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James Squire

Overview

James Squire

birth place	Kingston upon Thames, England
baptised	18 December 1754
death place	Kissing Point, New South Wales, Australia
other names	James Squires
occupation	Primarily a brewer, but also: farmer · constable · butcher · baker · banker
spouse	Martha Quinton. Left in England when Squire was transported.
partner	1. Mary Spencer (convict) (1789–c. 1791) 2. Elizabeth Mason (convict servant in his service) (c. 1791–????) 3. Lucy Vaughan-Harding
children	11
signature	J_Squires_sig.gif

James Squire, alternatively known as James Squires, (bapt. 18 December 1754 – 16 May 1822) was a First Fleet convict transported to Australia.[1][2] Squire is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia around the start of the 19th century. First officially brewing beer in Australia in 1790; James later founded Australia's first commercial brewery making beer using barley and hops in 1798, although John Boston appears to have opened a brewery making a form of corn beer two years earlier.[3]

Squire was convicted of stealing in 1785 and was transported to Australia as a convict on the First Fleet in 1788. Squire ran a number of successful ventures during his life, including a farm, a popular tavern called The Malting Shovel, a bakery, a butcher shop and a credit union. He also became a town constable in the Eastern Farms district of Sydney. As a testament to the rise of position in society (from shame to fame), his death in 1822 was marked with the biggest funeral ever held in the colony.

Early years

Convict years

First Fleet

In 1787, James was released from Southwark gaol to voyage to the British penal colony in Australia in April 1787.[10][11] The document was signed by Evan Nepean on 10 March 1787. Though James began his journey on the Friendship, he transferred himself to the Charlotte in a reshuffle of the women passengers.[12] On 18 January 1788, the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay, Australia. The openness of this bay, and the dampness of the soil, by which the people would probably be rendered unhealthy, had already determined the Governor to seek another situation. He resolved, therefore, to examine Port Jackson, a bay mentioned by Captain James Cook as immediately to the north of this. There he hoped to find, not only a better harbour, but a fitter place for the establishment of his new government.[13] The first fleet then moved to Port Jackson by 26 January.

In Sydney town

On 5 March 1789, Squire gave evidence on the theft by two fellow convicts of six cabbages. The thieves received 50 lashes each.[14] He was then arraigned before the magistrate, charged with stealing 'medicines' from the hospital stores where he worked at Port Jackson. These medicines were, in fact, one pound of pepper (or paper) and horehound (a herb that imitates the tangy flavour of hops), belonging to surgeon John White. Though Squire claimed the stolen horehound was for his pregnant girlfriend, he later revealed at the Bigge inquiry that he began brewing beer on his arrival to Australia, which he sold for 4d per quart. Indeed, he was brewing beer for the personal consumption of Lieutenant Francis Grose and William Paterson over that time. Perhaps that explains Squire's possibly lenient sentence when petty theft was often severely punished. His sentence of 14 November 1789 read: "'one hundred and fifty (lashes of the whip) now, and the remainder when able to bear it'."

On 19 August 1791, Squire and another man were fined £5 each for buying the necessaries of a private. They both protested that they did not know it was a crime.

Post convict years

Land grant

Somewhere between 1790 and 1792 James Squire's sentence had expired and he was now a free man[15] and he was able to start his life over again. On emancipation James was granted 30 acre at Eastern Farms (Kissing Point) on 22 July 1795,[16] and he noticed other emancipists had not claimed the nearby land. Displaying his resourcefulness, James marched them into the Colonial Secretary's office (position held by David Collins) to claim their land grants, and then purchased each property for one shilling.

James was an extremely enterprising man and by mid-1800 he had ten sheep, 18 pigs and 35 goats. 5 acre were sown in wheat & another 45 acre ready for planting maize and barley. Two years later he owned 291 acre with 120 acre cleared and 28 acre in grain. His household was composed of him and Elizabeth Mason, six children, four free men and two government servants and was self-supporting.[5]

On 3 January 1813, Aboriginal interlocutor Bennelong was buried on the grounds of Squire's property, where he had often wandered. James had erected a plaque to commemorate his dear friend.

On 3 May 1817, James advertised his estate for sale in the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser.[17] This may have been instigated because he had moved in with his mistress, Lucy Harding, in Sydney. Evidence shows that the estate did not sell as James was the name of the licensee until at least 1822.

Hops and brewing

James stated at the Bigge inquiry into New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land in 1820 that he had been brewing for 30 years and that he made it from hops he got from the Daedalus.[18][2] This statement highlights the fact that James had been brewing beer since 1790, which makes this the first evidence of brewing beer with hops in Australia.

1802 saw the revelation that the British Army was trafficking rum. This created an uproar in the fledgling colony and Governor King was gravely concerned about the corruption spread by rum, so he began to officially endorse the brewing of beer. English hops and brewing equipment were regularly transported on convict ships at the government's expense; in fact, part of HMS Porpoise's botanical cargo was hops.[19][20][21][22]

The Malting Shovel

James opened "The Malting Shovel" Tavern on the shores of Parramatta River, in the Eastern Farm district of Kissing Point which is almost halfway between Sydney town and Parramatta. It was the ideal location to entice thirsty passengers from vessels along this busy thoroughfare. Surviving records located in the State Records Authority of New South Wales show that, on 19 September 1798, there was a general meeting held at the Judge Advocates office in the presence of Judge Advocate William Balmain. At this meeting, James (among others, including Simeon Lord) obtained the judge's permission to be licensed for the sale of spirituous liquors at The Malting Shovel. This license cost him £5.[28] The licence was renewed for a further £5 in September 1799. Simeon Lord countersigned as surety.[29] Licences to brew or sell liquor were required to be renewed every year. Unfortunately a lot of this information is missing, but the Sydney Gazette and the State Records Authority of New South Wales fill in a number of gaps with evidence of licence renewals on the following dates:

26 February 1809;[30]

Death

James Squire died on 16 May 1822. The article from the Sydney Gazette stated:

"Deaths: – On Thursday evening last, at Kissing Point, after an illness of about 3 months, Mr James Squire, in his 68th year. As one of the primary inhabitants of the Colony, having come hither in the first fleet in 1788, none ever more exerted himself for the benefits of the inhabitants than the deceased. He was the first that brought Hops to any perfection and hence was enabled to brew beer of an excellent quality. "Squire's Beer" was well known. He might for long residence, be styled the Patriarch of Kissing Point; as he had lived, where he died, 26 years. The "OLD HANDS", by the frequent visitation of death, are becoming thinned in their ranks; this should lead to reflection, for the day will soon arrive when even those, now living, shall cease to say, "I came in the first fleet."[33]"

His death was marked with the biggest funeral ever held in the colony.[34] He was buried at the Devonshire Street Cemetery, and his remains and headstone were later moved to Botany Cemetery when Central station was built. The headstone is now too worn to be identified.[35] The headstone inscription is believed to have the following epitaph:

"'In Sacred Respect to the Loving Remains of Mr. Jas. Squire, late of Kissing Point who departed this Life 16 May 1822 at the age of 67 years. He arrived in the colony in the First Fleet and by Integrity and Industry acquired and maintained an unsullied reputation. Under his care the HOP PLANT was first Cultivated in this Settlement and the first BREWERY erected which Progressively matured to Perfection. As a Father, Friend and Christian he Lived Respected and Died Lamented.

Legacy

James Squire's last will and testament was dated 6 April 1822.

From 1823, Squire's brewery continued to successfully operate under control of his son James, producing about 100,000 gallons a year, until his death in 1826. James Squire's daughter, Mary Ann. married Thomas Charles Farnell of Kissing Point[37] on 30 March 1824. On 25 June 1825, Mary gave birth to James Squire Farnell.[38] In 1828 the brewery was briefly re-opened by his daughter's husband, Thomas Farnell,[39][40] until his ill-health forced the brewery to close in 1834. In 1877, James' grandson, James Squire Farnell, became the eighth premier of New South Wales.[38]

In 1999 Lion Nathan renamed the previously purchased Hahn Brewery as the Malt Shovel Brewery, releasing a line of

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