carnarvon, Tully, Wyobie, Felton, and Mount Russell in Queensland.

It is on record that on one occasion he offered the Queensland government a loan of £500,000 towards the cost of constructing a proposed transcontinental railway.

In 1892 at a time of economic depression he took up £250,000 in treasury bills to assist the government.

Politics

In 1893 he became a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council but did not take a prominent part in its proceedings.

Enid Moberly Bell (1947:124–126) recounts a chance meeting between Tyson and Flora Shaw on a long train journey: although vastly different in background, they had "a fundamental agreement on values – indifference to wealth, delight in adventure, satisfaction in work accomplished ..." – see E.M.Bell (1947) Flora Shaw: Lady Lugard, D.B.E. Constable.

Death

Slow of speech, though astute and perceptive, "Jimmy" Tyson habitually dressed like a tradesman or boundary rider, and when he visited his various properties, he did so anonymously, preferring the swagmen's camp and the company of sundowners to the comfort of the manager's homestead.[13]

Tyson travelled much about Australia, but eventually made his principal home at Felton station on the Darling Downs. He died there on 4 December 1898. He had been ailing for two weeks but refused to see a doctor. His funeral service was held at St James's Church at Toowoomba and he was buried in Toowoomba Cemetery.[3][8][9][14][15]

At the time of his death his estate was the largest in Australia to that time. However he died unmarried, childless and intestate. His estate was sold off, realising about £2.36 million, which was divided among his closest relatives. In 1901, his remains were exhumed and re-buried in a family vault at St Peter's Anglican Church in Campbelltown, New South Wales;[6] [16]

Legacy

Awards

In 2010, the Hon James Tyson MLC was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame, as Australia's first cattle king.[17]

References
  1. "Week-End Magazine". The Farmer and Settler. NSW: National Library of Australia. 19 November 1954. p. 17. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  2. "The Late Hon. James Tyson". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 6 December 1898. p. 7. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  3. "Death of the Hon. James Tyson". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 5 December 1898. p. 4. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  4. Serle, Percival (1949). "Tyson, james". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
  5. Denholm, Z. Tyson, James (1819–1898), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 6, Melbourne University Press, 1976, pp 319–320.
  6. "Early Days on Australian Cattle Stations". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 April 1938. p. 57. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  7. "James Tyson, Deceased". Gippsland Times. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 8 December 1898. p. 3 Edition: Morning. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  8. "Funeral at Toowoomba". Gippsland Times. Vic.: National Library of Australia. 8 December 1898. p. 3 Edition: Morning. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  9. "The Late Hon. James Tyson". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 7 December 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  10. "James Tyson". Western Grazier. XIX (1828). New South Wales, Australia. 14 December 1898. p. 2. Retrieved 20 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Tinnenburra". Balonne Beacon. XVI (31). Queensland, Australia. 29 July 1922. p. 1. Retrieved 20 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "The necessaries of life". The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. 30 May 1868. p. 11. Retrieved 14 May 2020 – via Trove.
  13. "Fifty Years of Racing". The Daily Herald (Adelaide). 9 (2672). South Australia. 12 October 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 7 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "In Town and Country". Australian Town and Country Journal. NSW: National Library of Australia. 1 April 1899. p. 32. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  15. "The Late Hon. James Tyson". Warwick Argus. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 10 December 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  16. "The Late Mr. Tyson". The Campbelltown Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 4 December 1901. p. 2. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  17. "The Hon James Tyson MLC". Retrieved 7 August 2017.
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